Halloween superfan turns semi into haunted house

As the sun sets on Hob Moor Road in Yardley, the monsters, skeletons, vampires and werewolves have woken up and a long queue has started to form.

Karen said it all started at last October when her partner, Darren, decorated the outside of their house, and "it's gone crazy ever since".

This year, the attraction fills their front driveway, garage, downstairs toilet and entire garden with dozens of spooky animatronics, decorations and live volunteer actors.

One of those is family friend, Mark Rotherham, who was dressed as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

He said: "Darren asked if I'd come along, and I said 'course I will!'"

Mark added most people think he is a statue and when they pose for a photograph, he comes alive and scares them.

"They want to be scared, but they don't want to be petrified, so after I've scared them, I give them a fist pump so they leave happy."

A photo of man dressed up as Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Outside the house, another friend of the family, Tia Smith, was busy welcoming guests to the house and making sure the queue moved smoothly.

"It's obviously quite crazy, but you just remember you are doing it for the cause", she said.

"Just seeing all the live actors and everyone come to help is really amazing and even seeing the adults get scared as well, it's quite thrilling!

"I've done every day so far, and I'm going to try and do as much as I can, I love it here."

Those who have come to see the house, have described it as a great way for children to celebrate Halloween without normal day-out costs.

One local mum who had come with her young daughter said: "It's really expensive if you go to another place, but it's nice that you can just give a good contribution to do something like this."

Another visitor described the attraction as "absolutely insane, it's brilliant".

A photo of a haunted house from outside and a queue of people standing outside ready to go inside.

The family started decorating the house six weeks ago during August, and Darren has funded it all with his own money.

There is no entry fee for visitors, just an optional donation to the mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

"Everybody asks, what does it cost? It doesn't matter what it costs," he said.

"It's all my own money, but it doesn't matter to me, as long as everybody smiles and gives a little to charity, that's all we care about."

A photo of a room decorated for Halloween with dolls and bandages hanging from the walls.

Darren said: "It's all for CALM. I suffer a lot with my mental health, as a lot of people do.

"I thought it's a great charity to save money for and for everyone to just dig deep, put a few pounds, 50 pence, whatever you can afford and just support the charity.

"The feeling we get, the happiness we get, everybody supporting it, we feel so good, everybody comes out all smiling and screaming all for a good reason and it just makes us feel that we've really achieved something."

Hob Moor Road haunted house will be open every Friday and Saturday night from 19:00-21:00 until 31 October.

A photo of two people standing outside a home that has been turned into a haunted house. One has a high vis jacket on and a coat and the other has a black dress with a white neck piece on.

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Original source Halloween superfan turns semi into haunted house

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