The Haunted Garage is one of the most popular attractions in Grosse Pointe during October. Hundreds of people attend this event each year. The Haunted Garage offers a scary route for more daring people and a less intense route for younger children and parents. It’s kid-friendly, and all ages are welcomed.
Without a doubt, 2020 has been a chaotic year. . With the whole country shutting down due to a pandemic, we’ve all been waiting for the holidays and hoping for attractions to open up. Unfortunately,, the Haunted Garage will not be opening up this year. Glen Williams is the owner of the Haunted Garage and was saddened about not being able to run the event this year.
“We are not opening for the 2020 season,” Williams said. “The reasons are because of a storm that occurred on June 10. It knocked down numerous trees onto my house.”
The Haunted garage also donates money for charities every year, so the inability to open this year will affect the community.
“This is what we do,” Williams said. “So it just put a halt on any types of funds they [charities] are able to use for their programs.”
Many families love visiting the Haunted Garage, but it’s not cheap to run a haunted attraction. Some people enjoy the thrill of workers coming up to them, touching them and following them. However, this is a family-friendly event, so all employees are trained not to touch or follow any customers. This would make the Haunted Garage safe for COVID-19 if it was to be opening.
“Halloween for me was not to be terrorized and touched,” Williams explained. “So I like the direction we are going in with the show because it really is for everybody.”
Ben Suarez ’23 was an employee for the Haunted Garage in 2018. He shared about his experience working there.
“It was pretty fun,” Suarez said. “I liked the people there and working the job.”
Suarez also talked about his disappointment when he found out it would not be opening in 2020..
“That’s pretty sad,” Suarez said. “It’s a Grosse Pointe thing, and a lot of people go there.”
Since this is such a popular attraction, many teenagers and kids are bummed about not being able to visit the Haunted Garage this year. Betty Engel ’24 goes to the Haunted Garage every year, and she was both upset and relieved when she heard that it would not be open this year.
“I think it would have been too crowded,” Engel said. “It would be bad for COVID-19.”
The Haunted Garage will be open for the 2021 season. Although Williams was very upset about not opening this year, he is already planning to make the 2021 season the best it’s ever been.
“We’re trying to upgrade every scene every year,” Williams said. “You try and get bigger, you try and get better. If you came a couple of years ago, and you missed a couple of years, when you come back you will really see a difference.”