Ghoulish haunted house built from scratch delivers frightful fun in San Jose neighborhood
An annual Halloween tradition in a San Jose neighborhood - a haunted house months in the making - went off without a hitch Tuesday night and left legions of local residents properly spooked.
A group that calls itself the "Boo Crew" constructs the huge production that is essentially a new addition built onto an existing home on Church Drive in the city's Valley View - Reed neighborhood.
The Boo Crew is a group of friends and family who for months started building a structure outside of San Jose resident Bob Schiro's house. The theme of this year:
"This year is a factory, the Ghoulish Goods Factory, and the theme is we're making ghoulish goods factory workers," Schiro said.
As soon as it hit 4 p.m., the line went down the block. From 4 to 6 p.m., kids could walk through the "no scare" version of the house, meaning no one was jumping out at them.
Still, the kids were impressed.
"It was like really, really scary. I think they did a great job," said Leo, who walked through the house.
While the kids were walking through, the actors were getting in their costumes and getting their makeup done. At 6:45 p.m., the actors came out for the more scary version of the house.
The Boo Crew started to build the house in August, so a lot of work goes into making it happen. But in the end, it's about the smiles and the sense of community.
"It's amazing. In no time, they create a real masterpiece in the neighborhood and it brings everybody together. It's so cool," said Ashly Sitenan, a San Jose resident who stopped by.
Schiro said he enjoys seeing the energy from people who come to enjoy the haunted house.
"Just grinning from ear to ear, enjoying what we've created for them to enjoy," he said.
The Boo Crew will have one more night for people to come by on Wednesday.