The year was 2003… North America was still cringing from Angelina Jolie’s overly affectionate kiss to her brother… for about a month everyone named their babies Trinity and Neo after the third installment of The Matrix was released… Apple’s iTunes was launched leaving my mother to ask, “Does that mean they’ve changed that video channel to iTube?”… amid all these extremely important global events, Potter’s House of Horrors was born! It all started years before with a small group of Halloween keeners trying to raise funds for their kids’ school (at a separate location other than Potter’s). It was student actors, volunteer parents and various community groups all pitching in to create the very foundations of our beloved haunted attraction. This group eventually came to Potter’s with an idea to use our garden centre space to put on the Halloween attraction, with Potter’s simply hosting the event and selling garden centre fare on the side. These early years were fun and imaginative… creativity was flowing but money was not, so horrific scares had to be manufactured in the cheapest and most creative ways possible… one has never seen so many different uses for a windshield wiper motor! (which, incidentally, we still use today… handy, cheap little tools, those)
Fast forward ahead and it wasn’t long before Potter’s took over the haunted house completely… and year by year the event grew. Our multi-talented staff hand-builds the event from scratch every fall; converting from an enjoyable, plant-filled garden centre into a maze of terror with all the latest animatronics, digital sounds, high-tech scares and trained actors to put on a fun and scary event that sends chills down the spines of all those who enter. Every year the main “scare crew” gets together in early summer and starts to plan the event and before you know it, themes and room ideas are being tossed back n forth. Some of the fun themes and scary rooms from years past include Scary Tales, The Hell Pen penitentiary, Zombie Town, Clown Central, The Sewer of The Damned, The Possessed Jungle and the ever-popular Snakepit.. to name just a few. There’s literally hundreds of ultra-creepy rooms that have been created over the past few years!! And we look forward to making more of them in the future… and when you come running out the emergency exits screaming in terror, I hope you’ll agree that we take our job seriously…
Who We Are – Potter’s Farm & Nursery, your local garden centre supplying plants, pottery and garden gifts to Surrey, Delta, Langley and White Rock since 1990. Our 72nd location converts into the Potter’s House of Horrors every October. 90% of our staff that put on the Halloween event are regular Potter’s staff. If you include temporary employees such as actors, make-up, security and parking crews, staff totals can creep past 100 employees every year for the event!
What We Are – One of the top-rated haunted houses in the Lower Mainland and possibly BC’s biggest haunted-only event. It is our goal to ensure patrons have the best time possible while also hoping you’ll soil your trousers just a little bit due to fright…
Why We Do It – Besides all of us loving the spooky Halloween season, the haunted event is a good way to increase business in a challenging season for garden centres and it keeps staff employed. On top of that, it’s really, really, really fun to scare people…
Where We Do It – Good ole Potter’s Farm & Nursery at 12530 72nd Avenue in Surrey, BC, right next door to Kwantlen College and just down the street from Strawberry Hill cinemas.
How We Do It – Scouring the globe for the latest ghoulish props and animatronics, our staff builds terrifying custom haunted houses loaded with twisty turns, horrific surprises and heaps of fun. Whether it’s attending the large tradeshows geared towards the haunt industry or buying props locally (little hint, Vancouver is a major player in the Hollywood film industry!), our scare team is dedicated to providing the creepiest and most enjoyable scares that we possibly can to our loyal patrons. We hope to see you at our event… and if you could cry just a little bit in a fit of terror, we’d really appreciate it!! As we say, scare ya later!!
