VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — For Jorge Mendez, Gloomhouse 757 started with a childhood dream of one day having a haunted house of his own.
Now, that dream has grown into a nine-year Halloween tradition in Virginia Beach's Aragona community, bringing neighbors together for some scares while also helping families heading into the holiday season.
Mendez said the elaborate haunted attraction takes about a month to build, with family, neighborhood friends and people from out of state helping put it together.
This year also marks a first for Gloomhouse 757: instead of opening only on Halloween night, the attraction is running for three nights.
“This is also our first year doing three nights. It’s our ninth year, but until this year we had only done on Halloween night during trick-or-treat hours,” Mendez said.
The attraction kicked off Thursday with a non-scare night, offering a less frightening experience before the scares ramp up Friday and Saturday.
Mendez said roughly two dozen volunteer actors will help bring the haunted house to life.
“On Halloween night and the night before we have roughly 24 volunteer actors that are hiding in the darkness and ready to torture your dreams,” Mendez said.
Scares for a cause
Visitors do not have to pay admission to walk through Gloomhouse 757. Instead, Mendez is asking them to bring nonperishable food donations to help families as Thanksgiving approaches.
“No charge for admission. Instead we collect canned goods, and it’s kind of perfect because we’re leading right into November where Thanksgiving is coming up and there’s a lot of families that need that,” Mendez said.
The community has responded.
Mendez said Gloomhouse 757 typically draws between 250 and 300 people during a normal Halloween and has collected around 150 cans of food.
For those looking for the full scare, Gloomhouse 757 is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Visitors are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item.
And after nine years of scares, Mendez is already thinking about what comes next. He said he hopes to make year 10 even bigger and scarier.
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