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Halloween Chillin’ in North TO
Looking for a place to take the kids tonight after trick or treating? Well, if you agree with Torontoist that zombies, hideously disfigured freaks, and dismembered bodies are just the thing for young children, the Keewatin Horror is the place for you and your emotionally scarred offspring.
Begun in 1997 as a one-time event for local kids in North Toronto, the Keewatin Horror has become an annual happening eagerly awaited by Halloween buffs from all over. Every October 31 hundreds of people troop through the backyards at 255 and 257 Keewatin (near Mt. Pleasant and Eglinton) for a horror extravaganza that includes music, special effects, blood-drenched props, and live actors playing dead people.
The Keewatin Horror was started by friends and neighbours Jeff Cooke and Will Sturtridge, both only thirteen years old back in 1997. Over the years it’s grown in size and popularity, and they expect to get more than 300 people this year, including a group from Taiwan who phoned Jeff earlier this week. Participants are led through a maze of creepiness that includes a haunted outhouse, a demonic hospital, and an insane asylum.
Although the work is done by Jeff, Will, and their friends, for the last couple of years the increasingly expensive Horror has been financially sponsored in part by local businesses. Jeff’s mom Cheryl, who donates her backyard every year, says in the past she’s occasionally had misgivings about the event but generally enjoys the festivities.
Jeff told Torontoist that 2007 will probably be the last year for the Horror, as the co-founders will be finished with school and “hopefully” move out of their parents’ houses.
The Keewatin Horror starts at 7pm tonight (Halloween) at 255 Keewatin Ave.