Tim Collins/Contributor
Perhaps the oldest and most enduring emotion is fear.
Maybe that’s why we love Halloween. It’s when ghosts and monsters are given the space to slip through the cracks in our consciousness.
It’s also why Angella Campos’ “Terror on Tiswilde” is a perennial favourite in Greater Victoria.
The display is located at 798 Tiswilde Rd. in Metchosin and spans more than half an acre where the Campos have made a home for a collection of witches, zombies, ghosts, and monsters whose combined presence is enough to scare the pants off visitors – but in a fun way.
There’s a witches’ corner, a mad scientist laboratory (complete with bubbling vats of suspiciously vile-looking liquid), assorted graves (some, we’re told, recently vacated), and a zombie enclosure that is sure to terrify.
And, of course, there’s a haunted house. That’s a labyrinth-like enclosure that will cause more than a few shrieks, screams and laughs.
“It’s scary, but safe. No one is going to grab you or touch you in any way and no one has to go through the entire site,” said Campos. “We see people all the time who come in and slowly build up their confidence and start going further into the display.”
The truth is, according to Campos, a lot of people love being a little bit scared.
“There’s really something for everyone here and always parts that anyone can come and see and not have it be too much. But I think people love being a little bit scared. That’s what Halloween is all about.”
The Campos family has always had Halloween decorations in their yard, although, at their previous home in Colwood, the displays were far less expansive.
“We only started doing this big display on Tiswilde three years ago when my son was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. We’d begun utilizing the Children’s Hospital and the specialists there a lot and we wanted to give something back,” Campos said.
Although there is no cost to visit Campos’ display, donations are welcome and 100 per cent of all donations are sent on to the B.C. Children’s Hospital.
“We’ve raised more than $9,000 in the past two years and hope that it keeps growing in years to come,” Campos said.
The site is open to the public daily from 6 to 10 p.m. and, as a special treat, Campos and her husband have planned a trick-or-treat night on Oct. 27 with added sights and frights, courtesy of more than a dozen volunteer actors roaming the property.
“My kids love the display, and my two daughters will be out there with their friends, just making the whole night even more special. They’ll be in costume and make-up and it’s really fun,” Campos said, again stressing that there is no physical contact of any kind.
For smaller children (and perhaps for those adults with a lower fear threshold) the event on Oct. 27 will also be open for a ‘less scary’ viewing opportunity between 5 and 6 p.m.
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