Horrific Halloween display in Winnipeg garners donations for a good cause

A Winnipeg man is celebrating Halloween all month long with a horrific display in his front yard, but it's all in the name of a good cause.

Andrew Royal and his wife have been dressing up their yard for Halloween for almost 20 years now.

"Halloween's always been our favourite day of the year, absolutely," he said.

The elaborate setup at their River Park South home includes numerous skeletons, a graveyard with "punny" names, and various mannequins strapped to torture devices.

"It's just evolved over the years, so every year we sort of add something new, be it a character or an effect or something," said Royal. "We try to add a new prop every year to keep it new and fresh so that people want to keep coming back."

Five years ago, Royal began collecting donations for Siloam Mission as part of the Halloween celebration. "We started noticing there was a lot of traffic, both foot traffic and vehicle traffic, and we said why not take this and turn it into something good?"

Royal created a donation bin and put it in front of the house to collect clothing, food and toiletries for Siloam, "that year, we got a lot of donations, and every year it just keeps on getting bigger and bigger and bigger, I'm blown away by the generosity of people."

The spooky setup is on display every evening from 7:30 p.m. until midnight. Royal is asking people to drop off gently used clothing, especially outerwear for the winter, as well as new socks and underwear, and toiletries for Siloam's clients.

"We usually keep (the bin) up for a few days after Halloween, and then I deliver everything to Siloam Mission.

Last year, Royal estimates they donated 30 large garbage bags plus several cardboard boxes full of donated items for the mission.

Royal says anyone is welcome to stop by the house at 20 Highbury Road with a donation and take photos. "We would love to take anything you have off your hands, and get it to the folks at Siloam Mission."