CITY OF FLORISSANT SEWER BACKUP SUPPORT AND RESOURCE FAIR NOV....
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Visit ‘Hill House’ If You Dare on Halloween
DAN HILL working on his props for a Halloween night walk-through haunted house in Florissant.
STORY & PHOTO BY JANE BANASZEK
If you are a fan of being scared but still entertained, perhaps a visit to the “Hill House” is just the ticket. Dan and Jamie Hill of Florissant have been working for weeks preparing for their one-night-only haunted house on Halloween.
“We actually begin planning for the next year the day after Halloween,” said Jamie.
“This is the fifth year,” said Dan. “It snow-balled. It gets bigger and bigger.”
Jamie said that last year they had 18 people helping run the haunted house on Halloween night. Most of the volunteers are drafted at their annual party held a week or two before Halloween.
You have reached the “Hill House” when you see a castle, which takes up much of the front yard. In case the castle looks familiar, it’s because it was a 2006 Valley of Flowers float. When Dan and Jamie saw the castle-float they looked at each other and said, “We have to have that.” Luckily, the castle owner was happy to part with it once the parade was over.
The Hills had entered their own float sponsoring Megan Martin as a queen candidate in the 2006 Valley of Flowers. They are owners of Cutting Edge Lawn Care & Home Improvement. Jamie is a hair stylist at Hair Express.
The couple has spent endless hours gathering and designing props for the haunted house. For example, they begin with plain plastic skeletons and with the addition of panty hose, carpet latex, stain, spray paint, and expanding foam, the bare bones skeletons are transformed into some really scary skeltons
Dan has had previous experience in operating a haunted house. Several years ago, he worked at Haunted Hotel and Nightmare on First Street in downtown St. Louis.
The “Hill House” is located at 1565 Ascot Terrace. The haunting will be from 6-10 p.m. on Halloween night only. There is no charge for the walk-through tour, but donations to help defray costs are accepted. Dominos Pizza, 2500 N. Lindbergh, donated food and beverages for the volunteer workers.
The haunted house is not recommended for those under five years of age. Some scenes can be too scary for the young ones.
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