Anna Moore loves Halloween.
The 16-year-old Murrysville resident’s family has thrown large Halloween parties since she was small. But what really interested her were stories about the homemade haunted house her father Michael used to build when he was her age.
“I’d seen the old pictures and it was really cool to me,” she said.
This year, she convinced her father to take the tradition back up, and the Moore family was joined by neighbors, friends and volunteers in briefly operating “Igor’s Fright Shack,” which they constructed at their home, hosting guests over four days and collecting money for charity.
“I was about 15 or 16 when I had this idea to do something neat for the community for Halloween,” said Michael, who grew up in Ralph, part of German Township in Fayette County. “My parents finally let me do it, and it kind of grew and blossomed over the next seven years, to the point where we had thousands of people coming and it was sort of a family and community effort.”
Instead of the traditional “jump-scare” haunted houses, the Moores opted for a story-driven experience where guests had a chance to interact with characters.
“This year the script was written by me, Anna and my father Charles,” Michael said. “When I was younger, the story would build on itself year after year. So for anyone who was coming in the early 2000s, we picked up right where we left off. And next year’s story will build on that.”
Speaking of building, it took about three months of construction to get Igor’s Fright Shack ready to go, complete with its own rickety facade.
“The build took so long we missed our original opening date,” he said with a laugh. “It’s leagues above what I did when I was younger. It’s an interior mansion design, and everything is modeled on Victorian architecture. It was very, very involved.”
Anna painted most of the walls, and added weathering effects to make things appear run-down.
“Anna’s very artistic, and this is a great outlet for her to use her creativity,” Michael said.
Michael’s wife Beth said nearly 30 people took part over the four days they operated the haunted house.
“We had 27 volunteers, 10 of which were here all the time,” she said. “We had friends and whole families who helped us.”
She estimated that the dozen characters in the house ran the script more than 60 times over two weekends, and they ultimately raised $1,000 to be donated toward relief for the victims of recent hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina.
The entire family took part — Michael and Anna were two of the main characters, Beth greeted customers, her father was a zombie, her son Jacob, 9, played a key role in helping customers “escape” the haunted house and her mother was in charge of their youngest son and multi-purpose little monster, Aaron, 4.
“I think getting to share this with my family and friends and the community is the nicest part,” said Ethan Moore, 13, who roamed a back hallway and created the spooky organ music that is played in the script.
Michael said all of the pieces of Igor’s Fright Shack are modular and 100% reusable.
“We can change the design, we can modify it, but it’s able to be used year after year,” he said. “It’s also really nice because without the jump-scares, it’s a lot easier for whole families to get involved, and it offers an experience that’s not quite as common.”
The Moores plan to bring back Igor’s Fright Shack back during the 2025 Halloween season.