Beware of the scare … Enter if you dare!

Mellon Middle School student Merritt Pittle, Stilwell Court, is the mastermind behind Stilwell Scares, a walkthrough haunted house he designed all by himself. “Ever since I was little, I’ve liked Halloween and all the animatronics. I got a couple of small animatronics when I was maybe seven, and I’ve liked them ever since,” he said.

It’s clear plenty of time and effort goes into designing the chills and thrills at Stilwell Scares. Each room has its own theme. As documented on Pittle’s YouTube channel, Creep the Clown, Bog in the Swamp, Grim the Skeleton, Bubba the Dog, Scary Spider and Harvester of Souls are the featured attractions in the haunted house built in his backyard.

Over the summer, Merritt creates detailed sketches and plans on his computer that come in handy when it’s time for him, with help from his family, to start building the sets a few weeks before Halloween. It takes a couple of days just to set up the tent and the basic facade before adding decorations and other scary details, like fog machines. “It’s a long process and takes a lot of time, especially on the first couple of days,” he pointed out.

Merritt’s parents are very supportive. “I think it’s really cool that he has a passion,” said mom Naomi. “The first year we really didn’t understand the whole concept, but I think as time went on, especially last year when we had everything set up, we had a better understanding of what he wanted,” said dad Howard.

As for Merritt’s future, he sees himself working in set design, or for a haunted house, or even farther in the future — owning a haunted house that he builds and designs.

This is the second year for Stilwell Scares. Last year, visitors came from both inside and outside the Pittles’ Mt. Lebanon neighborhood, after word of mouth spread.

This year, you have two chances to check out Stilwell Scares, at 124 Stilwell Court: from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 26 and again from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, October 31. Admission is free, but $1 per family donations are greatly appreciated, with all proceeds benefitting Animal Friends. For more details, check out the Stilwell Scares website.