Fire Destroys Bound Brook 'CarnEvil' Halloween House, Fundraiser Started

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — For years, people would flock to Bonnie and Joe Schonwit's Bound Brook home on Mountain Avenue to see the popular Psycho Circus Halloween display. Now people are coming by to look at the damage caused by a fire on Sunday night.

"We will rebuild. CarnEvil will be back. Maybe not in 2023 but we will be back," said Joe Schonwit to Patch.

A GoFundMe was started by Schonwit's mother-in-law to help them get back on their feet and replace everything they lost including "Joe’s handmade classic guitars, priceless photos, and all of their belongings and work from their lives together for the past years."

On Sunday at 5:27 p.m., a fire was reported at 581 Mountain Ave. in Bound Brook that spread to 577 Mountain Ave., which is the Schonwit' home. Read More: 6 Families Left Homeless After 2 Weekend House Fires In Bound Brook

Joe and Bonnie Schonwit were attending their nephew's 5th birthday party in Kenilworth and just as it was wrapping up they got a phone call saying "Your fence is on fire!"

"We ran out of [the party] not knowing what happened," said Schonwit.

He then called another neighbor.

"He just said, 'There is fire everywhere!' I couldn't hear him over the sirens," said Schonwit.

They raced back to the house and as they exited Route 22 to Mountain Avenue they couldn't get close with the firetrucks blocking the road. They took another route behind there home.

That's when Schonwit said all he could see was the entire second floor and the attic was completely engulfed in flames.

"We ran down the street and were just standing there watching the firemen doing their thing," said Schonwit.

Luckily, firefighters broke down a door and were able to rescue their two dogs named Tater and Tot, who Schonwit said are their "babies."

"The fire is still under investigation but it appears to have potentially originated from a motor vehicle parked between the two structures," said Bound Brook Fire Marshall Erik Mickelsen.

The Schonwit are now living in a hotel in Bridgewater and looking for rental until their home is rebuilt. He said the insurance company estimates it to take a year to rebuild.

"The entire house has water and smoke damage. Everything was saturated. The basement had water which is where I had all of my power tools and music equipment since I play in a band," Schonwit said.

The finished attic is what Schonwits' described as his "man cave." There he had a collection of guitars, video game consoles, and action figure and comic book collections.

"Everything was thrown out of the window into the alley. The attic is a total loss," said Schonwit.

Schonwit, who works as the Post Master for Dunellen in Green Brook, also lost all of his suits. The couple salvaged what they could but still need help.

The CarnEvil decorations fortunately were not touched as they were stored in a garage, said Schonwit.

The couple said the outpouring of love and support from friends, neighbors, fellow "haunters" and the community has been "unbelievable."

"We haven't even said thank you yet. We are kind of shell-shocked a little bit. The fire was one thing but going in the house and going up into the attic and seeing everything, it was unbelievable," said Schonwit. "It was there and we left to go to a party and then it was not."

The Schonwit wanted to specifically thank the first responders.

"We are extremely grateful to the Bound Brook fire department and other first responders who saved what was left of our house. First and foremost they saved our dogs which are our babies. And saved as much of our house as they could," said Schonwit. "We are very very thankful to them and appreciate the community for all of the support and love."

To donate to the family click here. To learn more about Bound Brook CarnEvil click on the link.

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