Spooky houses around Delaware County give kids a fright on Halloween

SPRINGFIELD, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Halloween night brought hundreds of trick-or-treaters out in Springfield, Pennsylvania.

Many of them visited the scariest house in the neighborhood, maybe even in all of Delaware County, with a special connection to Action News.

Retired Action News Reporter Dann Cuellar is notorious for his intricate Halloween displays. There is a collection of spooky witches, terrifying ghouls, and headstones meant to bring out the screams.

"There's something that opens up!" one trick-or-treater yelled after knocking on Dann's door.

Only the bravest hot dogs and dragons will earn a treat at Dann's house. If they can endure the tricks, sweets are their reward.

"See the boogeyman way in the back? He's terrorizing. I love him," said Dann.

The display is his gift to his neighborhood.

"We saw so many negative things on the job when we were working that I wanted to do something positive. And I said, 'Let me make something that will bring families together and enjoy themselves with their kids and have a good time,'" he said.

A terrifyingly good time is the goal at Halloween houses around Springfield.

"I think it's definitely the hot spot on the block, that's for sure," said Gabriel Huck, who had a DJ skeleton display spinning tracks in his yard.

"I give out finger lights and I give out good stuff, so it's just a good time," said Joanne Kulsik-Kelly, whose towering skeleton stays in her yard long past Halloween.

She says it's decorated for every holiday.

To some trick-or-treaters, costumes are just as important as the candy.

"My grandpa passed away recently and he was a firefighter so I thought I could do it for him," said Tommy Rutledge.

Halloween is a family affair in Springfield, where the fun of the scare lasts all year.