The side gate into Graham Reimer's family backyard in north Nanaimo doubles as entrance into his ever-growing house of horrors which will feature live actors and animatronics on Halloween night. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

scary situation

‘$10,000 on Halloween decorations:’ Nanaimo teen’s passion project hits new heights

Oct 29, 2025 | 5:31 AM

NANAIMO — A local teenager is once again taking over his parent’s backyard in a big to bring some Halloween scares to the community.

Graham Reimer, 17, has setup his fourth annual Halloween display and interactive walkthrough at his family home at 5953 Newport Dr. in north Nanaimo, featuring a carefully laid out mixture of animatronics, lighting and fog, to be coupled on Halloween night with nearly a dozen live actors.

Reimer said the passion project began in 2022 and has grown exponentially since.

“I love inspiring people, and people find it very different. I didn’t just buy a car, I spent $10,000 on Halloween decorations, right? I think people think it’s real cool, and it’s just a passion I’ve always had since I was really young.”

More than just your average decorations, Graham Reimer’s home on Newport Dr. is transformed this Halloween. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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The walkthrough will be open to the public on Friday, Oct. 31 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Around 150 people attended the first year, doubling to 300 last year despite pouring rain.

The goal for this year is over 500 people to make their way through the backyard over the three hour period.

Reimer estimates he spent around $5,000 leading up to the first year’s display, then adding more to it over the subsequent years.

In addition to his studies as a grade 12 Dover Bay Secondary School student, Reimer works at Landmark Cinemas at Woodgrove Centre to help fund his purchases.

During the Halloween season, he also has spent time working at Spirit Halloween, a move he admits “was just to get my discount” on store merchandise and props for the display.

He said it takes around 40 hours to setup properly.

“There’s so much behind the scenes. We’ve got to lay down the cords, set the fog machines up, build all the animatronics, they all live in the crawl space. All the lights, all the decorations, the fences, and then set everything out there and make everything work and turn it all to the right settings.”

Slowly collecting over the years, Reimer’s obsession with Halloween transforms his family home into a community walkthrough. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Reimer admits his parents aren’t overly thrilled about the impacts his hobby has on their home and backyard through the month.

“They don’t like it very much,” Reimer said in jest. “The inside of the garage is gone, boxes and all the the inside of the house, most of it anyway, is gone. For more or less the whole month of October, the whole house is gone. So, they could be happier, but we talk it out and we make it work.”

Donations will be accepted on Friday, with any money raised funneled straight back into buying more props for future years.

Reimer would like to rent out a hall for a week in the future, and have the display be more accessible to all in the community.

He’s unsure whether this passion will translate into a career, but said he’s looked into roles behind the scenes on movies and TV shows.

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