Some of the traditional fixtures of a haunted house -- flashing lights, loud noises and creaky stairways -- can often force people with disabilities to avoid the Halloween tradition.
Robin Frolic, the self-proclaimed haunt overlord of Frolicâs Haunt in Toronto, is aiming to change the way these spooky attractions are built by forming one of the first fully accessible haunted houses in Canada.
âWe are the only haunt built by disabled people for disabled people,â Frolic said in a recent telephone interview with CTVNews.ca. âThere werenât any accessible alternatives for older kids in Toronto, so we set out to fill that niche.â
Frolicâs Haunt is heading into its second year and has increased the variety of attractions from a single haunted house to an entire haunted yard on Frolicâs property.
âWe had people last year who were in their late teens whoâd never been able to go to a haunted house and always desperately wanted to, but they couldnât,â Frolic said. âWe had kids in line shaking, not because they were scared, but because they were so excited. This is something theyâd been looking forward to for so long.â
Frolic has more than 15 years of costume-making experience and several years of amateur carpentry experience. Frolic leads a group of volunteers who work year-round to put on the one-day event.
âThis is not a professional thing,â Frolic said. âThis is purely a group of people who get together because we love doing this and we love providing an option for the disability community.â
For Frolic, Frolicâs Haunt is all about being as accommodating as possible for as many people as possible, while at the same time sending chills down their spine.
â(There are) a lot of very effective things that you can do in traditional haunted houses that we canât do here,â Frolic said. âWe still manage to give a really good experience despite that and I think the fact that weâre accessible more than makes up for the ways in which we canât do it how itâs traditionally done.â
The hallways at Frolicâs Haunt are wide enough for a wheelchair, sign language interpreters are available for those with hearing impairments and there are creepy items to touch designed for people with visual impairments. The house also allows service dogs, provided the actors are given advance notice to stay back if the dog might not be comfortable with people jumping out at them.
Frolicâs Haunt lists nine types of disabilities they can cater to
Frolic is a member of the Canadian Haunters Association, a group of 108 mostly amateur Halloween enthusiasts from across the country who create haunted houses on their properties. Chris Ainsworth, founder of the organization and president of the Ontario chapter, said he believes Frolicâs Haunt is Canadaâs only haunted house designed for people with disabilities.
âThis is what puts (Frolic) up on the pedestal because (Frolicâs) gone above and beyond what people would even think of doing,â he said. â(Frolic) put on a really, really impressive haunt last year.â
Frolic says accessible haunted houses could soon become a trend as other haunters have reached out for tips on how they can accommodate more people.
âOur end goal is to make ourselves obsolete because other haunts become accessible,â Frolic said.
Due to the planning and volunteers needed for such an event, Frolicâs Haunt is only open for one night, Oct. 27. In order to welcome more families to the attraction, the viewing times are split into two blocks, âlow scare hoursâ from 5-7 p.m. and âhigh scare hoursâ from 7-9 p.m. For more information on Frolicâs Haunt,
Frolic says organizers will be forced to cancel if it rains.
Visit CTVNews.caâs and for live updates from the haunt.