For this year’s spooky season, the Fairbrook Manor haunted house is once again set to frighten and delight Long Beach residents with family-friendly scares — all while raising donations for a good cause.
Robert Duck and his family have turned their home in the Los Altos South neighborhood into a haunted house attraction each October for the past several years, attracting hundreds of visitors annually and collecting donations for the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
Combining their imagination with local history, the Duck family came up with the tale of Victoria Fairbrook — a wealthy oil baroness whose family members died on the property before she went mad in the 1920s.
While the fictional Fairbrook remains at the core of the haunted house’s lore, each year brings a fresh theme and creepy new additions to keep guests on their toes.
This year’s theme will be “Fairbrook Farm,” based on the idea that there would most likely have been a farm on the property in the early 20th century. This iteration of the haunted house will include handmade scarecrows Duck made over the summer, as well as locally-sourced corn stalks.
Planning for Fairbrook Manor is a year-round affair for the Duck family, and they began decorating for this year’s haunted house in August.
They are aiming to raise at least $4,000 and collect six barrels of food for the Long Beach Rescue Mission — an effort supported by a team of around 20 volunteers. Last year, the Duck’s haunted house raised $6,000 and filled seven barrels with donated food.
“It’s just a family-friendly, volunteer-led event, just a little local neighborhood home haunt, just to rally the community together,” Duck said. “Everyone has some Halloween fun.”
In addition to the traditional scare-filled haunted house tours, Fairbrook Manor will offer a daytime walkthrough on Sunday, Oct. 27 for families with young children or those who prefer to experience the haunted house without the jump scares.
Fairbrook Manor is located at 5426 E Fairbrook St., and will be open for evening tours from Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 25-27, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Entry is $5 per person, with proceeds going toward the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Visitors are also encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate.
