'It's just amazing and overwhelming': The N.B. Halloween house with heart

A medical setback couldn't stop Andrew Bockmaster from opening the New Maryland Halloween House this October.

"I had a heart attack two weeks ago at 42 years old and surprisingly my wife came and said to me in the hospital I want to keep going and do this for you, I know this is your passion and I'd like to continue it.”

The heart attack gave his wife, Jennie, the fright of her life, but she couldn't see his hard work go to waste.

"It was the scariest thing in my life just to experience that with him, just to see the fear in everyone's eyes because he's done so much for this Halloween house that I wanted to keep it going for him because he's unable to.”

On top of bringing both joy, and fright to the neighbourhood their elaborate eerie set up is also a fundraiser.

New Maryland Elementary School's breakfast program is ran entirely based on donations.

"We are really lucky to be in this community with people like the Bockmasters that they would even choose us,” said Laura Vail, vice principal of New Maryland Elementary School.

The Halloween house has become a creepy community affair.

"Our community, New Maryland itself is everybody is always together and they help out one another. As we're experiencing right now, what happened with Andrew, everybody has reached out and it's just amazing and overwhelming,” said Jennie Bockmaster.

Today, the Bockmasters are taking it one day at a time.

"He's back home, he's with us, it's a long road and a long process but we'll get there,” she said.

"I usually have one gear people tell me, its overdrive,” Andrew said. “So for me to actually just kind of calm down and let people do this has been very difficult.”

The New Maryland Halloween House is open every Thursday to Sunday until Halloween.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.