Halloween Horror on Westchester Blvd

Over three hundred brave children and their parents visited a Halloween display at 234 Westchester Blvd in Chestermere on Halloween night this year. The house of horrors was open on October.31 and November.01 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Although admission was free, there was a large bin set up for donations for the Chestermere Food Bank and by the end of the two nights, the bin was over half full.
The haunted house belongs to the Koroll family, who put a lot of time, effort and money into this fun project. “I’ve just always loved Halloween and I like to see everyone get excited about it” says Mike Koroll.
Mike and his wife Siobhan have been hosting a Halloween party for friends and family for 14 years. What started with simple decorations in the house soon turned into decorating the entire garage as well, and now even extends out into a large party tent in their driveway.
The family moved to Chestermere in 2007 and the haunted festivities just keep getting bigger and better each year. Mike estimates that they invest approximately $1500.00 a year into decorations and special features.
The display was very impressive with some incredibly creepy items like a life sized man in an electric chair which turns on with a motion sensor. There is also a human butcher shop to visit and if you’re brave enough to get near the pet cage, you will see it is filled with the type of creatures you won’t want to take home.
The entire family get into Halloween and even the Koroll children enjoy scaring visitors. Jaxon, who is nine years old admits that many of his friends are still too scared to walk through the fictitious haunted house. Hunter is only 5 years old but she has already learned the art of scaring people and enjoys hiding out in different parts of the display waiting to reach out and grab someone by the leg as they walk by.
This year, Siobhan followed up with the idea to collect items for the Chestermere Food Bank at the door because so many people had suggested it to them. The Food Bank was happy to participate by providing a bin which guests had the opportunity to contribute to, although it was not mandatory. “People seemed to like to idea so we will continue with it next year” says Mike.
Don’t worry if you missed the house of horrors this year because the Koroll’s have plans to take their Haunted House to the extreme next year!