A family in Motherwell is preparing to open its haunted house for the 20th year in a row ahead of Halloween. William Howson, 71, and his wife Roslyn, 64, have welcomed visitors into their home for the past two decades, spending around 40,000 hours decorating to entertain hundreds of guests.
A Tradition That Began in 2006
The tradition started in 2006, when the couple put up extravagant decorations for their grandson's Halloween-themed birthday party. Since then, William, Roslyn, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren have opened their doors to visitors for free, spending up to six hours in costume scaring guests.
Over the past 20 years, more than 2,000 people have visited the family's haunted house. William said: "It started with our grandson’s fourth birthday on 1 November 2006, when we had a wee display and Halloween party. People came to the door, we let them in—and it’s just grown from there. It’s really good fun."
Seven Weeks of Preparation
The set-up takes multiple weeks each year, with the whole family involved in the preparations. In recent years, the couple's daughter Nicola, 32, has taken on a leading role, planning the scene and helping William decorate the inside of the property and the garden.
William added: "We have to start setting up in September, there are hundreds of decorations to get out, so it takes us about seven weeks. All the family gets involved—the grandkids love it. We all get together every couple of weeks before Halloween and plan things out."
A Family Get-Together
William noted: "It doesn’t actually cost us that much to run as we have accumulated the decorations over the years. The only expense is the treats my wife gives out. We've got hundreds of decorations—they fill our garage and attic." He also said: "All the kids—and even the adults—have a good laugh. Some of the adults get more scared than the kids!"
Nicola said: "The whole family gets together for Halloween, whereas on Christmas, we've got too many people to all sit down and have a meal together—we've got a big family. It's our yearly family get-together. We love it—it's better than Christmas! I want to say a big thank you to my dad for all the effort he goes to."
