In October a private residential home near North Vancouver’s Edgemont Village turns into the Belmont Haunted House Halloween attraction.

The house was decorated in 2020 despite COVID-19, but only for a day or so and only the exterior. The event returned in full in 2021 from October 15th to 31st. In 2022, the decorations were up for people to enjoy as of the first weekend in October. It was slightly less extensive than it was in 2021, but still impressive! Admission is usually by donation.

As of late October 2023, details about this fabulous Halloween attraction were still to be confirmed. It didn’t look like it happened. Whether it does again in the future is to be determined.

North Shore Haunted Mansion

Most haunted houses in the Lower Mainland are operated by companies, municipal organizations (e.g. Fright Nights and Burnaby’s Haunted Village) or non-profit organizations. There are also hundreds of fantastically-decorated private homes, and even a few residences that you can wander around the garden or go inside.

So what has made Belmont Haunted House so special over the years? Lots of reasons, including the following:

• It’s a popular attraction, but the lineups aren’t too scary.
• Admission is by donation which means it’s highly affordable.
• It has been a fundraiser! All donations received go to Ronald McDonald House BC to provide a “home away from home” for families of seriously ill children. Over the past decade the attraction has raised more than $30,000 for this very worthwhile cause.
• Although professional in appearance, it’s not a commercially-run haunted house. It’s simply a labour of “love” by a couple who is crazy about Halloween and gives generously to its community.
• The attraction takes place at a large modern home, but one that’s in a style with stone walls and peaked rooftops that makes it a perfect haunted Halloween venue. The house looks real because it is real!
• For a private residence, Belmont Haunted House is of a professional standard. There are typical household decorations like inflatable ghosts, comical characters and skeletons, but also horror-movie-set-like model characters.

How Big is It?

Once billed as “the largest independent haunted house in Vancouver,” the place used to be huge and include areas inside the home’s garage and around both the front and back yards. It also had scenes you could see inside through the windows.

In recent years, up until 2021, the family behind the attraction had scaled back a bit. It stopped decorating its backyard and allowing the public to wander all around the outside of its house. The family just decorated the front of its house in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, however, with expanded dates, it was a bigger event.

We’re told the family added about $25,000 worth of additional decorations! Also in 2021, visitors once again could wander all around the outside of the home (as well as see things in the owners’ garage).

In 2022, the event was slightly smaller than it was the year before, but still quite extensive. In 2021, there were displays at the front, one side and the back of the house. In 2022, everything was just at the front and side. The displays ran for more days though in 2022. Instead of being open to the public in just the second half of the month, the house operated for the entire month of October, 2022.

Hours and Location

Belmont Haunted House is usually open to the public from 2:00 pm until 9:00 pm on weekdays and until 9:30 pm on weekends in the last week of October.

In 2022, it was open to the public every day of the month, and people could walk around the place whenever they liked between noon and 9:00 pm.

The house’s address is 1006 Belmont Avenue in North Vancouver. It’s just off Highlands Boulevard and a couple of blocks from Edgemont Village.

Baaaa-ack in 2022

Belmont Haunted House celebrated its 15th year, plus or minus, in 2022. Those haven’t been consecutive years, however. The Myers family took a break in 2016, but was back at it the following year. In 2018 the family again took a break, although not a complete one – there were still at least some decorations.

The place was open to the public again in 2019, but on a smaller scale and for fewer days than in previous years. Decorations were in place in 2020, but only for a day or so and on a much smaller scale than in previous years.

The people behind the Belmont Haunted House told us that they added another $25,000 worth of new animatronics and other props in 2021. It was impressive!

Similar to a few years ago, people could go inside the garage to see things, and go all the way around the property to see displays in the backyard. There were also large tents set up around the place to help keep people dry.

About Belmont Haunted House

In years when it has been fully decorated, the Belmont Haunted House has included everything from fun blow-up Halloween decorations to realistic-looking monsters eating brains. The special effects and Hollywood-style displays have been amazing.

In total there have been over $100,000 worth of spine-tingling animatronic gadgets, special effects and other spooky decorations!

There weren’t live actors jumping out from behind corners to scare us when we were there in 2015, except for on Halloween night. When we went in 2017 prior to the 31st, however, there was one mannequin-looking creature in the garage area that did suddenly come alive and catch us by surprise. There also seemed to be more live actors wandering around out front and in the garden than in previous years.

The Belmont Haunted House has a great collection of both realistic-looking and wax-museum-style monsters. It also usually has inflatable characters including a giant black cat, a Frankenstein Bart Simpson and other Frankenstein-ish blow-up creatures.

In past years the attraction included extensive displays in both the front of the house and in the back garden. For 2019, we believe that only the front area was decorated and open to the public. In 2021, the entire property was once again completely decorated.

Note: In some years the attraction has included strobe lights which people with hypersensitivity to light should be aware of.

Other Information

Below is a list of tips and advice, as well as information about other Lower Mainland Halloween opportunities.

Belmont Tips & Advice

TIP #1: If you’re not sure whether you like serious haunted houses, this is a great one to try out. There are some pretty scary scenes, but it’s also fairly tame for families to enjoy (although not recommended for very young children). You also don’t have to spend frightening amounts of money and stand for hours in a line. This is especially nice if you discover you have an overly nervous disposition and find haunted houses aren’t for you.

TIP #2: Edgemont Village is a small but attractive commercial area with coffee shops and a handful of interesting stores to explore. If you need to warm-up afterwards with a cup of hot chocolate, a North Shore favourite is Delaney’s at 3099 Edgemont Boulevard.

TIP #3: Looking for more nearby Halloween fun? The Haunt of Edgemont is another spectacularly decorated house in the Edgemont Village neighbourhood.  Located at 3414 Emerald Drive, it’s less than a 10-minute walk from the Belmont Haunted House. This second Halloween attraction is also free. In its case, though, donations received benefit the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund. (Note: The Haunt of Edgemont didn’t happening in 2022. It will likely happen again, however, in 2023.)

TIP #4: Just a short drive away from the Belmont Haunted House are the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Capilano River Regional Park. The latter of these is home to the Cleveland Dam. Especially if traveling from a distance and during daylight, while in the area, consider exploring some of these other exceptional and world-class attractions. The fall colours are beautiful, there are extensive trails and spawning salmon are in the river!

TIP #5: For ideas on other things to do and information about the area, click North Vancouver or West Vancouver.

TIP #6: Looking for a place to eat while on the North Shore, click North Vancouver‘s Best Restaurants.

Other Halloween Attractions

There are dozens of haunted attractions in the Lower Mainland. For a comprehensive list, click Vancouver Haunted Houses. For details about other haunted houses that are in residential neighbourhoods and raising money for worthwhile charities, including other houses in North Vancouver, see below.

• Anmore Manor – at 1151 Robin Way in Anmore (in the Tri-Cities area not far from Belcarra Regional Park). Admission is by donation of cash or food benefiting the Share Society.
• Brinkworth Dungeon – an exceptional haunted attraction at 22260 48th Avenue in Langley where pretty much everything is made by hand by a professional artist.
• The Haunt of Edgemont – a residential home at 3414 Emerald Drive near North Vancouver’s Edgemont Village that’s intricately decorated from mid to late October. It’s free, but donations for the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund are most welcome! (Did not happen in 2022. We hope to see its return in 2023.)
• Dovercourt Crypt – a haunted house at 3637 Maginnis Avenue in North Vancouver’s Lynn Valley. In past years it has been open on three or so days in the lead up to Halloween. Admission here is also by donation.

Kudos to these and other home owners who open their properties to the public for entertainment and the benefit of worthwhile causes!

For a list of other Halloween attractions, click any of the following:

• Vancouver Halloween Events
• Vancouver Children’s Halloween Activities
• Adult Halloween Activities
• Vancouver Haunted Houses