Halloween fundraiser's future in peril after bylaw complaint

Halloween fundraiser's future in peril after bylaw complaint

Popular attraction at family's Orléans home has grown to include permanent castle structure

Charitable haunted house could be shut down by neighbour complaints

A popular Halloween fundraiser in Orléans may have to be scaled back or shut down altogether after Ottawa's bylaw department confirmed it features not only ghosts, ghouls and goblins, but also illegal structures.

Every October, Patrick Albert and his family have transformed their two-storey home on Pintail Terrace into a spooky spectacle that attracts thousands of people and raises thousands of dollars for the CHEO Foundation, supporting eastern Ontario's children's hospital.

The haunted house, which operates throughout October, now sprawls across the property and has grown to include permanent structures containing 10 different rooms where volunteer actors interact with visitors.

The Albert family said it has raised more than $100,000 for the CHEO Foundation over 26 years. The Halloween house was listed as an official fundraiser on the foundation's 2025 events calendar.

But as Albert began planning this year's edition — with a haunted amusement park theme — his family learned someone had filed a bylaw complaint.

Jake Gravelle, Ottawa's chief of bylaw and regulatory services, said the complaint was investigated and the department determined certain elements of the installation contravene rules regarding "the location and placement of structures on residential properties."

While the department did not reveal details of the complaint, Albert told CBC it concerned a large plywood castle that stands in his driveway.

While he removes some elements of the attraction after Halloween, he said the castle and two custom-built rooms that wrap around the side of his house stay up all year.

"The front door of the castle takes four people to move because of how heavy it is," Albert said.

Gravelle said the city's bylaw department is working with the family "to achieve compliance with the Zoning Bylaw, including potential solutions that address safety requirements and the applicable regulations for accessory structures."

Albert said he's unsure if that means the Halloween house will be allowed to continue in its current form or not, and said he hopes the city will consider its importance as a community fundraiser.

If not, this could be curtains for the annual attraction.

"If we have to take it down, then this will be the final year because it's too much work to put those two giant buildings back together," he said.

As of Wednesday morning, a petition to save the Halloween house had nearly 1,700 signatures.

"It's amazing to see the community be this involved and in love with a haunted house," Albert said.

Justin Ball is a reporter at CBC Ottawa. He has also worked at The Toronto Star and is currently completing a journalism degree at Carleton University.