Kelowna resident Paul Coxe shares his love of Halloween with annual holiday scares in his backyard.
For the past 20 years, he decorated his house with Halloween-themed scenery. He almost gave up three years ago when it only attracted about 50 kids to his house at 945 Grenfell Road.
Then three years ago, his daughter suggested to go bigger.
Transforming his yard into a spooktacular scene filled with zombies, werewolves and spiders, he donated proceeds to the local food bank.
Over three days, he raised more than $400 and more than 400 pounds of food.
“Since I’m putting so much time into it I said why not do a donation to the food bank?” he said. “There was a whole apple bin full of food.”
The haunted trail had close to 1,000 people last year. This year, about 16 people volunteered to help scare the community on haunted house nights, running from Oct. 27 to 29 and Oct. 31, from 6 to 9 p.m.
The hope is to double the funds from last year.
“Last year, we had people come up from a couple blocks away because they could hear the screaming,” he said.
The trail leads visitors around Coxe’s back ard, which features zombies, skeletons, a fortune teller, projection screens and more.
“This will be all set up with props I have, and occasionally, not a prop,” he said.
It takes Coxe six months of planning and a month of decorating to set up the decorations.
The wind has also made it difficult, blowing over Coxe’s grave stones and ruining a tarp. But he’ll be ready in time for Friday.
Glowsticks will be offered for young children who do not wish to be scared. Candy will only be offered Halloween night for children.
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