Anoka woman with terminal cancer cherishes her last Halloween with elaborate haunted house display
ANOKA, Minn. — A Twin Cities woman is squeezing the most out of her final Halloween.
After Denise Godwin received a terminal breast cancer diagnosis last November, she decided to go big in her final months with a haunted home display unlike any other in the Halloween Capital of the World.
Godwin has been spending her time putting together her zombie apocalypse-themed haunt. In 2021, her display won Anoka's Halloween decorating contest.
But now Godwin, her husband and her two children have to focus on making the most of their time together. In June, her breast cancer rapidly progressed and spread to her spinal fluid.
"I control whether I'm going to sit around and cry and pout, or I'm going to get up and try my hardest and make the most of every day," Godwin said. "This will be the year then of 'one more of everything.' If I can get one more of everything right, one more Halloween, one more Christmas."
"We're all scared, we don't want to lose her," said Jennifer Dahlgren, Godwin's sister. "She finds the strength to power through things that are unthinkable."
Godwin is hoping one more haunted house experience will bring treasured memories to others.
"I do this because there's nothing more joyous than hearing people giggle and scream and laugh," she said.
She's hoping at least 2,500 people come through and see her haunted house. You can visit her home at 3523 Rum River Drive and see others in Anoka's Halloween House Decorating Contest on Friday and Saturday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
An online fundraiser has been set up to help Godwin and her family.
