North Vancouver haunted house on track to raise more than $15K for charity
Every year, Jim Myers has one of the most elaborate haunted house set-ups in Metro Vancouver, and he’s hoping 2021 will be his biggest fundraising event yet.
Jim Myers has been scaring people at his home for 11 years, which he enjoys immensely.
“I hate to be scared myself but scaring people is actually quite addictive, it’s a lot of fun,” Myers said. “People come, they look at you, they want to hit you, then they start laughing and then they donate more after that.”
Admission has always been by donation with all funds going to Ronald McDonald House BC. This year Myers asked for a $5 minimum, and he’s now on track for a record fundraising effort.
“We’re hoping to reach $15,000, the year before was about $10,000 so we’re setting a record this year,” Myers said. The haunted house opened two weeks ago and before Oct. 31, Myers and his team had raised about $12,000. More than 1,000 people were expected to visit on Halloween.
Myers said his connection with Ronald McDonald House started about eight years ago.
“I went to the Ronald McDonald House just to see what it was all about and I saw a father with a young child about the same age as my daughter and it really touched me,” he said. Every year since then he’s raised money for the charity.
Each year the set up has grown with more than $150,000 spent on decorations, smoke and fog machines, animatronics etc. It also takes up to an hour to turn everything on and off each night.
“There’s probably 60 to 70 items that are battery operated and they have to be turned off manually. Some of the other animatronics are plugged in and if you hear any moaning or groaning in the middle of the night you have to get up and turn it off,” Myers said.
The set up is open until 9 p.m. on Oct. 31, Myers and his team will start the two-week process of taking it down on Nov. 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.