You shouldn’t be afraid to attend charity events, but when it comes to the Deluca family’s haunted house, think twice before you dare enter.
For the sixth year in a row, REALTOR® Chris DeLuca’s Whitby home transforms into a ghoulish nightmare filled with jump scares, creepy crawlies, and of course, tons of tasty treats. But, in order to experience the haunt, one has to donate a non-perishable food item or money for the local food bank.
This year’s theme revolves around a mad scientist and his experiments.
“I would say, for the most part, it’s a family friendly experience, but we’re a bit more aggressive when it comes to teenagers walking through,” said DeLuca, who works at Sutton Group – Heritage Realty Inc.
On top of motion-activated animatronics and an autopsy scene with “splash effects,” this year’s setup has a “rat room” that traps visitors in a tight space with rats and cockroaches projected all over.
“I love all things Halloween and scaring people is exciting,” DeLuca said with a laugh. “We started out small with decorations and it grew into this thing where, now, we have kids stopping out front of our house in broad daylight taking pictures of the setup. It’s great.”
While giving trick-or-treaters a fright is rewarding, even more so is the fact DeLuca said he figures he’ll collect at least another 500 pounds of food for Feed the Need in Durham.
“My background is in hospitality, so whenever we did catering events and had food leftover, I would make sure to save the items and take them to food banks in Toronto. Donating food is one of the best ways to give back in your community,” he said.
