Canandaigua man sets up 700 skeletons as part of haunted display
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Drive by County Road 4 in Canandaigua and you’ll see a spooky sight: 700 skeletons, a haunted corn maze, creepy animatronics, and a graveyard on a 10-acre property. Karl Housel has been setting up the display for six years now and has expanded each year.
“I just kind of always liked Halloween and started decorating a little bit. People showed a lot of interest in it, so it just started. Me and my sister just started expanding it. And this is where we’re at now,” he said.
The property, called the Haunted Housel, also includes actors tasked with scaring guests. The display on 4017 County Road 4 is open on Monday through Friday from 3 through 9:30 p.m. and noon to 9:30 p.m. on the weekends. Kids 5 and under are free and kids 6 to 12 are $5. Everyone else is $10.
One of the helpers, Sal, guided News10NBC through the property. He said that Karl plans for a full year to make the spooky display.
“He’s already thinking about it now. What can I do to make it better next year? And he had new things and came up with his ideas. He creates everything in his head that builds, all these buildings, on his own,” Sal said.
Tens of thousands of people visit the Haunted Housel each year. Sal said that last Saturday night, there was a backup on the road of people looking to check out the property. Sal said it’s fun to scare people sometimes.
“The little kids are funny because some of them get so scared and other ones just laugh and have a good time, like ‘they didn’t scare me’,” he said.
The Haunted House closes on Halloween, Thursday, Oct. 31.