There is something wonderfully Long Beach about turning a modest Los Altos home into a haunted attraction, recruiting local drama students to bring it to life, and asking visitors to help their neighbors in exchange for a good scare.
That is Fairbrook Manor, Robert Duck’s annual transformation of his family’s home. What began as a pandemic hobby has become a full-fledged, volunteer-powered Halloween tradition, drawing visitors from across SoCal while collecting money, food, and toiletries for the Long Beach Rescue Mission.
Fairbrook Manor’s fictional backstory follows Victoria Fairbrook, whose husband and two sons drowned in a lake behind their home. Consumed by grief, she kidnapped local children to replace the family she lost. After her death in 1932, the captive children perished and the abandoned house burned down—but every October, the Manor reappears in the mist, its trapped spirits haunting the grounds and Victoria searching for new souls to keep her company.
This year, Robert hopes the Manor’s cumulative donations will exceed $30,000. Behind that ambition is a decidedly personal endeavor: a lifelong love of Halloween, the theatrical possibilities of a front yard, and the satisfaction of watching young performers grow up alongside something they helped build.
How Fairbrook Manor began: Halloween was Robert Duck’s sourdough bread
Robert grew up in Downey, decorating his grandparents’ house and admiring the neighborhood’s haunted houses. Someday, he figured, he would make his own. And that someday arrived in 2020. His work as a training manager slowed during the pandemic, leaving time to learn prop building through YouTube videos and experiment with tools and materials. While other people were feeding sourdough starters, Robert was building scares.
“This was my sourdough bread,” Robert said, laughing. “It was basically a pastime for 2020. And then, well, I got the bug and got into prop building. I began watching YouTube and these Hollywood masters, learning how to make my own stuff. Crafting. Learning the tools. And that year, we did a display.”
The first version was a display with a small outdoor trail through the front yard. Visitors wore masks, and candy waited on a driveway table. There were no live actors—just props, Robert, his wife, and an unexpectedly enthusiastic audience.
With major Halloween attractions shuttered, hundreds of people showed up. Neighbors stopped to talk. Visitors drove in from elsewhere in SoCal. People working in movies and other creative industries found their way to the house. And that meant Robert had to go bigger or go home.
From a front-yard display to a little piece of theme-park theater
In 2021, Robert decided the Manor needed a full walkthrough, inspired by the haunted mazes of the OG haunt-fest, Knott’s Scary Farm. His stage would be the driveway and front yard of the family’s 1947 home: a modest postwar cottage with a white picket fence, rather than some sprawling estate.
The appeal lies in the overlap of theme parks, theater, and cinema: building a setting, placing performers within it, and inviting people to step into a story. Robert’s introduction to prop making came through online tutorials from Hollywood craftspeople. For the next step, he turned to Long Beach’s drama classrooms.
He emailed high school drama teachers throughout Long Beach Unified, asking them to share a flyer seeking volunteer actors. Seven or eight students joined that first cast.
“I’m a creative guy at heart,” Robert said. “I’m a showman at heart. And I know how to put a team together.”
Fairbrook Manor will always pay attention to details, but this year, it’s all about focusing on operations.
The production has grown more elaborate each year, but so has his attention to the less glamorous details that make an attraction work. Proper signage. Crowd movement. Helping visitors understand where to go. This means that trips to theaters and theme parks now double as research.
“My mind is in a whole different place because I want to make it really smooth and make it as safe as possible,” Robert said. “Creating intentional flow and pause through the walk-through. Making sure sound and lights are seamless. Ensuring our neighbors are content. Having the actors learn how to back off when needed if a kid is too scared. We don’t want to ruin a child’s entire perception of Halloween over an actor’s dedication to the scare… These are all the things I am obsessing over this year.”
That work continues between Halloween seasons. Robert plans scenes before his spring and summer estate-sale outings, looking for objects that can serve a particular setting. Vintage pieces bring texture and history to the Manor and, given storage constraints, ensure every acquisition requires some thought.
“I always liked yard sales growing up,” Robert said. “Because I like vintage stuff, I like things with the story behind it. And that helps craft the Manor each year. I even ask if objects have bad juju because the last thing I need is to bring home a vase that an angry granpda clutches onto in the ether.”
Fairbrook Manor has become a Halloween camp for Long Beach’s young performers
The actors have become one of the Manor’s most meaningful stories. This year’s cast is the Manor’s largest yet, with students representing roughly eight high schools, adults participating, and parents helping manage traffic and crowds. Three performers from the original 2021 crew still return, now as college students. Robert’s own 13-year-old son has grown up around the annual gathering.
“The way I phrase it to people now is like, I feel like I’m running a Halloween summer camp or a Halloween fall camp,” Robert said. “Because all the kids come back every year. Their dedication is both heartwarming and inspiring.”
Their enthusiasm helped determine this year’s schedule. After reducing the number of operating nights in recent seasons, Robert is returning to six at the actors’ request. They wanted more chances to scare people—and committed to the work that requires.
Turning scares into support for the Long Beach Rescue Mission
As attendance grew, Robert saw an opportunity to put the crowds toward something beyond entertainment. He had volunteered at the Long Beach Rescue Mission before and appreciated its approach to helping people rebuild their lives. In 2021, he contacted the organization about collecting donations through the Manor.
“I’ve got to use this foot traffic for something bigger and better,” he said. “Since it’s a free community experience, how can I turn this foot traffic into something good.”
The Mission supplied collection barrels and a list of needed items. Robert encouraged visitors each year to bring canned goods or toiletries, turning a Halloween outing into a chance to provide practical necessities or direct monetary donations.
Robert says donations have increased each year. For 2026, he hopes to push the total monetary contributions past $30,000 over the Manor’s lifetime—a cumulative milestone, alongside the food and toiletries visitors have brought.
How to visit Fairbrook Manor 2026 in Long Beach…
Fairbrook Manor is at 5426 E. Fairbrook St. in Long Beach’s Los Altos neighborhood. Its posted 2026 evening schedule runs 6:30PM to 9:30PM on:
- Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18
- Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25
- Friday, October 30
- Sunday, November 1
Admission is free, and donations are encouraged to support the Long Beach Rescue Mission. To avoid congesting the residential neighborhood, guests can park at the nearby shopping center. Check Fairbrook Manor’s Instagram before visiting for updates, current donation requests, and details about its advertised daytime experience without scares. Remember that this is a family home in a residential neighborhood: follow the volunteers’ directions and be considerate of neighbors.
For Robert, the joy of the Manor is that people keep showing up—for the scares, for one another, and for a tradition built in their own city.
“Believe it or not, it brings a lot of joy,” he said. “Creating a place where Halloween traditions and memories are made is the best feeling”
