Some say “Halloween is for kids.”
Friday night at 2051 Claremont — it was all about the kids . . . and one heck of a haunted house.
Julie and David Shannon started hosting this gig six years ago. It’s grown ever since and not just in BOO factor.
What started as a small cemetery in the front yard the first year went to a flying ghost the second. After that, the kids took over and voila . . . Haunted House. Don’t worry about the chainsaw. It doesn’t have a blade.
When I left at 8 p.m., kids in costumes were still pouring into the place like sand fleas.
Their kids and a bunch of their friends start planning it way before school cranks up in September. Some jot notes. Stone Shannon (age 13) sketches. All the input is given to architects, Scott McCool and James Tryles, who then make it happen starting 10 days out.
How scary fun is this house? Friday night, one little kid who’d just exited was asked, “How was it?” He answered with his thumbs. Two up.
Tons of other kids agree. Last year, some 200 invitations went out (including UPS folks and all the neighbors) and by the end of the evening 600 kids had answered THE DARE nailed above the entrance.
No tellin’ how many attended Friday night. When I left at 8 p.m., kids in costumes were still pouring into the place like sand fleas. I looked down Claremont Street and thought, LIVE FROM HOUSTON — IT’S HALLOWEEN!
Could have sworn this was my third-grade school teacher.
