Haunted house becomes tradition in Bay Hill

Matthew and Amy Allen always have been Halloween enthusiasts, considering the holiday a celebration. 

When Bay Hill’s Matthew Allen was younger, he loved trick-or-treating and collecting candy bars.

But his favorite part of Halloween was at the end of the night. He would go home and hide in the bushes or anywhere he could fit, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out and scare people.

“It runs in my blood so I’m just glad I married someone that has it in his blood, too,” Amy Allen, Matthew Allen’s wife, said.

That passion for the tricks and treats of Halloween comes to life in the Allen home ever year. 

The trick: The Allen’s home is transformed into The Allen Asylum, a haunted house designed by the Halloween mastermind Matthew Allen. 

The treat: Any donations Matthew and Amy Allen receive from The Allen Asylum go toward the Palm Lake Elementary School Kindness Campaign.

Spooks for all

The couple created their first haunted house, The Allen Asylum, 17 years ago in Windermere. 

What started as family fun, quickly attracted neighbors for their decorations and dedication to Halloween. 

Every year, Matthew Allen thought of ways to grow his Halloween decorations and community presence. 

Through the years, the haunted house has become well-known in their community, something people looked forward to every Halloween. 

“Matt has created a tradition throughout the years,” Amy Allen said. “People know us because of our haunted house.” 

And this is no ordinary house; with sound effects, fog, animatronics, actors and a new concept each year, it is sure to keep people on their toes. 

Ironically, Amy Allen doesn’t like haunted houses.

“I love watching scary movies but my thing about Halloween Horror Nights is like, when there’s 20 Jasons throughout one of the haunted houses … how do you know that the 20th one is not supposed to be there? That’s just what goes through my mind,” she said. 

What she loves about their haunted house is the concept of bringing the community together for the festivity.

After six years of creating a fun haunted house for the community’s enjoyment, their Halloween tradition became more meaningful than just a haunted house.  

Their son, Ashton, was born prematurely 11 years ago, so the Allen family decided to collect donations through the haunted house to donate to Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Children and Children’s Miracle Network. 

Now, to support Ashton’s school, donations fully support Palm Lake Elementary School’s Kindness Campaign, which is a school-wide initiative promoting kindness and inclusion, with students engaging in random acts of kindness and being recognized for their actions. Children also participate in various activities and events that encourage them to be positive and kind.

“Our neighbors have always been incredibly supportive,” Amy Allen said. “One year we didn’t do it… We went on a Disney cruise for Ashton’s and my birthday, and Matt had just had a hip replacement, so we made a family decision that year that we were just not gonna do it, and it was like we canceled Halloween. People were so disappointed. It’s a tradition and people love traditions.” 

Neighbors, families and friends come together for three nights of fright either volunteering as actors, artists and builders, or as  supporting community members. 

“We have kids in the neighborhood that have grown up with it, that are now acting in it,” Amy Allen said. “We have volunteers from Dr. Phillips High School that come and help do the creative painting, the skilled part of the painting.” 

The couple mentioned a quiet kid who lived in their neighborhood eight years ago and said they only saw him on Halloween. 

“One day he came out and asked if he could volunteer and I said absolutely and he did a great job,” Matthew Allen said. “He is now working in Las Vegas for Universal’s new year-round haunted house.” 

Now, as Ashton grows older, they are involving him more in the process, as he’s always curious about decorations and theme. 

“He was born into being a Halloween baby with us,” Amy Allen said. 

Born on Oct. 30, he shares his birthday with his mom and grew up with the Halloween tradition. 

This year, Matthew and Amy Allen are letting him run the whole show, inviting children from his neighborhood to come and tour with Ashton the night before opening. 

The family also makes sure to host a not-so-scary half-hour for children. 

“We don’t turn on any animatronics, any lighting, any fog, any music, just so they can walk through it,” Matthew Allen said. 

From nightmares to reality

Matthew Allen has an affinity for insane asylums, so he created The Allen Asylum and its backstory: 

The Allen Asylum closed in 1925 after authorities discovered Dr. Allen was mistreating his patients and running experiments on them. 

Once he tortured his patients into madness and they were no longer of use, Dr. Allen would send them to the electric chair. 

The closure caused Dr. Allen to lose his own mind and he was institutionalized for six years before escaping, promising to bring his patients back to the asylum. 

Now, all that’s left are the haunting echoes of the tortured patients and their disturbed souls.

Since then, this local haunted house in Bay Hill has brought excitement, fear and communities together every year. 

This year, the theme is “Final Cut,” a haunted movie theater experience that ties back to The Allen Asylum. 

“We have scare actors which are anyone from the neighborhood, 16-plus-year-old kids, we have a group that comes in from Bradenton, Florida, that act in it every year, so they come up and they do a great job,” Matthew Allen said. 

But the Allen’s don’t ever act in it. 

While Amy Allen greets people and socializes with neighbors, Matthew Allen stays up front watching people’s reactions as they exit the house. 

“That, to me, makes the whole thing,” he said. “If I get, ‘It’s better than last year,’ or ‘It was so cool,’ that’s what’s important to me.” 

Some people compare their house to a Universal house at Halloween Horror Nights. 

The process of creating the house takes months. 

Matthew Allen comes up with a theme on his own and then begins collecting pallets to build the house from the bottom up. 

Previous themes included hospitals, backwoods, schoolhouse, prisons and more. The Allens have fun creating new themes each year, and though they want to bring some themes back like the schoolhouse, Matthew Allen always wants to create a new one for the community to experience. 

He tries to create unique themes that haven’t been done before.

Then he begins collecting decorations, like theater chairs for this year’s theme, or toilets. 

“There’s always a dirty toilet in every haunted house,” Amy Allen said laughing. “Somehow a dirty toilet makes it in every single time.” 

The building and decorative process begins in September. 

“I’m finished five minutes before we open the door,” Matthew Allen said. 

The house walkthrough is about three to five minutes, but Amy Allen jokingly said it can vary depending on how frightened a person is. 

This year, the house will take place from 6 to 6:30 p.m. for children under 10, and 7 to 9 p.m., Oct. 24, Oct. 25 and Oct. 31 at 9239 Cypress Cove Drive, Orlando. 

“Safety is most important to not only the people that are coming through, but the scare actors, too,” Matthew Allen said. “This is something fun for the community. The minute it stops being fun, we’re going to have to stop it.” 

The couple said they’re blessed with how respectful attendees are and the memories they’re able to create. 

“I’ve never heard anyone walk away and be disappointed,” Amy Allen said.