While the threat of COVID-19 might be the scariest thing people encounter this Halloween, local haunters are giving the virus a run for its money.
It’s Pat Molloy’s 18th year decorating his front lawn in Walsh Acres, and his experience and expertise shows.
Witches and bats fly overhead on a clothesline, corpses pop up from the ground with the press of a button and a young girl screams for her life from a sealed wooden box.
“It’s basically taking everyday items and turning them into something spooky,” said Molloy, adding 95 per cent of his props are handmade.
“Some of my props will use things like shiatsu massagers, for instance, and a lot of wiper motors are used in what we do.”
The display is dubbed “Hideous Horror on Howe.”
For the last 12 years, the decorations have been accompanied by a haunted house.
In a normal year, Molloy estimates around 500 people walk through his haunted house, but thanks to COVID-19 and social distancing rules, that setup isn’t possible.
Instead, he’s working the pandemic into the theme of his lawn display.
“We have our own take on the six-feet distance that people will see tonight and tomorrow when they come by,” Molloy said without revealing too many surprises.
“I think our numbers will be down, but we’ll still be here scaring them.”
Molloy is part of the greater online haunting community, a group of people whose passion is making others scream.
“It’s a group of like-minded haunters, such as myself, who share ideas and share their passion with Halloween,” he said.
Marcel Joyal is the Regina haunter behind “Eerie Acres Cemetery” on Lindsay Street.
“I just want to bring the Halloween spirit back to everyone especially in this kind of season,” Joyal said.
“Seeing the little kids come around, scaring them, having fun, it’s just something I’ve always enjoyed doing.”
Motion-sensor props are the crowd pleasers, according to Joyal. But some of the things you’ll see in his yard are more than just lifelike.
“My friend gave me an animal (carcass) that she found in her barn and I actually have it in my yard right now,” said Joyal, adding that he also uses cow bones and skulls in the display.
“Each year I like to add something new and make it a bit scarier for the kids.”
You can check out a map of Saskatchewan’s Halloween displays here.