When it comes to Halloween haunted houses, it doesn’t get much bigger than the Panamount Panic in the northwest Calgary community of Panorama Hills.
But after years of providing a spooky spot, come this Hallows Eve, it will be a ghost town.
Someone complained to the City of Calgary that the haunted house structure outside the home is obstructing the view in the intersection on the corner, causing a blind spot.
City inspectors put a stop to the annual Halloween staple on Panamount Street on Monday.
“We’ve been doing this for a few years. We haven’t had any issues,” Quinn Motteram said.
Creator Quinn already spent 75 hours to start getting it ready for Halloween. Now he has one week to shut it down completely or move parts of it to the backyard.
“It sucks because it’s a big event for all the kids. There’s lots of schools around here and we get about 600, 700, 800 kids coming through and we’ve already had tons of people stop in and say how excited they are.
“A few people have left notes, commenting about how upset they are.”
People left notes on the structure that said: “Thank you for your community spirit.” There was also a petition on the front with more than 100 signatures Wednesday, in hopes of saving the haunted house.
Watch below (Oct. 31, 2018): A century-old home in Drumheller has been the backdrop to a handful of ghost hunts. Paranormal teams believe they have captured evidence of spirits living there. Jill Croteau reports.
The Motteram family has been putting up the haunted house for a few years to spook the neighbourhood.
“The reactions you get to see are super cool, that’s what makes it fun, makes us want to keep doing it,” Quinn said. “The inside is all black and strobe lights and red lights and all decorated up with people inside scaring.”
Most recently, they also started to collect donations for the food bank after the passing of Ron Motteram’s father, who used to volunteer at the Calgary Food Bank.
“It means a lot to me because my dad passed Oct. 3, and he was always out here with Quinn being very proud. But with the kids here it’s — you don’t get a lot of community spirit anymore,” Ron said.
The city’s planning and development department said a structure like the Motteram haunted house requires a permit before it goes up.
In a statement to Global News, Cliff de Jong, customer issues and strategy manager for the City of Calgary, said: “We’re not anti-fun, but we need to ensure that safety considerations are not compromised.
“As the structure exists today, we have some placement and safety concerns. For any homeowners planning something extra special for Halloween, please call us in advance at 311 and we can help you plan something that is legal, safe and fun for everyone,” de Jong wrote.
Ron Motteram wishes the person that complained addresses it with him directly to potentially make adjustments before the city shut it down completely.
Last year, Mary Elliott’s kids waited for 45 minutes to get in. Elliott’s sad to see it packed up before the fun even begins.
“My four-year-old is already saying, ‘Can I go in the haunted house this year?’ So to have to say to her it might not go this year, so that won’t happen,” Elliott said.
“What a huge disappointment.
“I mean, our kids, the last couple of years, have just loved the idea of coming here for a haunted house.”
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