Must-see home haunts in the Dayton region

LAFFIN’ LIZZY’S HAUNTED FUNHOUSE 🤡

Location: 4103 Shadow Leaf Dr. in Bellbrook

Opening Date: Saturday, Sept. 23

Details: What started as a high school service project has turned into a five-year outdoor haunt with clowns, chainsaws, jump scares, cotton candy-scented fog and much more.

Todd Anderson has always had a love for Halloween. At 11 years old, he worked at the Fairborn Jaycees Haunted House, which was once located on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road. He always wanted to do his own haunt and inspiration struck thanks to his daughter, Hailey. When Hailey was a senior in high school, she needed to do a community project, so he decided to create a haunted house and ask guests to bring pet donations for SISCA.

“That’s what got us started and the next year we went to a clown/circus theme,” Anderson said.

The haunt is named after Hailey’s character, Laffin’ Lizzy, which she portrays at the ticket booth at the beginning of the haunt.

This year the father-daughter team and Hailey’s husband, Matthew Eakins, have made the haunt bigger than previous years. Eakins was not born into the Halloween-lovin’ family but has quickly found his love for haunted houses. He handles the majority of the construction and lighting while Todd and Hailey are pros at decorating.

This year’s haunt features the addition of a trap door. If guests go through it, they will return to the beginning of the haunt.

When asked why they do this each year, they said they enjoy the extra family time and the community support. They feel the haunt is a way to stay in the Halloween spirit all year long while hoping to make someone else’s Halloween extra special through the experience.

Laffin’ Lizzy’s Haunted Funhouse is a free home haunt that will be open every Saturday through October in addition to Halloween night. The haunt is open from 5 to 6 p.m. without actors and 6:10 to 9 p.m. as a full haunt including actors.

For more information, visit the home haunt’s Facebook page (@hauntedfunhouse).

HEMLOCK HOLLOW 🎃

Location: 5989 Rosalie Road in Huber Heights

Opening Date: First weekend in October

Details: Autumn Leigh and her husband, David Kushner, are sharing their love for Halloween through an interactive yard display for guests to walk through featuring several selfie opportunities.

“It was really just to share our love for all things spooky with the community,” Leigh said. “Halloween has always been our favorite time of the year and we love to share that with people.”

The couple has been decorating their home in Huber Heights for 13 years, but said the last five to six years is when it really became what it is today. There are people that have moved out of state from Huber Heights that return just to see the display, the couple said.

This year guests can expect 150 hand-carved pumpkins, hundreds of handmade skulls and bones, over 20 new animatronics, a full carnival area with games and more.

Hemlock Hollow is expected to be up the first weekend in October until Nov. 5. Guests can view the display 24/7. Lights and animatronics will run on weeknights with full effects including fog and actors running on weekends.

The home haunt is free but it is partnered with Skeletons for St. Jude, a nationwide effort of haunters to raise $100,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the 2023 Halloween and holiday seasons.

For more information about Hemlock Hollow, visit the home haunt’s Facebook (@HemlockHollowHaunt) or Instagram pages (@Hemlock_Hollow_Haunt).

If you would like your home haunt or Halloween display added, send details to Natalie.Jones@coxinc.com or fill out the form below.