Alnwick's house of horrors puts on a spook-tacular show for Halloween

An Alnwick family isn’t letting coronavirus stand in the way of their Halloween fun.
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Leo and Charlotte Watson have turned their Allerburn Lea home into a spook-tacular celebration of the event – and it’s all for a worthy cause.

"We’re raising money for the Samaritans, for obvious reasons with what has been going on this year,” said Leo.

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They unveiled their Alnwick Halloween House on Saturday and have seen a steady stream of visitors over recent days.

Alnwick Halloween House.Alnwick Halloween House.
Alnwick Halloween House.

Leo said: "We’ve had a lot of people here to look around the garden – all with social distancing in place – including one family who came all the way from Newcastle after seeing it on social media.

"It’s nice to be able to put something on for the whole family to enjoy this half-term, especially with Halloween being a little bit different this year.”

A huge amount of work goes on behind the scenes to make it happen.

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"It takes a week or so to plan it, get the stuff out of the loft and check it over and then start organising the display,” said Leo.

Alnwick's Halloween House on Allerburn Lea.Alnwick's Halloween House on Allerburn Lea.
Alnwick's Halloween House on Allerburn Lea.

"We’ve got projections on each window, smoke machines, sound effects and animatronics.

This year we’ve also has the lights done by a professional installation company so we’ve gone to town on it.”

He estimates the cost at between £3,000 and £4,000.

"It’s a lot of money and a lot of effort but it’s lovely to see so many families coming down to enjoy it,” he said.

Skeletons light up the garden.Skeletons light up the garden.
Skeletons light up the garden.

It is the second time they have staged it.

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"It really started as something for our children, Louis, five, and Nico, three, because there wasn’t much for them to see in Allerburn Lea where there are a lot of retired people,” explained Leo.

"It’s certainly gained quite a following online now so we hope we can perhaps double the £380 we raised last year.”

Donations can be made in a collection box at the house with proceeds split between the Samaritans and Friends of Swansfield or via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charlotte-watson37

Donations are requested for Samaritans.Donations are requested for Samaritans.
Donations are requested for Samaritans.

The display continues until Saturday, October 31 with the lights on from dusk until late.

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