Get Spooked for a Good Cause
Every year a family in Lincoln, Nebraska hosts a haunted house to raise money for The Alzheimer’s Association. They completely revamp their garage and backyard to create a spooky walk-through haunted attraction called Creeping for a Cure.
The Davies family has been hosting the haunted house for 15 years. In 2003, they started scaring people when Robert Davies decided he no longer wanted to go trick-or-treating and intended to frighten those who stopped by their house instead. Laura Davies said, “It started very simple with Robert sitting on a piece of plywood over a windowsill with a hole he stuck his leg through to hide it. Across the top of the plywood our Dad placed a cow femur where Robert’s leg should’ve been. Along with a severed head, tree stump and axe, the first year was very small and simple.” Since then they have grown to fill the garage and part of the backyard with props and volunteers to scare anyone who dares venture through. Over the course of 14 years the number of visitors has gone from 20 trick-or-treaters to nearly 1,000 in 2017.
Over the last 5 years, the Davies shifted gears and started raising money to donate for The Alzheimer’s Association. “Our Grandfather on my Mother’s side, William Martin, was diagnosed nearly 4 years ago.” Laura said. “We’ve watched this awful disease take my Grandpa from a wise, strong, brilliant man, to a shell of the man he used to be. We know we can’t save our Grandpa, but we don’t know which dollar will find the cure so that other families don’t have to endure this disease.” Since they began taking donations, the Davies have raised between $1,000-$2,000 dollars each year, but this year they have set their goal at $5,000.
The entire haunted house is run by the Davies family and their volunteers. They have even had family visit from Maine, Florida, South Carolina, and Indiana to help create a spooky night of fun and philanthropy.
When I asked Laura what her favorite part of hosting the haunted house each year was she said, “The look of pure joy on my Dad’s face Halloween night. My Dad has worked hard his entire life and doesn’t get a chance to put himself first, so seeing him laugh and get to be his goofy self that entire night is really something special.”
Creeping for a Cure asks for a $2.00 donation to venture through the haunted house, but more will help to assist in research for Alzheimer’s. All of the money donated goes directly to The Alzheimer’s Association and isn’t used to fund the haunted house in any way.
If you stopped by last year, that shouldn’t deter you from coming back again this year because the Davies change the theme and layout each year to keep visitors on their toes. If anything you should come to check out the incredibly realistic coffin, creepy corpse, and the family favorite “Sexy Grandpa.”
Creeping for a Cure is located at 2240 Dorothy Drive in Lincoln, Nebraska
The haunted house is open to all ages.
The “scarers” have a code word to ensure that the scares are age appropriate and there is also an area set up before the walk-through that contains no live scares making it friendlier for younger kids.
The haunted house is open Halloween evening from sunset till about 10pm or until trick-or-treaters finish stopping by.
Creeping for a Cure is always looking for volunteers. If you would like to help out for a great cause you can do so by checking out their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CreepingCure4Alz/about/?ref=page_internal
Laura also wanted to thank her mother for all that she does especially during crunch time just before the haunted house is open to the public. Laura said, “Just a special shout out to my Mom, Patty. She spends most of her day before the event running out for more fake blood or whatever else we forgot, throwing together last-minute costumes, and just making sure everyone has everything they need.”
Stop by, get spooked, and help raise money for an important cause.
