Haunted Carnival takes over La Quinta home

One La Quinta woman takes Halloween very seriously, turning her home into a haunted carnival the whole neighborhood looks forward to every year.

“I thought what’s more scary than clowns,” said owner Kelsey Hertwig. “I get kind of crazy for Halloween.”

This La Quinta house stands out. A spooky graveyard with flying ghosts lead into the entrance of the haunted carnival called the Deadliest Show on Earth.

“We’ve got a ticket booth and you can get some ear and eye kabobs,” said Hertwing. “Of course the freak show, and all kinds of animated stuff in the haunted house,”

If that’s not enough, kids have to walk through a wall of webs before they get their treats.

“I think it’s cool that my Nana could put this much effort into her house,” said Amy Vasquez.

“We always come here every year. It’s one of the best houses in the neighborhood, I think in the whole valley. The kids like it, I love it. Everything is different every year,” said La Quinta parent Octavio Garcia.

For 20 years, Hertwig has been the master of all things scary.

“We just had a couple of things out, and over 20 years you accumulate more and more and it just turned into this,” said Hertwig. “Usually it takes me a week or two weeks to put it together.”

Each year the display gets bigger and scarier.

“I love it! This is like my Christmas, Halloween is just it for me,” said Hertwig. “What keeps me doing it over and over is the kids just enjoy it, the parents enjoy it and the community enjoys it, so it keeps me going.”

Hertwig also decorates for Christmas, but admits she does a lot more for Halloween.