By Selvin Ramirez
For The Signal
Welcome, mortals, to Damian’s Not-So-Haunted House: a family-friendly Halloween house walkthrough designed to be a cute version of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, with all the ghosts replaced with classic Disney characters.
Brittany Markham, a theme park designer, wanted to find a fun way to raise money for her son Damian who is fighting the rare disease acid sphingomyelinase deficiency. It is sometimes referred to as “baby Alzheimer’s.”
“We have been doing big crazy projects over the summer that were well-received. We did a papier-mache float for the Santa Clarita Fourth of July Parade, and we went to the Taylor Swift concert and did a bracelet activity that went viral on social media,” said Markham. “We came up with something for Halloween to keep the momentum going.”
This walkthrough features iconic parts of the Disneyland attraction such as a stretching portrait, a pipe organ that blows out air shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head, “Madame Minnie” and hitchhiking Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Goofy.
“If there was a ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’ Halloween episode, this would be it,” said Markham. “It is especially for young kids as it is not scary, but still in the spirit of Halloween.”
The walkthrough is free, but donations are accepted. In addition to the walkthrough, there will also be a bake sale. All donations and bake sale proceeds will benefit the local “Please Save Damian” campaign seeking to develop lifesaving treatment for ASMD, according to Markham.
“It’s going to be a huge bake sale. We have a lot of people baking homemade goods to donate and local bakeries in Santa Clarita are also donating,” she said. “There are people from other states who are coming just to see it.”
The remaining dates for Damian’s Not-So-Haunted House and Bake Sale are 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 26-28 and 30-31. It is located near the end of Airville Avenue, south of Lyons Avenue in Newhall.
For any questions about accessibility and for sensory information, email Brittany Markham at [email protected].
