Double, double toil and trouble is brewing in Elmira, as DJ Carroll prepares for his annual haunted house taking place on Halloween night. This year, in celebration of his 20 years as a drama teacher at EDSS, Carroll is working on combining his passion for creativity with his love for spooky things to create the best haunted house yet.
From an early age, Carroll always enjoyed Halloween, costumes, and scary movies that has allowed him to share his admiration for the holiday with the community for nearly 20 years now.
“I love Halloween, and being a drama teacher lets me be very creative in a fun way,” he said.
The new and varied special effects now available allow Carroll to get even more creative while also adding to his love for the yearly event, he explains. To make his haunted house stand out this year, the drama teacher is making it an interactive event for kids so that they can be engaged and be a part of the story.
“The kids get a chance to defend the neighbourhood from the invading monsters.”
Each year Carroll enlists his drama students at EDSS to help him pull off the special event. For this All Hallows’ Eve, they will act as the military that will inform the trick-or-treaters that a mad scientist has built an inter-dimensional portal to a monster universe but there has been a breach and now the monsters are invading the neighbourhood. Building on this story line the children will get a chance to fight off these monsters, said Carroll.
“I have Nerf guns lined up and the kids have to use the Nerf guns to defend the neighbourhood.”
Aside from the haunted house there will be attractions for everyone to enjoy, as the Country Club Estates subdivision that Carroll lives in will be hosting a fall decor and Halloween decorating contest for all the neighbours that live in the area. It’s a chance for people to realize there’s more to see, says Carroll, adding he hopes it will entertain a variety of community members. In previous years, the haunted house has been able to bring in some 150 people each time depending on the weather.
Trick-or-treaters are invited to come out to the haunted house at 14 Limera Ave. created by Carroll and his students on Halloween night between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Although the event is free, each year Carroll asks that people bring any donations for the food bank as a way of giving back to the community through the holiday he loves the most.
