Here's a Halloween map of the biggest scary houses to visit in London

As Halloween approaches, dozens of London homeowners are proudly displaying their spooky spirit and inviting people to give back to the community, in exchange for a scare.

CBC News spoke to a handful of people who have put up elaborate displays that took months to create, some using technology and trickery to spook and impress passers-by. We've also produced a map (below) so you can plan to visit these houses, if you dare, ahead of Halloween.

“There's so much community, and I'm a big nut for community. I love it, and I love seeing people smile,” said Londoner Sarah Appleby.

Appleby runs the Halloween display at 65 Wethered Street, near Highbury and Oxford. As well as inviting people to test their nerves, the scary house is also asking for non-perishable donations to the London Food Bank.

Appleby said the decision to spook people in the name of charity was an easy one, marrying her love for Halloween with her desire to help at a difficult time for so many.

“It would be selfish if we didn't do it because there's so much foot traffic,” she said.

The result of that effort is Camp Weathered, a family-friendly Halloween walk through a haunted summer camp that Appleby says steps away from the gore-factor, and focuses more on the wow-factor.

When venturing through the camp, one can expect to cross through a spider-infested hallway, meet an (artificially) intelligent skeletal camp counsellor named Steve, and peer down an eerie, seemingly endless stairway.

It’s almost entirely handmade, including a huge animatronic tree named Doug (his full name is Douglas Fir).

In the five years they’ve run a food drive at their house, the Appleby family says they’ve collected thousands of pounds of food and have had as many as 300 people visit in one night.

But Appleby doesn’t want people to stop at her display alone.

That’s why she created an information board with a hand-painted map of London and dozens of displays marked.

According to Appleby, the list keeps growing, a show of how big the community of enthusiasts is growing.

“Once a year you all just hang out, talk, share tips and tricks, and then we'll disperse and get back to our real lives,” Appleby said. “But every Halloween it's like family, and that's great.”

CBC London digitized Appleby's map, with some additions of our own, below:

One display on the map is the work of Zander Waller and his family.

It’s at 59 Apeldoorn Crescent, and invites those who are brave enough to walk through the yard. Waller’s display raises money for the Humane Society London & Middlesex.

“They need donations to do their work, so we take both monetary and physical donations for that, and we give it all to the Humane Society, whether it's physical or monetary,” he said.

Waller’s display started small roughly seven years ago, but he said he couldn’t resist letting it grow year-by-year.

“There was no intention to make it this big, but it just happened,” Waller said.

It includes multiple distinct sections including a graveyard, a dragon’s lair, and a claustrophobic tent full of oddities.

Reactions to the display range from interest, to screams and scares, he said.

While Waller is headed to university next year, making this year the likely end of the display, he said he’s happy to have been a part of the city-wide group of passionate Halloween lovers.

“I'm really grateful that there is a big community because not only do we get to do it, we also get to see other people do it and see and get inspired by other people. It’s been great,” he said.

Another display at 270 Admiral Drive raises money for the London Food Bank, with resident Carlie Henson telling CBC News her family collected roughly 1000 pounds of food last year.

According to Appleby, displays across London back other charities and non-profits, and some act as toy drives.

While the families that run the displays continue to work hard, she said she hopes to see her list grow into the future.

"If you're interested, the first step is going out and meeting a homeowner, finding out how they do it, finding your passion, and just doing it," Appleby said.

"That's how we started, and we're going to keep going"

Do you have a Halloween display you want featured on our map? Please contact us at [email protected].