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Grandview Haunted Barn officially opens for the second year

The family friendly Halloween attraction donates spooky proceeds to Lakedell School.
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Corey Kozack points out that you can’t miss the property when searching for the barn, because it is the one with all of the inflatables. Photo/ Shaela Dansereau.

For the second year since its creation, the Grandview Haunted Barn at Pigeon Lake has officially opened their doors to the public. The family friendly event put on by Corey Kozack and his wife Claudia Kozack is donation based with proceeds going to Lakedell School.

“We had a really good turn out last year and this year everybody was asking me to do it again,” says Corey Kozack.

Starting with a haunted forest path walk through, you will make your way into the yard, where fog will gather next to the animated graveyard. From there you will make your way into the cash donation area. Donations are whatever you can afford to give, however, there is no set donation amount to enter the Grandview Haunted Barn.

“Last year we had some people who couldn’t afford much, which is perfectly fine, and if you can’t afford anything then it’s still perfectly fine,” says Corey. “If you can afford it, come, if you can’t afford it, well still come anyways.”

Corey says that this year it took at least four days to prepare the Haunted Barn. While it is a family friendly event, the Kozacks recommend that little ones, or those prone to frightening easily, tour the haunted path, haunted graveyard and on-site concession rather than entering the Barn itself. However, if little ones still want to go through, a volunteer can let others hiding around know not to include the usual jump scares.

A projector will also be on site playing Halloween movies.

“It’s something you can do with the whole family,” says Corey. “You can come with grandma, down to the youngest. Like I say, even if the little babies or the young ones don’t want to go in because it’s too scary there is the trail down there, we are going to have the movies going, we’ve got some things to do around here.”

Corey says that most families with young ones come in the early evening, while most adult only groups come in the evening when it is really dark. He says prepare to be frightened if you are an adult group coming through, because they will ramp up some of the scares.

“Once it’s dark, you’re ours,” he jokes.

A concession will be available on site with all necessary COVID-19 precautions being followed. On Saturday, Oct. 24 there will be an adults only Halloween night where guests will be able to purchase alcohol (a maximum of two drinks per person) to enjoy during their visit.

Money from the concession will go back into the funding of the Barn to help fund the purchase of new animatronics and more so that the Kozacks can continue to run the event annually.

Before entering the Barn hand sanitizer will be mandatory and masks encouraged. Corey says one of the great things about Halloween during the pandemic, is that many costumes already include masks, so you can dress up—which is encouraged, and help keep everyone safe.

A few families who had special needs have approached the Kozacks or accommodations and they were more than happy to have them come through for a special private tour to ensure that everyone got a chance to enjoy the Halloween season.

Last year the Grandview Haunted Barn was only open for four nights and managed to raise $2,300 for Lakedell School.

Opening weekend for the barn is Oct.9 and Oct. 10, 2020 and will run every weekend in October. Dates they are open include:

• Family Event: Friday and Saturday Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, 2020

• Family Event: Friday and Saturday Oct. 16 and Oct. 17, 2020

• Family Event: Friday Oct. 23, 2020

• Adults Halloween Night: Saturday Oct. 24, 2020

On these dates the Grandview Haunted Barn will be open 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Grandview Haunted Barn will not be open on Halloween night as they have been requested by the Village at Pigeon Lake to set up animatronics at the Village for trick-or-treaters. Funds that night will be raised for the South Pigeon Lake Fire Department.

Volunteers will be outside the property letting people know where they can park, as there are no vehicles allowed in the yard. You will then walk the haunted forest path to get to the yard and Barn.

The Kozacks say the support from the community has been incredible—from the support of the Village at Pigeon Lake to community members helping with the construction of the event including welding services and generous donations.

“The community out here is fantastic for this stuff,” says Corey. “If you are going to raise funds you might as well have fun at it.”

One thing the Kozacks have been struggling with this year is getting enough volunteers to help run the Barn throughout its opening dates. They say the more volunteers the merrier, but prepare to be put to work and take responsibility—as well as show up in Halloween attire.

If you are interested in volunteering you can contact Corey at 780-868-1475 or coreykozack@yahoo.ca.

The Grandview Haunted Barn is located at 2-464018 Range Rd. 12A, Grandview Beach.

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Claudia Kozack and Corey Kozack pose with a vampire from their Haunted Barn. Photo/ Shaela Dansereau.
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Grandview Haunted Barn. Photo/ Shaela Dansereau.
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Grandview Haunted Barn. Photo/ Shaela Dansereau.
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Grandview Haunted Barn. Photo/ Shaela Dansereau.