BY JOHN ANDERSON
The 25th Annual Andover Haunted House is once again bringing big numbers to the home on Friday and Saturday nights through Halloween.
The premier haunted house in the region (because it’s an actual house) is a tradition for many and a destination for tourists.
On Saturday, the volunteers went one step further with a parade through downtown Andover that started at the school and ended at the Haunted House on 5 West Greenwood Street with a chicken barbecue and music.
The final piece of the parade was a huge pirate ship, created by Andover’s Jason Carlin, a veteran who is known for his talented wood work and as a fishing expert.
Jason joked he was drinking at a bar when he agreed to it.
“They reminded me and I had 60 days to put it together and this is what I came up with,” Carlin said.
The details on the ship were all angles were contoured by a sword he made.
“The sword took 16 hours to make. It was a lot of detail. I worked some weeks 48 hours straight because we got in a crunch, but it took 60 straight days, the hours are staggering but it’s all worth it,” Carlin said. “The Andover Haunted House is all for a good cause, they donate a lot of money to help a lot of people. So anything you can do to help them is an honor. It was an honor to do it.”
(See a fun video and highlights, story continues below)
Bob Meyers was pleased with the parade and the positive feedback once again on the haunted house.
“It was a great turnout. It was a throw-together, disorganized thing, but it was a great turnout and a lot of spectators,” Meyers said. “I don’t know how we do the Haunted House, because each year you don’t know how you are going to top it, but I’vbe got to tell you, this year, we had great help. Everybody kicked in and it’s very-well decorated.
“We go to conventions every year to try to keep up with everyone in the United States and we learn a lot from there,” Meyers said. “And we’ve been doing it for 25 years!”
Photos and the entire parade video below!
