Looking for a fright night the whole family can enjoy this Halloween?
Well, look no further than Brio, where residents have been volunteering their time and efforts building the Hawthorne Asylum, a haunted house that will be open to the public before Halloween.
The madhouse is the brainchild of local stone sculptor Brendan Cavanagh, a confessed Halloween junkie who decided that his home on Hawthorne Place would make the perfect setting for the spooky sanatorium.
“It’s supposed to look like a haunted asylum,” he said. “I’ve worked pretty hard to make it look totally abandoned. (It) almost looks like Mother Nature kind of took it back, so everything is overgrown. It’s really creepy.”
Cavanagh and his neighbours donated their time building handmade props and landscapes for the house, making everything from “newspaper skeletons” to “big scary monsters” using branches from dead trees that were lying around the neighbourhood.
“There’s lots of white sheets and lots of red ink,” said Cavanagh. “I’m going to do quite an elaborate job on the landscaping part out in the front. There’s going to be a big, tall fence made out of fireweed and a nice gate and archway with ‘Hawthorne Asylum’ written on it.”
Visitors will be shuttled through the driveway and into the home at 3145 Hawthorne Place where ghastly ghouls “will be lurking around in the shadows waiting for you,” said Cavanagh.
The 6 to 8 p.m. time slot is dedicated to younger visitors, where the horrors will be toned down for families to come and enjoy. From 8 to 10 p.m. the terror level will be ramped up for the adult show.
“If we could do scariness on a level of one to 10, I would say (it) would probably be at a three for the kids, and then an 11 and a half when the adults come,” promised Cavanagh.
Volunteers are still needed to help with building props, setting up and tearing down and spooking visitors. The donation of any Halloween props is welcomed. Contact whistlerhauntedhouse@gmail.com for more information or to make donations.
Hawthorne Asylum will open its doors in Brio from Oct. 28 to 30 starting at 6 p.m.
Entry is by cash donation, with proceeds going to Whistler Community Services Society.
