It’s the 20th anniversary of Halloween Horror Delta and Ladner’s very own “Mistress of Darkness” promises it will be one of her best displays yet.
Robyn Hasbach was a student at Delta Secondary when she decided to combine her stage craft work with her passion for Halloween. Little did her parents know what was about to unfold in their family courtyard in the years ahead.
“We were doing a production of the Christmas Carol at the time and they had me working on a tombstone for the third ghost. I absolutely loved it. Then later that year, I went to Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights. It inspired me even more so I came home and started doing this,” Hasbach explained. “Maybe there is a little pressure to do a little more each year, but really it’s about making Halloween explode all over my yard.”
Hasbach has done just that and invites the community to come to the family home at 5674 Grove Avenue from 6 to 9 p.m. on Halloween night to see her work and plenty of other special effects too. There will be treats for children in costumes and once again she has partnered up with the Delta Firefighters Charitable Society for donations.
The pandemic resulted in limited displays the past two years that essentially could only be observed from the street. Now it’s back to full operation with plenty of horror throughout the front courtyard area including an animated grave stone projection, a dungeon, various static and animated creatures/bodies including new rotting “corpses,” and two mausoleums.
The amount of work Hasbach pours into the display means always booking her holidays in early October.
“I have a volunteer who comes out and helps me on Halloween during the day and that’s when most of the stuff gets put up,” she said. “I’m working on all the infrastructure beforehand.”
She has built everything from a witch’s house to an assortment of coffins and is always on the lookout for post-Halloween bargains too like smoke machines. She even has created her own sound effects that can be downloaded on the Halloween Horror Delta website https://www.horrordelta.com that is loaded with plenty of other information including how the display has evolved.
Hasbach expects as many as 1,000 visitors on Monday night.
