MIAMI TOWNSHIP, Ohio — For 65 years, members of the Heile family have put on their very own haunted house open only on Halloween night.
"We love Halloween — it’s in our genetics, it’s in our genes from Grandma Heile," John Heiele said.
The family told WCPO that their grandmother, Mary Heile, began building Halloween dummies in 1959 before starting the haunted house they run today.
Cousins Chris, Scott, John Heile and dozens of family members and friends bring their annual tradition to life every Oct. 31.
Chris Heile's Miami Township home is where they create their haunted house and give neighbors a scare. The family builds sets, decides on new ideas and even acts out each story.
“All of the grandkids will spend time developing ideas," Chris Heile said.
This work has become a passion project, created to give some extra holiday to their neighbors.
“We have never charged a dime, from the beginning, it’s all just for everyone’s enjoyment," Scott Heile said.
This year's haunted house centered around one of the most famous scary stories in history, Frankenstein.
Guests were taken into a dark room when they found out they were trapped in a convenience store. The journey then left the visitors locked in a fridge, until they found a way out of the darkness.
After slowly making their way through a murky swamp, the guests found themselves face-to-face with Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.
Once guests survive their harrowing encounter with the reanimated monster, they can exit the haunted house.
It's a Halloween tradition the family is excited to continue for decades, just as their grandmother hoped.
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