The Haunted Garage Sale has a new location this year

Halloween is not on most people's minds while Ohio still slogs through a melting heat wave bringing blistering temperatures and high humidity. But Jeff Hartz knows that will change in about two weeks when the doors open for the Haunted Garage Sale and Hearse Cruise-In. This is the 11th year for the Haunted Garage Sale, sponsored by the Cleveland Haunt Club, which has become so popular it has outgrown each of its previous locations. This year it has found an all-new home at at the Ross Exposition Center at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, where it will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 1. CHC President Hartz said the 67,000-square-foot building allowed the event to be held indoors with air conditioning, and its more than 7,200 parking spaces was an appealing draw. It also adds an added attraction Hartz said is already proving popular with eventgoers: camping spots. There are two types of camping offered, primitive spaces without electric and water, for tents, at $25 a night with access to bathhouse facilities. Sites with electric and water hook-ups for RVs are $40 per night. "It's a great option — this way if people want to come out Friday and stay until Sunday, they can," Hartz said. "The respond has been pretty good and I think there will be more as we get closer." There also is a cost of admission: $5 for ages 10 and older. In the past, a parking fee was charged, but not an admission fee, said Hartz. It's for a good cause. The entire amount raised from admissions — and in the past, parking fees — goes to Skeletons for St. Jude, a nationwide fund raising effort of fellow spooky people that raises money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In 2022, CHC was the single-largest contributor in the nation to the program and its goal this year is $25,000, Hartz said. Hartz said 145 vendors have signed on to be part of the Haunted Garage Sale, and he hopes to have at least 35 hearses and themed vehicles at the cruise-in, plus 14 food trucks. Fan favorites the Eerie Invaders again will be the house band. Hartz said all of this year's headlining guests have area roots, including podcaster Jim Harold of "Jim Harold's Campfire" and "The Paranormal Podcast," gothic artist, musician and author Joseph Vargo, and Janet Decay and James Harmon, the hosts of the YouTube channel "The Mummy and the Monkey" show playing old horror flicks. Some of the headliners are not people at all. "The Scooby Doo van will be there from western Michigan, it's a really good quality tribute," Hartz said. "And the Abracadabra van from the film 'Black Phone,' and an Amherst man who owns a car like the one from 'Supernatural.'" The Green Goblin head from the 1986 film "Maximum Overdrive," the only movie Stephen King ever wrote and directed of his own work, will be there. In the film, the giant fiberglass Green Goblin mask is mounted on a semi truck's grille before machines become lethal. Owner Tim Shockey will be bringing his 24-foot trailer mobile museum of the movie, with memorabilia, a video screen and tributes. The event started at Cahoon Park in Bay Village, a location Hartz loved for its proximity to Lake Erie, but quickly outgrew. It moved to Weiss Field in Avon Lake but one year a storm left the field a swampy mess. In 2024 it moved to the Lake Erie Crushers Stadium, now known as ForeFront Field, in Avon. It was a great location, but last year attendees caused a three-mile backup on Interstate 90 at the Route 611 exit. Avon police directed traffic in the sweltering heat near the stadium for hours. "I had so many people sending me screenshots of Waze and pics out on the highways, it was crazy," Hartz said. "The people at work took the picture of 'The Godfather' and put my face over it and said I was the 'Godfather of Gridlock' and put it on my locker. Once somebody screws with you and puts it on your locker, you're legally not allowed to take it down." For information about camping spots, visit clevelandhauntclub.com. Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com.