Fairbrook Manor, a community-run haunted house in the Los Altos neighborhood, was forced to briefly shut down Friday after Long Beach city officials intervened, citing a lack of permits.
The owner of the residential haunt, Robert Duck, took to social media that night, just hours before the event was supposed to open to the public, saying that he believed the closure was unjust.
Because he was taking donations to support the Long Beach Rescue Mission, Duck says, his haunted house was misclassified as a ticketed event that couldn’t operate in a residential neighborhood.
Though Fairbrook Manor advertised a $5 entry, Duck says, the admission fee is entirely voluntary and goes to the Long Beach Rescue Mission. He has asked that visitors donate cash or canned goods and toiletries, but, Duck says, guests who didn’t bring anything were also allowed entry.
To operate as a ticketed event, Fairbrook Manor would need special events or other permits and would be required to adhere to fire code safety measures such as fire exits, lighted entry and exits and accessibility accommodations, “none of which are possible in a residential property,” the city of Long Beach said in a statement to the Long Beach Post.
This wasn’t the first time Fairbrook Manor has come under scrutiny. The haunted house started as an elaborate socially distanced Halloween display in 2020 that grew in size and scope over the last few years. Fairbrook Manor now features an interactive maze in the front yard and driveway of Duck’s home and is staffed by volunteers dressed as ghouls and other creatures.
“Each year has gotten progressively bigger very quickly,” he said.
As the event began drawing more visitors, Duck says neighbors began calling police with noise complaints, “regular noise complaints, almost like house party type stuff,” that he says were amicably resolved with the police’s help.
But on Saturday, Oct. 21, Duck says neighbors called police to his home regarding illegal street closures.
“They didn’t like that we were putting cones in their street, which was causing people to park on their street,” Duck said. “So, it was a parking situation and a volume of cars in the neighborhood.”
With help from a next-door neighbor, Duck says he was able to restructure the line in a way that wouldn’t require any street closures. That night, though, police were called again about the street being closed. Duck said police saw that the street wasn’t closed but cited Duck for an unpermitted entertainment event.
“They couldn’t figure out what to charge us because it wasn’t a noise complaint. We weren’t blocking the street, and so it took them an hour to figure out what to even put on the ticket,” he said.
Duck says conversations between him and the city did not include anything about the haunted house being a ticketed event until the evening of Friday, Oct. 27, but he believes that because his wife was accepting donations at the door, the city determined the event should be classified as ticketed and shut him down.
When Duck announced the news of closing that night on Instagram, he says the community showed up for him, prompting the city to find a new solution.
“The city prosecutor, police, special events, the city manager, my councilman and the rest of City Council, everybody was on the phone trying to read through codes and figure something out,” Duck said today. “They came up with a solution at 10 p.m. last night.”
Duck says Fairbrook Manor will proceed this Halloween weekend under the city’s provisions as a house party. Those stipulations include the streets remaining open, with cars parked legally in the neighborhood and abiding by noise ordinances. Donations will no longer be accepted at the door; Duck says he is leaving out jars for cash and bins for canned goods for those who would like to give.
“I have a goal for myself and my family about what we want to give to the Mission,” Duck said. “Last year we did $4,000 and 12 bins (of food). The goal was to exceed that this year.”
For more information about Fairbrook Manor, visit their Instagram page, which offers information on appropriate parking and entry. Fairbrook Manor is at 5426 E. Fairbrook St. and will be open from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 28 and 29.