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29th Oct 2019

Dublin man transforms his house into a seriously scary graveyard

Brian Dillon

Hmmm, not sure my heart would be able to take this…

A Dublin man has transformed his garden into an ultra-terrifying graveyard and I’m shaking.

Packed full of moving zombies, skeletons, witches, ghostly grannies and even a giant smoke-billowing dragon, Killiney man Ken Carraher is scaring the bejaysus out of us but for a very good cause.

Ken plans to help raise money for the skin charity Debra Ireland with his house of horrors.

Debra supports the 300 people in Ireland with ‘butterfly skin’ disease EB (epidermolysis bullosa). This rare and incredibly painful genetic condition causes the skin, both inside and out, to blister and wound at the slightest touch.

Starting off 20 years ago with just two mannequins, Ken now has thousands of animated props in his ‘spooktacular’ collection.

Ken's Halloween House Killiney

Having started on Monday, October 28 and continuing until Thursday, October 31, Ken is expecting quite a large crowd of around 5,000 people to visit his creation.

Ken's Halloween House Killiney

Although visitors are not charged, they are asked to donate what they can to the cause.

Ken said, “It’s a little bit scary and a little bit nice, we don’t want to be scaring the life out of little children.

“Our dragon is around seven-foot-long and smoke billows from his nostrils.”

He added, “Debra really is a fantastic charity which does great work. Not many people know about EB, but when I began to learn more and meet the patients who have this truly awful skin condition, I wanted to do something to help.

“We have a whole team who help set up the display, welcome visitors and help with traffic and parking.

“I really enjoy the fun and excitement around Halloween and the fact that we can help support a great charity like Debra Ireland makes it even better.”

Ken has spent thousands of Euro on props, lighting and treats for his visitors over the years. In the past seven years, Ken’s crew have raised €36,500 for Debra Ireland.

Ken’s address is 5 Bayview Court, Killiney Hill Road, Killiney and visitors are welcome between 4pm and 8pm on October 28, 29 and 30. Then, on Thursday, October 31, you can experience the gruesome house of horrors between 4pm and 9pm.

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