PHOENIX — For 30 years, the sounds of screams followed by laughter have filled the Halloween night air and the hearts of Scott Borchardt and Anita Putney.
“It’s got to be a labor of love; there’s no other reason to do it,” Anita said.
Since the 1990s, the couple has attracted families from around the Valley to their home off 13th and Hubble streets in Phoenix, where a world of ghosts and ghouls comes to life every Halloween.
“When we frightened her, the lady literally left her baby in the stroller and ran across the street,” Scott recalled, chuckling.
Having spent 31 years in the Army, Scott missed many occasions over the years - but Halloween was rarely one of them.
“He would always try to take leave and come home for Halloween, Anita said with a chuckle. "Most people do Christmas."
“I don’t know what that says about our personalities, but Halloween seems to be our big day,” Scott said with a laugh.
When a friend first suggested hosting a haunted house, the idea stuck, quickly sinking its fangs in and growing year by year.
“We started with maybe 50 visitors,” Scott said. “Now, it’s over a thousand every year.”
As the kids in the neighborhood grew, so did the display.
“My favorite part is seeing kids who used to be the skateboard kids around here, who now live all over the Valley and come back with their own kids,” Anita said.
This year, however, a sign hangs out front announcing that it will be their last year of scares. The news quickly spread to loyal fans like Debra Sloniger, whose son, now 30, was one of the first kids to go through.
“It’s just been so cool for our neighborhood and they’ve worked so hard on it over the years,” said Sloniger.
Scott and Anita hope a neighbor will step up to carry on the tradition, but they’re grateful for every spooky memory along the way.
“Thank you for sharing your lives with us,” Scott said.
“I wish we could put you all in our pockets and keep you, especially the little kids,” Anita said.
If you want to experience their haunted house one last time, you can go on Halloween night from 6-9 p.m. It's located at 1241 E. Hubble St., Phoenix, Arizona, 85006.
