For 14 years, Anthony Cabrera has spent about 500 hours a year creating his Mableton haunted house, transforming his property into a haunt that drew neighbors and out-of-towners alike. This year, the screams are final: Cabrera and his family are holding what they've confirmed is the haunt's last season, closing out a tradition that has funneled money toward gifts for sick kids for well over a decade.
The haunted house, located at 1260 Grand View Drive SE in Mableton, has become something of a Cobb County institution, according to FOX 5 Atlanta, which reports this marks the attraction's 14th and final season. The station notes the family contributes $1 for every person who walks through the door, with those proceeds going toward Christmas and birthday presents for kids receiving treatment at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. FOX 5's Hernan Gutierrez reported live from the haunted house as the family geared up for its closing run.
Not every account agrees on exactly how long the haunt has been running. The family's own 2026 website describes it as having operated for 13 years, framing the season as coming after “13 years of terrifying, thrilling, and unforgettable haunts,” per the site's own listing. Whether the count lands at 13 or 14, the family and local reporting agree on one thing: this is the end of the road for the annual scare-fest.
A Fundraising Legacy Built One Scream at a Time
The numbers behind the haunt tell a story of sustained, grassroots fundraising. FOX 5 Atlanta reports the family raised over $34,000 last year alone for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The family's own materials put that same period's total even higher, stating it raised more than $34,839 and purchased 2,405 gifts in 2025. A neighborhood publication, meanwhile, reported that the family and its supporters provided more than $38,000 in holiday gifts for CHOA children the prior year — it's unclear whether that figure and the other totals represent the exact same fundraising measure or period.
This year, the family has set a goal of raising $30,000 again, according to the haunt's own website. That money, organizers say, goes toward purchasing gifts for children across all four Children's Healthcare of Atlanta locations. A GoFundMe tied to the 2026 event describes the effort as raising money specifically for CHOA's Christmas Toy Drive.
500 Hours of Building, One Corporate Attorney's Secret Life
Pulling off a haunted house of this scale isn't a weekend project. The family's website states the planning and building process takes over 500 hours each year — a commitment that has added up over more than a decade. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the family estimates it has invested around $100,000 in the haunted house over the past 14 years.
Cabrera's day job doesn't exactly scream haunted-house mastermind. By day Cabrera is a buttoned-up corporate attorney, but by night he's a prop master, builder and evil genius, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The outlet also reports that since 2012, Cabrera and his family have welcomed thousands of neighbors and strangers into their Vinings Estates home in Smyrna — a detail that points to some ambiguity in how the property's location is described across reports.
Mableton or Smyrna? Reports Differ on the Address
Even the haunt's precise location has drawn slightly different descriptions. FOX 5 Atlanta places the address in Mableton, Cobb County, Georgia, while Axios describes the same Grand View Drive SE address as being in Mableton within Smyrna city limits. Either way, it's the same house that has drawn crowds year after year — the family's own site describes the event as an annual tradition for not only families in the area, but people who travel from out of town for the event.
Now, after more than a decade of fog machines, fake blood, and five-figure fundraising hauls, Cabrera and his wife say they plan to retire the haunt to enjoy new traditions together, according to FOX 5's reporting. For the kids at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta who've benefited from the family's Halloween hustle, this final season carries a bit of bittersweet weight — but for one Mableton family, it's time to hang up the fake cobwebs for good.
