Family turn their West Bromwich home into a scare maze for charity

With the help of family and friends, they have transformed their home into The Haunted Trail Of Terror, full of terrifying things that go bump in the night.

Their charity scare maze, which is open tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, is being held in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support – a charity close to the couple’s hearts.

“In 2021, we had a family Halloween party with a small maze for our guests to walk through,” explains 42-year-old Terry.

“We decided to open it up to trick or treaters in the street – and within an hour we had a queue.

“Last year, we thought we would do it for charity. The queue was up the street and we managed to raise around £2,300 in two nights.

“We chose Macmillan Cancer Support because Kelly’s dad was diagnosed with cancer and passed away three years ago,” he tells Weekend.

The couple, who have always loved Halloween, started planning the walk-through maze at the start of year and work to create some of the terrifying props got under way in March.

Last month, they began to construct the maze using three gazebos, and this week they’ve been busy adding the finishing touches ahead of the opening night.

“I’m a lorry driver and work nights. I’ve been coming home, getting a few hours sleep and then working on the maze,” says Terry.

There will be five live actors hiding in the maze to help to bring the ghosts and ghouls to life.

This year the attraction has been extended so it also runs into his mother-in-law, Muriel Phillips’ back garden next door.

Muriel has been helping the couple to create the maze along with her sister Christine Pearce, son Robert Phillips and Kelly’s cousin Sherice Venables.

“It’s an expensive, lengthy and stressful process to get it all right but it’s worth it to see people getting together having a great time and their reaction once they come out,” says Terry.

Without giving too much away, those brave enough to enter the attraction, will experience low lighting, strobe lighting, loud noises, smoke, animatronics and various jump scares.

To boost their fundraising, the family will be selling limited food and drinks and will be holding a tombola and various raffles.

“We have some great prizes for our main raffle most of which were generously donated,” says Terry. The prizes include tickets to Snow White at Wolverhampton Grand, a family pass to Telford Ice Rink and a National Space Museum family pass.

John Harrison, Macmillan Cancer Support’s relationship fundraising manager in the West Midlands, said the charity was very grateful for the family’s hard work and dedication.

“It’s amazing. They raised over £2,000 last year which is a huge amount of money.

“There is a cancer diagnosis every 90 seconds in the UK. When people are told they have cancer, it affects so much more than their physical health, if affects their mental and emotional health.

“Our aim is to ensure that everyone living with cancer is able to live life as fully as they can. Ninety-eight per cent of our income comes from donations from supporters which is why we are so grateful to people like Terry and his family who hold events to raise money. It’s incredible.”

The maze, which is open from 5.30pm tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, can be found in Walsall Road, Stonecross, B71 3JA. All ages are welcome and there is no need to book.

To find out more about the fundraising event, see www.thehauntedtrailofterror.co.uk and to make a donation, visit www.justgiving.com/page/the-haunted-trail-of-terror

For information and support, visit macmillan.org.uk. The Macmillan Support Line is open seven days a week, 8am to 8pm 0808 808 0000.