Haunted house boosts food bank

The Halloween Haunted House on Kelowna’s Grenfell Road scared up $3,257 in cash and 4,100 pounds of food donations for the Central Okanagan Community Food Bank.

Paul Coxe, a self-described Halloween nut and mechanic at First Canada Transit, has been decorating his home and yard at 945 Grenfell Rd. to the nines for 20 years now.

In 2016, he decided to invite people in to be frightened and made the event a fundraiser for the food bank.

That first year, 800 people dropped by, and $400 in cash and 400 pounds of food was donated.

Last year, with the word out about the haunted house, 3,048 people came by, donating $2,400 in cash and 4,500 pounds of food.

This year, 4,197 people came through the house over four dates — Oct. 26, 27 and 28 and, of course, Halloween night.

The 4:30-5:30 p.m. time slot was reserved for kids to be non-scary, and then it was full-on frightening from 6 to 9 p.m. with animatronics, roving monsters and creepy displays.

The haunted house gained such a following that the lineup to get in Halloween night snaked down the street.

Its popularity has also attracted the support of several Kelowna companies, which donated items and services to make the haunted house even more terrifying.

They are Avalon Event Rentals, Rayacom Print & Design, Claremar Delivery Service, Winn Rentals, Moduloc Fencing, Village Flowers, Wentworth Music, My Country Garden and retired teacher Darlene Zerr, who painted many of the props.