An East Long Beach family raised over $5,000 this year and collected seven barrels of donated goods to help those in need during an extravagant haunted house they host in their front yard each Halloween.
Robert Duck and his family, with the help of volunteer local drama students, operated the haunted maze for five nights in October.
They raised the money through a $5 suggested donation, and they had barrels outside the entrance for anyone who wanted to donate canned goods, hygiene items or non-perishables. The donated goods and money will go to the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
The haunted maze, on Fairbrook Street just west of North Bellflower Boulevard, was open on weekend nights the two weekends prior to Halloween. Donations were accepted through last Tuesday.
Last year, the maze collected $6,010 in donations and seven barrels of food and other goods for the Rescue Mission. In 2022, it raised $4,000 and 12 donation bins.
The Rescue Mission, on Pacific Avenue in the Washington neighborhood, has provided food, clothing, shelter and other services to unhoused people since 1972.
Duck has set up the maze at his home for the past four years and said he plans on making it even bigger next year.
A sign outside the maze features a fairytale Duck wrote himself, about a fictional Long Beach widow in the early 1900s who kidnaps local children in an attempt to cover the grief of losing her husband and two sons.
Duck started the haunted house as a pandemic project but has been making mazes since he was in seventh grade.
Now, his 11-year-old son, Xander, participates in the yearly project along with over 20 volunteer actors ranging from elementary to high school.
Duck said planning for each year’s maze typically starts with visiting estate sales in March, but he tinkers year-round with frightful decor.