Tarpon Springs Family Transforms Back Yard Into Haunted Trail For Charity

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — One family's obsession with Halloween has morphed into Tarpon Springs' most popular haunted house, visited by more than 2,500 thrill seekers each year.

Kathleen Barbiere said she inherited her love of all things Halloween from her mother who used to create elaborate masks and costumes for her children with simple household items such as cotton balls and candle wax.

Even before her first child was born, Barbiere said she and her husband, Paul, would create a haunted house each Halloween to entertain family and friends.

When their children, Samantha, now a 23-year-old graduate student, and 16-year-old son, Michael, were old enough, creating the haunted house became a family affair. Before long, the kids began recruiting friends to help out as the haunted house grew and became more elaborate.

In 2013, when Samantha Barbiere was in the Tarpon Springs High School band, the couple decided to open the haunted house up to the public and use it as a band fundraiser.

From that year on, the House on the Hill has become a seasonal tradition in Tarpon Springs to raise funds for school band trips, the Tarpon Springs library or nonprofits like Shriners Hospital for Children. This year, the funds raised will go to the Homeless Empower Program, which assists homeless veterans and families.

"Even if we didn't raise money for charity, we'd still do it," Barbiere said. "We do it because we love it."

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She's quick to point out that the family doesn't stage the haunted house alone.

An average of 60 high school students earn volunteer hours for Bright Futures scholarships by helping the Barbieres design, build and set up the haunted house as well as serve as scare actors, ticket takers, parking attendants and crowd control for the event that generally runs the two weekends leading up to Halloween.

"The kids love helping out," Barbiere said. "Even the ones who have gone on to college will come back to help on the weekends."

As an added incentive to volunteer, the Barbieres award a $500 scholarship to the student who contributes the most volunteer hours to the effort.

Like the crowds, which began with 200 people and mushroomed to 2,500, the haunted trail itself has grown over the years, now encompassing the Barbieres' spacious back yard.

The couple even took out their 27-foot-long swimming pool and 30-foot-long deck to make more room for the House on the Hill Haunted Trail.

"It's just a lot of fun," Barbiere said. "We come up with a new theme every year. This year's theme is 'Dead Man's Swamp.' We started making props in June, and we've been building ever since."

Among this year's creations is an 8-foot alligator that Barbiere fashioned out of EVA craft foam.

Fortunately, said Barbiere, they have supportive neighbors who don't mind the crowds descending on their street for two weekends in October.

"Our neighbors think it’s great what we’re doing," she said.

Haunted house lovers can check out the House on the Hill Haunted Trail themselves at the Barbiere home at 611 Beckett Way.

It continues Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday, Oct. 30 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.

Admission is $8 and the Barbieres ask that all visitors wear masks.

For information, visit the House on the Hill Facebook page.

See related story: Welcome To Andrew Long's Nightmare: Haunt For HEP To Open Oct. 29