Haunted maze brings the scare factor to northwest Regina

As creatures and characters of all shapes and sizes take to the streets to trick or treat Wednesday night, hundreds may be drawn to one spectacularly spooky house in northwest Regina.

While many people opt for a simple jack-o-lantern or two, Samantha Wilson and her family have created a haunted maze in their backyard on Carter Crescent.

“I’ve loved Halloween since I had my first son, so 17 years I’ve had this fascination with decorating, but it’s grown obviously,” Wilson explained. “It used to be a little gravestone in my front yard by a tree and now it’s this huge monstrosity of a thing.”

Last year she created an elaborate structure in her front yard. This year, it is about three times the size. She posted a preview video of the set up on Facebook.

It’s not the decorations that make people scream.

“I don’t have a lot of fake props, I have a lot of people, so that’s what makes it really scary,” Wilson said.

Those brave enough to visit might find anything from a cage of zombie children to a blood-covered life-size teddy bear.

While she likes scaring other people, Wilson admitted she personally doesn’t like horror movies and hates to be scared herself.

Wilson said she can’t stop now because she loves it and so do her kids who are 17, nine and seven. They’re not the only ones, she said many of her guests comment on how great the display is while others just scream. Last year her friend’s daughter had one of the most dramatic reactions.

“She walked into the structure and she ran out – and this little girl – her lungs, she screamed going all the way around the corner. ‘You’ve ruined Halloween, I’m never going to come to your house again,’” Wilson said with a bit of a laugh.

She is expecting a crowd of hundreds of visitors this Halloween night with the maze open at 75 Carter Crescent from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.