Bigger, Better, Scarier Haunted House To Spook Raritan This Weekend

RARITAN, NJ— Local Halloween fans of all ages can expect a whole lot more scares and fun at 18-year-old Tyler Gee's Haunt World attraction in Raritan this weekend.

For the past 8 years, Gee (a Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School grad) has invited fellow scare fanatics to his outdoor haunted house at 407 Cornell Blvd. in Raritan. And this year will be the biggest ever.

"Every year I want to grow bigger and better. This is my 8th season doing it and this by far has become the most professional haunted house as far as the lighting, set design, and more. It is beyond anything I have ever done," Gee told Patch.

Gee's Haunt World has doubled in size since last year and takes locals about a little under 10 minutes to traverse all of the twists and turns in the walkthrough.

Haunt World will be open for free for children and adults on Saturday, Oct. 28, Sunday, Oct. 29, and Tuesday, Oct. 31 (Halloween) from 7 to 9 p.m.

Along with the size of the haunted attraction, the popularity of locals has also increased dramatically. In 2018, Gee said he attracted about 200 people. In 2022, that number jumped to 700 people following Patch's article.

Gee is hoping to have even more people this year. He has worked up a system to get people inside faster so there is less time in line and also more entertainment, music and actors to keep those waiting in lines happy.

"It's definitely a different experience every time you come since the actors do their own thing," said Gee.

The overall theme behind Haunt World is Omniphobia, or a fear of everything, with this year following the same concept with a focus on a fear of doctors.

"We are opening a portal to your greatest fear. Last year was the fear of clowns and this year is the fear of death. Guests will walk around hell and inside the ruler of Hell's house," said Gee.

Gee noted there a lot more jump scares and scare scenes and his scariest year ever.

However, Gee welcomes little kids to come and share his passion for Halloween. For those who attend who may be scared or are not a fan of jump scares, they are given glow sticks to let the actors know.

"The actors are told to be afraid of the glowsticks, be scared of those wearing them. So instead of actors scaring the kids, the kids get to scare the actors," said Gee. "It's a cheesy way to make it more family-friendly."

Gee added that his attraction is a "good first haunted house for someone who is too scared and can just go through the house to experience the atmosphere."

Among the attractions, Gee has built a new garden and a church measuring 12 feet tall, 10 feet wide and 30 feet long. Just building the church alone and the props inside cost Gee $7,000. He saved up the money working at Cold Stone Creamery.

Haunt World remains a family affair as Gee's mom Rosemarie manages the crowd control and dad Kevin welcomes everyone inside the house.

They also have a merchandise stand. Shirts and merch sales will help Gee pay to keep his haunted house running. He is also once again setting up a donation box to collect money to donate to Spirit of Children, which brings Halloween fun to kids at local hospitals.

Gee's obsession with Halloween began as a child, his mother Rosemarie said he would always dress up. Not just on Halloween but all year long. Read More: Haunted House, Creepy Clowns Emerge At Raritan Home

Then in 2016 at just 10 years old, when his family was living in an apartment in Bridgewater, Gee opened his first haunted house.

His house evolved to encompass both floors of his apartment and then expanded to the outside front area.

In 2018, the family moved to Raritan where Haunt World grew to take over his entire front and almost all of the backyard.

For more information visit instagram.com/hauntworld_yt or youtube.com.

See a preview of Haunt World below:

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