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Local neighborhood refuses to let Tropical Storm Zeta rain on their Halloween
neighborhood haunted house
Bob Butler rebuilds his backyard haunted house. Tropical Storm Zeta flattened the structure, but families in the neighborhood came together to help fix the haunted house. - photo by For the FCN

Forsyth County residents Liz and Bob Butler design and build a family-friendly haunted house every year in their backyard. 

This year, Tropical Storm Zeta tried to ruin the fun by blowing the haunted house over when the storm came through town this week.

The Butlers thought it was too late to put back together in time for Halloween, but the neighborhood banded together to help recreate the magic.

This year’s haunted house was designed by Andrew Butler, the couple’s 14-year-old son, and built by Bob. 

“My husband builds this haunted house in our backyard every year,” Liz Butler said. “And obviously this year, it got totally flattened by the storms. And [Bob] wasn’t going to rebuild it because it was so close to Halloween.” 

Liz posted about their situation on Facebook, and neighbors responded right away.

“This is a brand-new neighborhood for us,” Liz said. “And when we’ve moved, the haunted house has moved with us. They had no idea about it.”

On Friday, Oct. 30, neighbors met at the Butlers’ house, bringing tools, ladders and anything else needed to help Bob rebuild his structure. Many of the neighbors expressed how excited they were to bring their kids to the haunted house, so they wanted to help in any way they could.

The Butlers typically have the haunted house the weekend before or after Halloween, depending on which weekend is closest to the holiday, but this year they had to forego their Friday hosting. However, the family and neighbors were dedicated to getting the haunted house up and running for children and adults in the neighborhood to enjoy the rest of the weekend.