Haunted house in Montreal’s South Shore helps realize sick children’s dreams
Global News
For 15 years, Neil Sakaitis has been setting up an award-winning, free Halloween display in his house in La Prairie and estimates he's collected nearly $50,000 in donations.
A haunted house in Montreal’s South Shore is spooking people while helping sick children make their dreams come true.
For 15 years, Neil Sakaitis has been setting up an award-winning Halloween display in his house in La Prairie.
It’s free entry, but people are encouraged to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish foundation, which helps critically-ill children make their dreams come true.
“Because we have so many people coming to the event, because it’s unique, we tied it to a fundraiser,” said Sakaitis, who estimates has collected nearly $50,000 for the foundation throughout the years.
Dozens of monsters are strategically displayed in a cemetery enveloped in smoke and lights and inside a haunted tunnel, where each turn and corner holds spooky surprises.
“We actually started very small, a couple of decorations, and then it just grew from there. It grew into something it takes over two months to set up,” Sakaitis says.
“In the cemetery, there’s a lot of unique props. And then I also build stuff with frames so that the monsters will move towards you and jump at you.”
Sakaitis says he welcomes nearly 4,000 people every Halloween, but it’s no one-man-show.