Birmingham Halloween house draws queues in £5,000 charity push
A Yardley home has become a walk-through Halloween attraction with 50 animatronic monsters, drawing about 800 visitors a night and aiming to raise £5,000 for a mental health charity.
How it was covered
- ITV was the only channel found covering it.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
A semi-detached house in Yardley, Birmingham, has been turned into a walk-through Halloween attraction that its owner hopes will raise £5,000 for a mental health charity by Halloween.
The property, which normally has a patio table and chairs in the garden, is now packed with Halloween decorations. Inside, severed heads sit near the utility room sink, the shower cubicle has been demonized, and 50 animatronic monsters are on display. The owner, Darren, has spent about £20,000 on the attraction and has brought in live actors to add extra scares.
He said that until a couple of years ago he did not do Halloween at all and would close his windows and blinds. He wanted to put on a good show for the community and for local children. The attraction has been scary enough to leave some children in tears, though the owner said a lot of children had been crying and suggested it was happy crying.
Queues formed as darkness fell. Around 800 people have been attending each night it opens. Visitors described the attraction as really scary but fun, and one said their best moment was when an actor put a hand on their shoulder and they screamed.
The house has been described as a contender for the UK's spookiest home. Its owner is using the display to support a mental health charity, with a target of £5,000 by Halloween.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Darren aims to raise £5,000 for a mental health charity by Halloween. | |
| Darren converted his home into a walk-through Halloween attraction with 50 animatronic monsters, costing £20,000. | |
| The attraction reportedly draws around 800 visitors each night it opens. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 sent a Midlands correspondent inside the house and built the item around the scare factor, with severed heads, a demonized shower and children in tears. It kept the charity purpose in view and closed on the fundraising target for a mental health charity.
- “I just wanted to put on a good show for the community, for all the children.”
- “It is so scary, it's left some children in tears, but it is all in aid of charity.”
- “By Halloween, Darren hopes to raise 5,000 pounds for a mental health charity.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.