If you lived in Historic Brookhaven in the 1990s and early 2000s, you may have been lucky enough to garner an invitation to Sandy and Tunstall Rushton’s annual Halloween Party. Months prior to the party, they cleared out paths through the woods at the back of their property, hired actors for a  haunted house and psychics to tell fortunes, and worked to turn their property into a sophisticated Halloween experience that rivaled commercial haunted houses in other parts of the city.

 

The haunted house started at the parking pad of 4416 East Brookhaven Drive, wound into the woods of the one-acre property, over a deck, and into the house, which was still the

original one (not the current home built there in 2018). The haunted house actors were Oglethorpe University students. Their costumes and makeup were virtually professional; imagine blood, goth, werewolf hair, and other spooky features. One year, an entire room of the house was a torture chamber. Usually, one actor was stationed as you entered the woods and would jump out at you. A moving hand followed you.

 

Guests entered the party at the top of the driveway. Psychics from Hoot Owl Attic Metaphysical Bookstore, which is now located on Mount Vernon Highway, told your fate in a fortune tellers tent located near the house. “You had to get in line when you arrived they were so popular,” says former next-door neighbor Stephanie McGarity.

 

The Rushtons had a separated wooden deck where the band, food, and bar were located. Each year, they held a costume contest. The contestant with the most applause won. Stephanie remembers winning one year when she dressed as the Greek and Roman goddess Diana the Huntress. Joseph Adam Wargo, who is now 25 years old, also won as a second-grader when he dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

As well as nearby neighbors, the Rushtons included longtime friends, their kids’ school friends, and coworkers. Despite the gore and cocktail bar, it was also a family affair. The party went into the wee hours of the morning.