A popular Halloween attraction in northeast Minneapolis that has been delivering frights and screams for two decades won't open this year.

The family that has run the Haunted House on Lowry said complaints from passive-aggressive neighbors about traffic led to the decision to skip 2023, and they may not ever bring it back.

Mark Lazarchic said he made a social media post and a few people decided to use it against him, souring him on the notion to keep the tradition going.

"They said neighbors complained for years," Lazarchic said in an interview. "Nobody ever talked to me in a negative way about it."
Haunted on Lowry

The Lazarchics, who dub themselves the First Family of Halloween, started small with just a few Halloween decorations. Then a guy in the neighborhood opened a walk-through display and "my competitive nature took over," Mark Lazarchic said. "I want something bigger than that."

From those first few decorations, the display grew into the spectacle filling the entire yard at 1607 Lowry Av. NE. Lazarchic spent thousands of dollars to "buy tons of stuff," enough to fill a semitrailer. He built tunnels and even cut down a tree and left a 10-foot trunk to hang a pumpkin head and a body.

"We just kept making it bigger and bigger," he said.

At 55, Lazarchic said he's feeling the mileage of all the setup and teardown. Over the past 10 years, he hired a crew to help. But they were not available this year.

"You can't just call in volunteers," Lazarchic said. "Nobody knows where stuff goes. It's more than just manpower."

It's also getting expensive. It costs about $3,000 a year for the display, even more if he buys new items or replaces pieces that break or wear out.

But it was the complaints that seemed to cinch the decision not to open this year.

"If people want to complain, I won't do it," Lazarchic said. "We will see what it's like when it's not going. My house will be a lot more relaxed in October."

Others said they will feel the void.

"This is very sad news," wrote Kat Jannister. "You are a tradition in this neighborhood. Thank you for all the years of entertainment. We hope to see you come back."

As for that, the Lazarchic made no promises.

"It's kind of a downer," Lazarchic said. "Maybe next year. I might talk to businesses to sponsor it," he said.