FishHawk Fright House: Haunted Venue Scares Up Neighborhood Tradition

LITHIA, FL — For hundreds of residents in FishHawk Ranch and surrounding communities, Halloween just wouldn't be the same without Tim Kugler's contribution to the holiday, the FishHawk Fright House.

Kugler admits to a fascination with haunted houses from an early age.

"I've always thought haunted houses were cool.," he said. "I remember making haunted houses in my basement when I was 10 or 11 years old and having my parents come through them."

When he married 26 years ago and he and his wife bought a home of their own, he made a personal vow to always offer the neighborhood kids a good scare on Halloween.

It began with him dressing in a scary costume and popping out to surprise trick-or-treaters when he and his wife lived in a St. Petersburg neighborhood where there weren't a lot of kids.

Upon moving to FishHawk Ranch in 2005, where there are hundreds of trick-or-treaters, Kugler began transforming his garage into a haunted house for the neighborhood kids.

"The first year, we probably had 400 and 500 kids and their parents come through," he said. "Then it just started to take on a life of its own."

Today, Kugler said it takes 300 to 400 hours with the help of friends and family members who fly in from Chicago and Pennsylvania, neighbors and his two children, one in middle school and the other in high school, to create the massive production that has become the FishHawk Fright House.

"I personally put in about two 40-hour work weeks," said Kugler, who runs a real estate business with his wife. "I basically take off the month of October."

The production has grown every year with Kugler scouting Halloween sales after the holiday, adding more spooky props each year.

As a result, the modest haunted house in his garage has expanded to include a 150-foot maze in Kugler's back yard with all the scary bells and whistles including animatronic figures, strobe lights and fog machines.

While Kugler said it doesn't compare to the professional haunted house, Howl-O-Ween, hosted by Busch Gardens, "It's surprisingly good for what it is. It's just so unassuming. You're out trick-or-treating and then you suddenly come upon this haunted house. People who aren't expecting it are really surprised."

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Four years ago, Kugler partnered with the FishHawk Ranch nonprofit Seeds of Hope, which provides food to residents in need throughout southeast Hillsborough County, and began collecting nonperishable food items during the haunted house to help the charity provide for the demand during the busy holiday season.

The partnership also allowed Kugler to offer high school students volunteer hours working on the haunted house in exchange for volunteer hours students need to qualify for Bright Futures scholarships.

Now 20 to 25 Newsome High School students help set up the haunted house, pose as scary characters, give out candy and manage the lines of trick-or-treaters waiting to be admitted, which last year numbered 2,300 people.

"I'm fortunate in having neighbors who are very supportive," Kugler said. "For the most part, they'll actually participate, helping me build the haunted house and scare people. It's become kind of a community project."

Among those who attended last year's haunted house was FishHawk Ranch resident and independent horror filmmaker Ed McKeever and members of the production staff who were filming "The Beast Comes at Midnight," released in June.

"They told me they loved the haunted house," Kugler said.

McKeever, whose son, Michael, stars in the movie and also attends Newsome High School, contacted Kugler and offered to bring cast members from the film to the FishHawk Fright House for a meet-and-greet this year.

This year's FishHawk Fright House at the Kugler home in the Garden District of FishHawk Ranch, 16116 Palmettorun Circle, will take place on Halloween night, Oct. 31.

"It's a lot of work for just one night, but it's also a lot of fun," Kugler said.

There will be a half-hour "no scare" tour for young children from 6:30 to 7 p.m. before it gets dark. Then the full-fledged fright fest will run from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

The FishHawk Fright House is free but Kugler encouraged those attending to bring a donation of a nonperishable food item to drop in the collection bin for Seeds of Hope.