A Nightmare on Wardlaw Avenue: Historic house decorated for Halloween
Old buildings can be a little spooky this time of year, but none like the Boyd House in Winnipeg’s Osborne Village.
Adorned in a dark green exterior, the two-storey wood frame house naturally blends into the others that line Wardlaw Avenue. But for the last two fall seasons, it’s been modified to stand out from the rest.
“I turned around and cut out a couple of cardboard teeth, painted them white and threw them up on the house,” said David Park. “And that's kind of where it all began, you know, six cardboard teeth.”
Park bought the house in 2021 and lives there with his partner Matthew Frechette. According to the Manitoba Historical Society Archives, it was originally built in 1907 for grain inspector Melville Boyd and his family, but was eventually converted into a multi-tenant facility around 1967.
“It’s always a work in progress, maintenance. It’s a labour of love,” said Frechette.
In the years since they first started decorating, Park and Frechette said they try to amp up the décor and fully embrace the spirit of Halloween.
“The goal was, obviously, to animate the whole house,” Frechette said.
“Last year was the first year with all the wooden teeth,” Park added. “Then this year, actually, we put all the coloured spotlights on the house and permanently mounted them there.”
The pair also added a piece of plywood hand-painted to look like an eyeball to complete the face of the ‘Franken-house’ monster.
“It's kind of a growing evolution,” said Park.
Both Park and Frechette said their house has garnered a lot of attention from strangers and social media.
“They’re always stopping and chit-chatting about the house and about the decorations and, you know, it's been great so far,” Park said.
The couple invites community members to check out the outside of the house this Halloween, located at 484 Wardlaw Ave. While the decorations have been up for about a week, they’ll stick around until the first week of November.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
RCMP alleges Indian officials in Canada connected to extortion, homicides
The RCMP is alleging Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada engaged in clandestine activities linked to serious criminal activity in this country, including homicides and extortions.
Ontario police say 'escalating incidents' between high schools connected to deadly crash
'Escalating incidents' between two Hamilton high schools are believed to be connected to a car crash last week that left a 15-year-old boy dead, police say.
Father of 10-year-old girl found dead in the U.K. called police from Pakistan to say he killed her
The father of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in England fled to Pakistan and called U.K. police from there to say he had killed her, a jury heard Monday.
Pledges to cover fertility treatment as elections play out across Canada
As provincial elections play out in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick this month, there are pledges to provide more fertility treatment coverage.
'We apologize to anyone we've offended': Bath and Body Works pulls candles over backlash
A major American retailer has stopped selling its new winter-themed candle over backlash from shoppers who said its design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods.
Undercooked bear meat linked to outbreak of rare parasitic disease in U.S.
An outbreak of a rare parasitic disease has been linked to undercooked bear meat eaten by dozens of people at a gathering in North Carolina, a new U.S. CDC report has revealed.
Airbnb guests east of Toronto steal quarter of a million dollars worth of jewelry: police
Four guests at an Airbnb east of Toronto made off with a quarter of million dollars worth of jewelry following their stay, police say.
Alberta government proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar energy
The Alberta government is proposing additional restrictions on wind and solar farms that conservationists think are more about limiting renewable energy than protecting the environment.
Striking images show rare floods in the largest hot desert on Earth
Striking images from the Sahara Desert show large lakes etched into rolling sand dunes after one of the most arid, barren places in the world was hit with its first floods in decades.