BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Zombies, tombstones, skeletons. This haunted house has it all. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t feel the impact of COVID-19 when making it happen this year.
“When we moved in, we started decorating and we did just the front porch and one little pop-up, and a little graveyard in the front yard. And we ended up getting like 600 people," said Andrew Binning.
Each Halloween, Andrew and his family transform their home into the Binning Manor Spook Alley. Family, friends and community members usually dress up and participate in the haunted house, scaring those who dare to enter.
“It’s very un-dead themed this year, so we have our boneyard in the back. A couple skeletons building a body over there. We’ve got our grim reaper taking souls as they go into the backside," said Andrew.
Andrew said over the past six years, their haunted house has gained traction. They saw two thousand visitors their second year, so the family was determined to make the haunted house happen this year despite the pandemic, but they did have to make some changes.
“This year, there’s no actors. The candy will be all individually wrapped in bags, sitting out for people to grab. It’s much shorter because I don’t want people to get bunched up," said Andrew.
Despite these changes, Andrew says his family is excited to help their community celebrate the spooky holiday.
“I just like to share the spirit of Halloween. It’s fun. It’s a time to just kind of go a little crazy, have fun, doing something a little weird," he said.
Guests are asked to wear face masks and social distance during their visit. The Binning Manor Spook Alley is free and will be open until about 10 p.m. tonight. It is located at 6904 Olive Dr.
