Western New York’s premier haunted attraction Everhaunt teamed up with Sweet Buffalo to give a 12-year-old girl battling cancer a Halloween to remember.
Ariadna (Aria) Scheffler of Warsaw was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in June of 2022. She didn’t know if she could celebrate Halloween or trick-or-treat this year due to receiving treatment, so Everhaunt invited her to their haunted house on Saturday for a Halloween she won’t soon forget.
Aria has a love for horror so this was the perfect experience for her. When Aria arrived to Everhaunt she was greeted with tons of Halloween presents and a giant Chucky doll (her favorite). Then she watched a video where she received well wishes from Everhaunt scarers and a surprise from Alex Vincent who played Andy Barclay in Child’s Play.
Aria’s face lit up with joy when she saw her video from Alex. He told her to stay strong and that she’s going to get through this. He also hopes to talk to her again very soon. Then it was time to get her scary Halloween makeup done by Everhaunt’s makeup artists. Aria and her sister and cousin were all done up scary too so they could join in on the haunt and scare patrons.
Aria was so proud of herself that she actually scared a scare actor inside the haunt! Aria and family also went trick or treating throughout the haunt where actors had candy waiting for her at each stop.
She also played Halloween games, went in a haunted coffin and tried the Frankestein virtual reality ride. This experience is something Everhaunt hopes to give to more kids facing hardship in the future.
“One of the main reasons Everhaunt was created was to make a positive difference within our local and surrounding communities. It means the world to us to be able to help Aria in any way possible. We hope for this one day she was able to just enjoy herself and her love for horror, said Kevin Donovan, owner of Everhaunt.
The haunted attraction also gives back to Kids Escaping Drugs, Connect Life and Sweet Buffalo Rocks, Inc. If you would like to make a donation to help Aria, you may do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-arias-battle-against-childhood-leukemia
Thank you to our friends at Basil Toyota & Basil Volkswagen for helping us in our mission to share stories that make a difference.
