NYPD inspector conjures scariest haunted house in Queens for Halloween season

Lucy Yang Image
Friday, October 27, 2023
Police inspector conjures scariest haunted house in Queens
Lucy Yang gets an inside look at the scariest haunted house in all of Queens.

BAYSIDE, Queens (WABC) -- A police inspector in Queens, who loves scary things and Halloween, is using the season as an opportunity to give back to his community by creating one of the scariest haunted houses around.

Frank DeGiacomo is a police inspector by day, and the creator of a Frankenstein castle by night.

DeGiacomo loves Halloween so much that he conjures up the entire mad house every year. This is his 8th year running the haunted house, and the 5th time he has done it at this location in Queens.

He pays for the whole operation out of his own pocket then opens the doors for free. But beware, it might cost you safe passage.

"NYPD does a lot of things for little kids. This is for older kids. We're really trying to scare you," DeGiacomo said.

He says the first floor is very scary, but then on the second floor, they make it "extreme."

There are haunted horsemen outside, and inside, you never know who lurks.

Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang took a spooky trip through "the vortex," an optical illusion inside the haunted house.

Those who dared to enter the house, all agreed that it was quite scary.

"I loved it, but it was so scary," a group of girls said.

"It was a fun experience. I almost peed in my pants," a group of boys said.

The screams you hear are coming from Fort Totten in Bayside, where every day is Friday the 13th and where Halloween runs unleashed. Characters are portrayed by police officers who always get the last howl.

And there's still time to catch experience the spooks yourself! The haunted house will be up and running on October 27, 28 and 31, from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

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