SCOTTSDALE — A homemade haunted house that started with a couple of gravestones in a teenager’s front yard in 1983 now has Halloween crowds lining the block in Scottsdale, FOX 10 Phoenix reported.
The House of Haunts sits at a home near Indian Bend and Hayden roads. Its creator started the display when he was 14, according to his daughter, Caitlyn Birkett.
“It was just a couple gravestones that he put out in the yard and now 40 years later, it’s turned into this massive thing that the entire community gets involved in,” Birkett told FOX 10.
Inside are themed sections, special effects and jump scares, including a Lost Dutchman Mine room inspired by the Superstition Mountains, nods to The Shining’s Overlook Hotel and Disney’s Haunted Mansion, a telephone booth room and laser swamps, Birkett said.
“It’s going to be intense. We don’t recommend under 13,” she said. Much of the haunt has been hand built by her father over four decades, she added.
Visitors should be ready for long waits; lines can stretch one to two hours on peak nights, according to FOX 10. Organizers ask guests to respect neighbors and parking rules in the residential area.
Sources: FOX 10 Phoenix. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
