San Bernardino family seeking help to hold haunted house fundraiser for daughter with terminal illness
A San Bernardino family known for their annual haunted house is left searching for help and answers after they were forced to move the show on the road when their neighborhood pushed back against the large crowds that came with it.
The Caitlin Manor Haunted House has been a staple of Southern California Halloween for nearly 10 years now, filled with jump scares and spooky moments, everything in the house can reach out and touch you.
Just like Augie Cowan was hoping his daughter Andrea's story would touch the City of San Bernardino.
"She's so tough," he said. Andrea, 14, suffers from metachromatic leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder and terminal illness that attacks the brain.
"She's been sick for 12 years. Most of the kids with this disease live three to five years," he explained. "Eventually they lose their skills, like she lost her skills to talk and walk."
As expected, the medical costs are astronomical -- the main reason why the Cowan family puts together the haunted house year after year as they hope to cover some of the things insurance won't.
"We have a blast when we do it. We forget about our troubles a little bit."
Now in their 10th year of operation, the Cowans are forced to find another venue for their popular attraction after some neighbors complained of the large crowds due to trouble with code enforcement.
At a city council meeting Wednesday, some of those neighbors spoke on the problems they wanted to address when it came to strangers flooding their neighborhood.
"I, and the residents in the neighborhood have put up with the traffic, the noise, the trash," one woman said at the meeting. "Last year attempted vehicle break-ins, as well a shooting, where fortunately no one was injured."
In response to the backlash, city council members advised Augie and his family that they would have to move their elaborate setup into a commercial building for what he said would be their last year of operation.
"I hope that the city can assist you in getting that done, getting to the right place," said Councilman Ben Reynoso. "I truly am sorry."
The Cowans are now reaching out to the public in hopes of finding the perfect building and anywhere from 10 to 15 volunteers who are willing to help them break everything down and put their haunted house back together one last time.
"Anyone who can help us for a few weeks, that would be awesome," Augie said.
The Cowans said the best way for people willing to get in touch with them is via social media, where you can find Caitlin Manor Haunted House on Instagram or Facebook.