This year, Last Stop Haunt in Leander will be open Oct. 30-31 from 6-10 p.m.
Original story posted Oct. 21, 2017
The scarier it gets at Neil and Samantha Guidera’s house on Hutton Lane in Leander, the more the community could prosper.
Leading up to Halloween, the couple’s front yard will transition into a cemetery, the garage will become a manor house and the backyard will be a voodoo swamp. Since 2013, Neil said his family has turned their house into Last Stop Haunt to scare members of the public for a good cause.
Neil said he used to take his children trick-or-treating when they were young, and now as adults they still talk about the houses with realistic decor, theatrical costumes and actors.
“My wife and I wanted to help the kids in this neighborhood make those same memories,” he said.
The Guideras ask the public to contribute a nonperishable food item to attend Last Stop Haunt. The family donated about 600 pounds of food to the Hill Country Community Ministries food pantry last year, and Neil said they hope to double their food collection this year.
“We love Halloween, and we love the neighborhood we live in,” he said. “We wanted to do something nice for the neighborhood and community.”
The Guideras spend all year preparing and take the week of Halloween off work to decorate. Neil said this year 10-12 actors will be in character.
“The kids in the neighborhood are always checking in with us and saying, ‘Is it done yet?’” he said. “It makes me happy to see them so into it. It’s something we love to do and hope to keep doing for a long time.”
The Guideras’ favorite Halloween decorations
• Skeletons that can be posed
• Cerberus (a three-headed dog)
• The haunted shack
• The pumpkin patch
• The haunted house front facade
Last Stop Haunt
Hutton Lane in the Block House Creek subdivision in Leander
www.laststophaunt.com
