While driving through Barrie in the days leading up to Halloween, one may notice a smattering of homes decorated with armies of skeletons, goblins, witches and other scary paraphernalia in the spirit of the spooky season now upon us.
Some residents offer walk-throughs of their elaborate “Halloween haunts,” complete with lights, sounds and even some with actors playing the parts of scary ghouls just waiting to scare the pants off you and your kids.
Driving around in search of these terrifying houses can be a daunting task, but thanks to social media, a guide to these frightening manors is at your fingertips.
Barrie's Halloween Enthusiasts! is a well-established Facebook group listing the addresses and photos of most of the local haunts one can visit within Barrie.
Created in 2022 by Rosemarie Mckenzie, a Barrie resident who hosts her own haunt at 288 Browning Trail in the north end of the city, the group boasts more than 3,300 followers in search of a scary, fun time.
“I thought, what if there was one Facebook page for families to travel around the city and admire and experience everyone's Halloween homes,” Mckenzie said on a perfectly dreary October morning on Tuesday.
“What I love most about Halloween is the nostalgia. Being a Gen X’er, we had some of the greatest Halloweens, and now with raising my own children, the excitement they would have when we'd come across that one neighbourhood yard that was extra decorated was always a highlight for my kids,” she added.
Mckenzie started to create her own “haunted” garage 10 years ago as a small walk-through. It has grown every year since.
Her particular haunt at her home collects donations for a food drive for the Barrie Native Friendship Centre’s Hunger to Hope Indigenous Barrie food program.
“When you hear the neighbourhood kids say the Halloween house is starting, and seeing them stop by to see what is added each day, is truly the best feeling, knowing your time and effort makes so many smile,” she said.
With the help of her friends who are “like family” during Halloween, Tricia Zachariah of Haunt on Higgin at 14 Higgin Crt., and Melissa Osburn from Osburn Haunt at 7 Assiniboine Dr., their social-media page has grown every year to its current level of 3,300-plus members.
“Melissa creates our map every year for families to easily travel around the city and admire all the Halloween enthusiasm in Barrie,” Mckenzie said.
Tricia Zachariah has been helping and watching the city’s Halloween enthusiast community grow over time.
“Years ago, we would get 25 or 30 people a night through our haunt. Now we see roughly 300 people in a three-hour night," she said.
Zachariah admits she’s not into scary things, but her husband and three children love Halloween and all things scary.
“So, I decided to raise donations for Hospice Simcoe, and for me personally, that is where the love is, watching everyone have a great time and raise money for Hospice Simcoe, which has touched so many of us personally in our community,” she said.
“My Halloween-loving husband spends October building and creating the Haunt on Higgin walk-through, which seems to grow every year," Zachariah added.
