FANS of Hallowe’en in Clydebank beware...as a frightfully fun event is set to return to the area next week.
Horror fan Oli Keenan is back - and plans for his spooky spectacle this year are bigger and better than ever.
The 25-year-old, who was the star of a viral Hallowe’en video four years ago, is set to transform his Linnvale family home into a haunting display for children from the town and beyond.
This year’s theme remains a mystery, but Oli told the Post that all will be revealed on Hallowe’en night.
He said: “It’s usually chaos but it always comes together in the end.
"And because we do leave everything as a surprise, so that people don’t know what they’re going to see, it’s a case of all systems go as soon as it’s Hallowe’en morning.
“It’s good fun, and people do look forward to it.
"We see the same people coming every year, and then they tell people and they come, and then it just ends up escalating.
“In terms of decorations, we try not to use stuff from previous years.
"I think it’s more of surprise if we do a completely different theme every year, so it’s always trying to wrap your head around what you’re going to do to outdo the previous year.
“We’re all very committed to staying in character and not breaking for anything. It’s good fun - it’s fun for the kids to come and interact with the characters.”
Last year, Oli was left stunned as more than 400 people flocked to Dalton Avenue to see his 80s-inspired Beetlejuice set up.
The process of creating the displays takes weeks of preparation, with all of Oli’s family getting involved.
The current cost-of-living crisis is not lost on the 25-year-old, who said it means a lot to him to be able to put on a show for the local community free of charge at a time when so many people are struggling.
"My family and I have loved Hallowe’en forever," he added.
"When I was growing up, before we started doing this, going trick or treating would always feel slightly anti-climatic because you would get so excited for it and then the night would be a bit of a let down.
"So I love that I’m able to do this for everyone, completely free of charge, and it’s nice to see everyone smiling and happy. It's just something they can go do.
“There are so many tough situations going on for so many people right now that it’s nice for them to be able to come and have a smile and a laugh for a few hours.
“It’s nice and it’s something for everyone in Clydebank to look forward to if you don’t have anything to do on Hallowe’en.”
In 2018, a video of Oli dressed up as Pennywise the clown, from Stephen King's 'It', went viral online, with people from around the world viewing the clip over 20 million times.
Since then, the Linnvale resident has continued to put on dazzling displays each year. However, his plans in 2020 were cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
Oli said: “Every year I’ve done something at the house - maybe not on the scale it’s on now but I’ve always dressed up and interacted with kids who came to the door.
"But when I did Pennywise, that video of the house was the fastest growing viral video of 2018 - it got 21 million views online and I was a bit flabbergasted that people were that interested.
"Going on from that we’ve always tried to kind of one-up ourselves each year.
“I’ve lived in Clydebank my whole life. The reason I do it is because it’s fun and because it’s nice to give something, in a very strange way, back to the community. It makes people happy."
The event will take place at Dalton Avenue on Monday, October 31, and is open to anyone who wants to go along.
Hundreds of bags of sweets will also be on offer for youngsters.
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