We're sorry to announce that the Newton Haunted House is no longer operating. The final haunted house was held in October, 2017.
Why have we closed?
Massachusetts state law has changed, imposing new, costly requirements on "special amusement buildings" such as our haunted house. As one example, we would have to install a sprinkler system inside our house for fire safety. In addition, our insurance company now requires us to buy "special event insurance" for the single night of the haunted house.
These new financial requirements have unfortunately ended our 13-year tradition of charity haunted houses.
Please consider donating directly to the Greater Boston Food Bank this year.
Special thanks
We'd like to thank the many generous people who helped make the Newton Haunted House possible:
- The Newton Fire Department, for inspecting the haunted house each year
- The volunteer "monsters" who haunted the house each year, a.k.a., the researchers from the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory at Northeastern University and Massachusetts General Hospital
- The Greater Boston Food Bank
- Eunice & Steve, former owners of Bread & Chocolate Bakery, for donating cookies each year to sell at the event
- Many local restaurants, including Brewer's Coalition, Rox Diner, and others who donated food for our hungry volunteers.
- Keane Fire & Safety, for inspecting our fire extinguishers for free
And thanks to you...
Thank you so much to everyone who visited and donated over the years! With your help, we raised nearly $20,000 for the Greater Boston Food Bank and other charities.
If you're interested in the history of the Newton Haunted House, you can read the media coverage we received over the years.
— Dan, Lisa, & Sophia Barrett