Noah Hobbs won't be causing mayhem in West Deer's Bairdford Park this Halloween season

If you were hoping to hear what kind of mayhem Noah Hobbs has been up to this year, you’re going to have to wait.

Hobbs is the main character in the West Deer Nightmare haunted house held each October at Bairdford Park.

For years residents have returned to see what kind of spooky stories will turn up.

However, this year the haunted house is canceled because the organizer now serves on township’s board of supervisors.

Shawn Maudhuit said he isn’t allowed to make a profit on the event now that he’s serving the township, but hopes to bring it back next year with someone else running it.

“It’s amazing how beloved it was around here,” he said. “Everybody’s response to it not coming back this year is really starting (the) creative juices.”

Maudhuit came up with the idea in the early 2000s when he was on the township’s recreation board. He came up with the character of Noah Hobbs, who remains somewhat of a mystery, but is believed to be a serial killer.

Each year, Maudhuit would create a new twist to the story to keep residents coming back.

“It was like my baby,” he said. “I created it from the ground up.”

Maudhuit said the stories of Noah Hobbs sometimes get confused for the legend of a real person and he has to remind people it’s just fiction.

“I got two calls this year from paranormal clubs that want to come out and look at Bairdford Park,” he said.

Maudhuit said he will get residents who come up and say they found clues in the woods around the park that something may have happened.

Maudhuit said he and the roughly 30 crew members who usually work the haunted house had a party this month to catch up because they all miss the event.

“The rawness of the West Deer Nightmare makes it realistic,” he said. “It was like they walk into a nightmare — everything was custom made.”

Although residents won’t be able to visit the haunted house this year, Maudhuit leaves them with just one question to ponder in the meantime: will Noah Hobbs strike again?

Emily Balser is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Emily at 724-226-4680, emilybalser@tribweb.com or via Twitter @emilybalser.