Enter the House of Doom, if you dare: Halloween fundraiser for IWK back for another year

An elaborate house of family-friendly frights in Dartmouth, N.S., is ready to welcome brave visitors again this Halloween.

All money raised from the House of Doom goes to the IWK Foundation.

Canon Beazley and his family started the fundraiser three years ago after he was diagnosed with a Stage 1 Wilms Tumor and became a patient at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax.

“I did have a tumor on my kidney that had to come out, so yes I had to go through some cancer treatment there,” he told CTV Morning Live Atlantic’s Crystal Garrett.

“But what’s so amazing was the staff was always there to help and they always made me feel comfortable and I just thought this would be a great way to give back and also do something that I love.”

The Beazleys say they have raised more than $47,000 over the past three years with their fundraiser.

They started the haunted house even before it was a fundraiser because of Canon’s love for the spookiest time of year.

“But in 2021 when he was diagnosed, in fact when he was still getting chemotherapy treatment, that’s when we had our first Halloween House of Doom as an IWK fundraiser,” said Canon’s dad, Dan.

“So it was great because it was something we were passionate about, the timing seemed right and it gave us something to distract us from all the hard parts of going through chemotherapy and whatnot, so it was a great thing for us to focus on other things – focus on the fun.”

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Canon had a Make-A-Wish dream come true in March when he went to St. Louis, Missouri, for the TransWorld's Halloween & Attractions Show, which is said to be the largest Halloween convention in the world.

“It was amazing and I got to take home a lot of awesome stuff that you will see in the House of Doom this year as well,” he said.

Canon added people can expect plenty of jump scares and scary hand-made props during events this year, which take many weeks to prepare.

“We probably start the haunted house around the last week of September, but preparations start way back in early August,” he said.

The opening night for the haunted house and accompanying street festival was originally planned for Friday night, but had to be postponed to Saturday.

“Setting up outdoor animatronics is not doable in high winds,” reads a post on the House of Doom on Lindenwood Facebook page. “Tomorrow forecasts a better spooky night for all!”

A full schedule can also be found on houseofdoom.ca.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.