Haunted House, Creepy Clowns Emerge At Bridgewater-Raritan Senior's Home

RARITAN, NJ — At Tyler Gee's house, every day is Halloween. Birthday and Christmas gifts are Halloween-themed and the family vacation is centered on traveling to St. Louis, Missouri for the largest Halloween convention in the world.

Now for the seventh year in a row, Gee, a senior at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School, is inviting locals to step into his outdoor haunted house at 407 Cornell Blvd. in Raritan.

Anyone is welcome to come by for free from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, Sunday, Oct. 30, and Monday, Oct. 31 and experience Gee's Haunt World attraction.

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.

"I loved going to haunted houses as a kid," said Gee.

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

"I hung up table clothes in the apartment and would welcome anyone looking for a scare," said Gee.

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. Last year, Haunt World attracted 120 to 200 people total throughout the weekend.

The overall theme behind Haunt World is Omniphobia, or a fear of everything, with this year focusing on the fear of clowns.

Guests will make their way through the creepy carnival with Gee's father Kevin introducing guests as they enter with a story and Gee's friends dressed in character to jump out and scare those who dare to enter.

The attraction offers a claustrophobic tunnel, a vibrating floor, a black light alley, and a surprise popcorn explosion. Those who attend who may be scared or are not a fan of jump scares are given glow sticks to let the actors know.

Gee is an honor roll student at school and funds his endeavor by working at Cold Stone Creamery and Spirit Halloween. This year he spent roughly $8,000 of his own money to buy decorations and supplies such as lumber, power tools, and paint to create his house.

"I just enjoy doing it," said Gee. "I like being able to do something nice for the community. Offer them something fun and enjoyable."

Haunt World is truly a family affair. Gee's dad Kevin says their entire basement is filled with decorations and props. Gee's mom helps with painting and his aunt Tricia DeKonski is running the merchandise stand. Shirts and merch sales will help Gee pay to keep his haunted house running. He is also setting up a donation box to collect money to donate to Spirit of Children, which brings Halloween fun to kids at local hospitals.

Kevin and Rosemarie both said they "are so proud of" Gee.

"I am so thankful that they put up with all of this," said Gee of his parents. "They have been so supportive of what I want to do."

After graduation, he plans to attend Raritan Valley Community College and then Rutgers to get a business degree.

"I would love to open my own professional Haunted House and continue to grow the love of Halloween," said Gee.

Overall, Gee just "wants to spread joy."

"You know that feeling when someone screams and laughs? It's a good scare," said Gee.

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

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