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'House of Horrors' opens for 24th year in Surrey as more 'haunts' set up elsewhere

In Newton, a new Abomination house offers Texas Chainsaw Massacre-like thrills on a 'farm' with an old RV
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Characters at the House of Horrors attraction at Cougar Creek Garden Centre, on 72 Avenue in Surrey.

October brings an increasing number of commercial "haunts" and other Halloween-month events and attractions to sites across Surrey and Metro Vancouver.

On 72 Avenue in Newton, Cougar Creek's House of Horrors opened Friday, Oct. 4, for 24th year of thrills including "Abomination," new among five linked haunted houses.

The repurposed garden centre is billed as "a premier live-theatre horror attraction" where ticket-buyers walk through "creepy and horrifying hallways" of decorated haunted houses while actors and animatronics provide thrills and "startles."

This year Cougar Creek has competition at Cloverdale Fairgrounds, where a new Dreadworks haunted house promises "immersive dark fantasy and cutting-edge horror" at Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre until Nov. 3. The "scare experience" is a movies-inspired joint undertaking between Alexander J. Baxter and the Jonkman family, co-founders of Somnara Studios.

"We love the competition, you know, but we think we're still the best," said Heather "Blue Hair" Gibbons, who handles public relations for Cougar Creek.

"Halloween is growing by leaps and bounds," she added, "and I think it's going to catch up to Christmas one of these days, in the way of spending and that sort of thing, decorating."

This month, other thrilling attractions in Metro Vancouver include Fright Nights at Playland, which boasts eight haunted houses, 15-plus rides, creepy décor, roaming monsters and live performances.

At Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, Pumpkins After Dark returns with artful displays of lit pumpkins featuring dozens of pop-culture figures including Disney characters, Wayne Gretzky and other hockey players, the Peanuts gang, singers Gord Downie and Drake, SCTV comedians and even Terry Fox.

In Vancouver at the waterfront convention centre, HowlOver Canada offers Halloween-themed fun with a witch named Biker Mama and her sidekicks on a nighttime flight across the country, at the FlyOver attraction.

In Surrey, Art’s Nursery hosts another “Scarecrow Stroll” to raise money for charity this month, as does Cloverdale’s “Spooktacular Halloween Market," Oct. 26 at Alice McKay building and Shannon Hall at Cloverdale Fairgrounds.

Movie-quality sets are promised at Cougar Creek's House of Horrors, where dozens of actors dress in character.

The new Abomination house offers Texas Chainsaw Massacre-themed thrills on a "farm" with an old RV.

"It's pretty cool looking with a very bloody kitchen and a bedroom and all that sort of thing," Gibbons reported. "The farmer has some issues, shall we say. He likes to experiment in dastardly ways, so it's very cool. I walked through it in the dark for the first time last night and with the lighting and everything, it's amazing."

Patrons at the former Potter's place are urged to bring donations for Surrey Food Bank, and should get there earlier in the month to avoid what can be hellish Halloween-week crowds at the House of Horrors. The attraction features nightly stage shows featuring Dandy of the Dead, a Buried Alive Coffin Ride, haunted photo booth and more.

Planned Nov. 2 is Whisper Night, when the lights are turned off and ticket-holders have to navigate the haunted houses using just one tea light per group. 

"We did it last year as well for the first time, and it was very well received," Gibbons said. "It's very creepy because you've got a group of people, all the lights inside are turned off and just the one tea light, which throws very different shadows. So you never know if that's something moving or if it's just a shadow, and we still have actors in there. The sound is turned way down – that's why it's called Whisper Night. It is seriously creepy."



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news for Surrey Now-Leader and Black Press Media
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