Halloween display raising ‘mayhem’ and cash for charity

A night of “mayhem” is predicted to befall a haunted house in south Dublin on Halloween.

A macabre marquee on the front garden of Ken Carraher’s home is being filled with ghosts, ghouls and monsters ahead of the big night.

The charity display is a well-known and long-running attraction in Killiney which the Dublin electrician says brings a real sense of spooky “community spirit”.

The entrance to the house of horrors (Brian Lawless/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Brian Lawless

As spooky as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, the Marquee of Mr Carraher is a must-stop spot for any trick-or-treater.

“Halloween night is absolute mayhem – there will probably be the best part of maybe 2,000 people here on that night alone.

“We’ve all the local kids helping to scare people and adults helping out as well – so it is a whole community thing.”

A selection of severed heads will greet brave visitors (Brian Lawless/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Brian Lawless

Mr Carraher said the annual tradition has evolved over about 25 years.

It is a gruelling task to put the house of horrors together, involving hundreds of hours of work: “We start building the marquee on the second last Friday of September and from then on, it’s basically every free moment.”

In the creepy fortnight before Halloween, Mr Carraher starts four weeks of annual leave to put the final touches together, kitting out the grotto with grotesqueries.

The display is raising money for charity Debra Ireland (Brian Lawless/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Brian Lawless

It takes another two weeks to take it all down again, restoring natural light back to the house – and getting Mr Carraher back to his day job.

Ironically, he is “petrified” of the dark and scary movies. So what possessed him to create the dreadful display?

It is all for a good cause, with the Halloween showcase raising money for charity for around 15 years.

Thousands of visitors will be treated to a range of props (Brian Lawless/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Brian Lawless

“All the money goes to Debra Ireland for what people know as butterfly children, who suffer from the horrible skin disease called called EB (epidermolysis bullosa).”

Debra is the national charity helping 300 people living with the agonising skin condition.

Under the buzz and whirr of motorised decorations and lights, Mr Carraher paid tribute to the background work of his partner Gail (who prefers Christmas), his children, his friend John and his neighbour Ciara for their help with the project.

Ken Carraher says he takes four weeks of annual leave to work on the display (Brian Lawless/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Brian Lawless

He also thanked local companies which help by donating sweets for an expected crowd of 6,000 people across four nights.

The display will be open for visitors between October 28 and 31.

Asked by a ghostbuster from the PA news agency if he had any concerns his assorted creatures may come to life, Mr Carraher replied eerily: “Not really.”