TREMONT, Pa. — Rodney Updegrave and his wife, Amy Updegrave, have made the Haunt in the Mont a yearly tradition to create a free Halloween attraction and to give back to organizations in their Tremont community.
Halloween night is their last night being opened, showcasing Rodney's Halloween collection of 138 creepy animatronics.
The attraction has turned his home into a haunted house, and he is opening his doors to his neighbors who want something to do after trick-or-treating.
Rodney Updegrave is bringing his childhood nightmares to life in his homemade Halloween attraction, The Haunt in the Mont; that's short for Tremont.
Characters from the horror movie classics inspired turning Rodney and Amy's home into a haunted house.
“There's nothing like this in our local area; that's why we did our haunt,” she said.
The place is a one-of-a-kind Halloween attraction in Schuylkill County while giving back to local organizations, like the Tremont Area Ambulance, by collecting donations for all of October.
“EMS is a financial hardship in the entire United States, but we wanted to bring back our Santa float, and we knew we were going to need fundraisers to make that happen,” explained Amanda Webb, Tremont Area Ambulance EMT.
Webb says if it wasn't for The Haunt in the Mont, they wouldn't have the funds to give nearly 200 kids Christmas presents at the end of the year.
“We take pride in what we do, that we're giving the kids something to do for free, and just a small donation, we can help out Two Mutts Love Animal Rescue and help out the guys at the ambulance,” Rodney said.
By letting their neighbors see their Halloween collection up close, Rodney and Amy have donated more than $6000 to their neighborhood over the past four years.
The Haunt in the Mont allows them to hand out tricks and treats to everyone they meet.
“You still have to have a little bit of gore in it, sure. We don't have live actors; we don't want to mortify a child, but we still want to scare them,” Rodney said.
“But being able to see a child come through and know this might be the only thing that they get to experience during the season,” added Amy.
They’re open to anyone of any age who's brave enough to walk through their front door.
“We've seen people coming out smiling, crying, laughing, and screaming. We get all sorts. We've had babies, we've had women in walkers, every age group you can imagine,” Rodney explained.
The grand finale for the Haunt in the Mont is Halloween night. Come dressed up in your costumes from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 51 East Main Street in Tremont.