Twenty-one years ago when my sons decided they were too old to trick or treat, I decided to turn my home into a haunted house. In 2003 the first Bellevue Avenue Haunted House was born. With props borrowed from Halloween Guru Rusty Trombley, my sons, Dallas and Dillon Trombley, their friend Michael Ball, and myself started the first Bellevue Avenue Haunted House Tour. We invited our neighbors and friends to tour our haunted home and although the walk through was brisk, it was a hit!
Over the years, with the help of many friends, family, neighbors and volunteers our home is transformed
The following year we stepped it up with the help of several volunteers who joined our cast of frightening characters and the Boo Crew was born. Volunteers have come and gone but it takes an army of them to recreate the haunted house and scare the trick-or-treaters that dare to pass through the foray.
Over the past 21 years there have been over 100 volunteers who have helped with this event. I would be remiss not to mention several Boo Crew members who return year after year to help: Cordelia Smith, Lynne and Scott Holmquist, Laurie Abatiell, Bobbi Jo Stellato, Ryan Maines, Michele Weeks, Claire Waterman, Mary and Kevin Markowski, Melissa and Robert Knox, Angela Buffum, Dee Lamoureux, Pattie Barkey and my husband Gary Spaulding. We are also grateful to the Mentor Connector volunteers. We are also grateful to our neighbors who run out of candy every year and deal with our boarded-up windows and onslaught of screaming trick-or-treaters to our neighborhood.
It was never our intention to take away from the wonderful charity haunted houses like the Pittsford Haunted House that raises money for the fire department; or the Wilson Castle Haunted Tours that benefit the castle's heating fund. Therefore our haunted house is one night only and always Oct. 31. A few years ago we introduced a donation jar to help defray the costs associated with creating the haunted house. We do not require a fee to go through the house but we appreciate any and all amounts people feel comfortable donating. In 2023, we were able to donate $600 to the Mentor Connector Activity Fund from the almost 1,000 trick or treaters who made it past the front door. We will be donating to the Mentor Connector again this year.
Visitors are only allowed through the haunted house once. We have found that allowing guests to go through multiple times ruins the experience for other guests and jeopardizes the safety of our volunteers. Children under the age of 10 are encouraged to accept the free glow-stick that when visible to our volunteers signals them to remain still until children pass.
During the past 21 years we have only been closed a few times due to COVID-19. We are excited to be offering our haunted house tour again this year and hope you will visit. Thank you to those of you who have made this haunted house your family's Halloween tradition over the years and welcome to all our new visitors. We hope to be able to provide this event for a few more years.
Looking forward to scaring you in 2024!
© 2018 by Boo Crew Haunted House.