Halloween is back! Here's what to do in Montreal this weekend
CBC
Halloween is around the corner and, after the spooky holiday was dampened by the pandemic last year, Montrealers are gearing up for an extra special evening Sunday.
Those looking for a thrill might consider heading over to Dorval where Patsy Clarke is offering a horror-filled tour through her yard, where there is everything from graves, coffins, demons, skeletons to witches.
"The kids can come and pick their treats out of the coffin," she said. "And we have a human rotisserie."
Visits will be free all through the weekend from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., but donations will be accepted for the Sainte-Justine hospital foundation — a Montreal children's hospital.
Clarke said the haunted tour has been a passion of her family's for many years.
"With time, it's just taken on a life of its own," Clarke said, noting even her kids, ages three and five, are a bit scared to walk through the yard these days.
"We have to reassure them every morning that nothing is turned on."
LaSalle resident Joey Cuscuna has done something similar, first getting the idea about eight years ago. It's been growing ever since.
This year, he paired up with The Lighthouse, Children and Families. The organization provides pediatric palliative care services to children and offers services to their families.
Visitors to his Pilon Street home can expect mummies, goblins, ghouls and a graveyard that comes alive. It will be open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
"The whole community started getting involved. My neighbours are there every single night and it just got bigger and bigger," he said. "It's a community thing more than anything else now. People expect it."
There are animatronics, live entertainment and a "giant maze" through his backyard, he said.
Cuscuna said the displays can be a bit frightening for young children, so those looking to tone down the fear factor might consider heading to Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Park in the city's west end where a pumpkin trail will light up the night once again.
Alexandre Teodoresco, a member of Rendez-Vous NDG that works to boost community spirit, started the tradition just last year as a an alternative to trick-or-treating.
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