Two local teenagers are hoping to use the upcoming Halloween celebration to raise money for charity.
Veronica Zgura and Trevor Wuest, a couple and both seniors at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, have designed a haunted house outside Trevor’s home on Fairdale Road in Parkwood.
The teens are inviting people of all ages to visit on Halloween, Oct. 31, anytime after 5 p.m. The fun will continue on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2 and 3, from 8 to 10 p.m.
Admission is free, but a collection will be taken for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s cardiac center. Entenmann’s Bakery will donate goodies.
The haunted house will feature a bloody butcher, a giant devil, a pirate, a clown, zombie babies, witches, a spinning head, a spider web and strobe lights. It’ll be designed in a maze, stretching into the side yard, and will include about a half-dozen live actors and scary points.
There are tombstones of Captain Hook, a mummy, Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and even Albert Einstein.
“It’s cool. It’s pretty big for being in a house,” said Trevor, who turned 18 on Sunday and who lives at the end of a row. “I’ve always been into decorating. It’s something I enjoy. The ending will be the scariest.”
Trevor has always liked decorating the outside of his home for Halloween and Christmas. He and Veronica were able to design the haunted house with guidance from Trevor’s dad, Bruce, a handyman.
Some 600 to 700 kids trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, so the two anticipate a big crowd. They expect a nice turnout from the Rush community and are inviting people from outside the area as well.
Veronica, 17, of nearby Ranier Road, suggested that any money be directed to CHOP’s cardiac center. Her 2-year-old cousin, Alexa, has heart disease. She also recalls as a 4-year-old being with her grandfather, Michael De Pero, when he suffered a heart attack in a department store. He later recovered.
“It’s a good cause. It gives us a lot more motivation,” she said.
The two already have raised more than $100, thanks in part to Trevor’s colleagues at Action Karate.
Sometime next month, he and Veronica hope to personally deliver the money they collect to CHOP.
“It’s a good choice,” Trevor said. “A lot of people have been affected by heart disease themselves or know somebody who has.”
The haunted house is located at 3321 Fairdale Road, just off Academy Road. More information is available at the Facebook page Haunted House on Fairdale-CHOP. ••
