The haunted houses and garages in Winnipeg, and the people who create them

Posted on October 30, 2024 by Peggy

Along with costumes, candy, and carved pumpkins, the haunted house is a Halloween staple.

Several homeowners in Winnipeg have gone above and beyond for Oct. 31, with animatronics, actors, and lots of lights.

For the people CTV News Winnipeg spoke with, Halloween was always their favourite time of year and filled with fond memories.

“Both my mother and father would dress up every Halloween to hand out candy,” said Gary Duncan, who runs the Terror Garage Halloween Haunt on Brendalee Bay. “I got into making my own costumes because I was kind of a particular little guy and didn’t want to have the same costume that the other kids had. I was more into making my own sort of thing, so it’d be different.”

Decorating the house was something Brittany Goerzen did with her dad for many years.

“Since I bought my own house seven years ago, I continued the tradition,” said Goerzen, whose home on Stewart Street is a popular haunt every Halloween.

The Harry Potter Halloween display at Brittany Goerzen’s home. (Brittany Goerzen)

Alison, who lives on King Edward Street, grew up in the country, but loved trick-or-treating and dressing up for Halloween when she was younger.

“Now it’s time to have fun with it and give back to the kids and be that house the kids talk about at school,” she said.

Goerzen’s home on Stewart Street in Winnipeg includes multiple decorations based on a theme. This year, the theme is Harry Potter and includes the Hogwarts Great Hall, a car under attack by spiders, and potions being poured into cauldrons.

Goerzen’s home also has a Beetlejuice display along with countless other Halloween decorations dotting the lawn.

The Beetlejuice display at Brittany Goerzen’s Halloween house. (Brittany Goerzen)

Duncan’s Terror Garage has been running for 10 years. Its humble beginnings involved Duncan dressed as a werewolf on his mother’s front lawn. Today, it is a four-room tour with lights, individual soundtracks and animatronics.

“We’ve added some new animatronics in there that weren’t in before,” he said. “The themes have stayed the same this year, and then we’ve added one new, larger, professional animatronic at the end of the walkthrough.”

Some of the decorations at the Terror Garage (Facebook: Terror Garage Halloween Haunt)

Alison started with a scarecrow and a couple of corn stalks. She has since added different sections based on clowns, vampires, and zombies, who are played by friends.

Halloween decorations at a home on King Edward Street. (submitted)

For all three haunted house homeowners, entertaining the community and giving people a friendly scare is why they keep coming back.

“I have a lot of people who come back to walk through the house a second time to make sure they see everything,” Goerzen said, noting she starts planning her house display in the summer. “That’s something I enjoy every year.”

“We have our families that we’ve watched their kids grow up, and they’re still coming to it 10 years later,” Duncan said.

“Everybody that goes through really, really loves it,” Alison said. “I have some kids that have been coming here every year and kids that say, ‘Oh, you’re always the best house. I love this place.’”

Halloween decorations at a home on King Edward Street. (submitted)Goerzen is also collecting money for the Terry Fox Foundation at her haunted house this year, while Duncan is collecting for CancerCare Manitoba.