Hubertus House of Horror to end its run after Halloween
St. Gabriel School will seek other means of fundraising
By LINDA MCALPINE Daily News Staff
After a 30-year run, Halloween this year will be the last for the Hubertus House of Horror.
It was started in 1984 as a way to raise money for St. Gabriel Catholic School.
St. Gabriel School will seek other means of fundraising
By LINDA MCALPINE Daily News Staff
After a 30-year run, Halloween this year will be the last for the Hubertus House of Horror.
It was started in 1984 as a way to raise money for St. Gabriel Catholic School.
“Over the years, it became a major fundraiser for us, raising more than $1 million for the school,” St. Gabriel Catholic School Principal Judy Mortell said.
The haunted attraction made use of all three floors of an old schoolhouse and former nun’s living quarters next to the school at 3733 Hubertus Road.
“There was a core of very dedicated volunteers who were paid absolutely nothing for all their hard work,” Mortell said.
A Haunted House is labor-intensive and the Hubertus House of Horror needed more than 90 volunteers a night to put on its show.
Volunteers started planning for the next year when scarcely had the doors closed on Halloween in the present year. They even attended conferences on the subject with an eye to always making it better, Mortell said.
While it will be missed, Mortell said the change is “an opportunity to look at other avenues for fundraising.”
“We have time to consider what to do in 2015,” she said.
Brad Matusiak, who has run the haunted house the last few years, said the popular attraction, which draws thousands during its month-long run in October, began small in the basement of the former schoolhouse/ rectory.
Planning for the annual event goes on almost yearround, he said.
“We do tend to take some time off from December through February, but we will be back planning in March,” Matusiak said Tuesday night.
Matusiak fell under the haunted house’s spell after going through it as a customer in 1988. “I contacted the parish priest and asked how I could get involved and he put me in touch with the organizers back then,” he said. “I became a character in the haunted house and I guess you could say I worked my way up the ranks.”
Mortell said this year’s attraction will be special.
“It will be going out on a high,” she said.
The haunted attraction made use of all three floors of an old schoolhouse and former nun’s living quarters next to the school at 3733 Hubertus Road.
“There was a core of very dedicated volunteers who were paid absolutely nothing for all their hard work,” Mortell said.
A Haunted House is labor-intensive and the Hubertus House of Horror needed more than 90 volunteers a night to put on its show.
Volunteers started planning for the next year when scarcely had the doors closed on Halloween in the present year. They even attended conferences on the subject with an eye to always making it better, Mortell said.
While it will be missed, Mortell said the change is “an opportunity to look at other avenues for fundraising.”
“We have time to consider what to do in 2015,” she said.
Brad Matusiak, who has run the haunted house the last few years, said the popular attraction, which draws thousands during its month-long run in October, began small in the basement of the former schoolhouse/ rectory.
Planning for the annual event goes on almost yearround, he said.
“We do tend to take some time off from December through February, but we will be back planning in March,” Matusiak said Tuesday night.
Matusiak fell under the haunted house’s spell after going through it as a customer in 1988. “I contacted the parish priest and asked how I could get involved and he put me in touch with the organizers back then,” he said. “I became a character in the haunted house and I guess you could say I worked my way up the ranks.”
Mortell said this year’s attraction will be special.
“It will be going out on a high,” she said.
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