From lawn care to Big scares ‘It’s the human beings that make it come alive,’ says family behind annual Halloween haunt Heebie Jeebies Made in Manitoba
By: Aaron Epp Posted: 6:00 AM CDT Monday, Oct. 26, 2026

RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MACDONALD — Tim Muys wants Heebie Jeebies to be legendary.

The first evidence is the latest maze at the annual Halloween attraction, which Muys and his wife, Michelle, operate just southwest of Winnipeg in the RM of Macdonald: “Legends of Horror” puts visitors face-to-face with iconic movie antagonists such as Leatherface, Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger.

But further evidence can be found in Muys’ ambitions for Heebie Jeebies. With 3,400-plus five-star Google reviews and more than 30,000 visitors annually, Muys advertises the business as “Canada’s No. 1 privately owned Halloween attraction.” His vision is to build a second location in Calgary and then a third in Edmonton.

Between the populations of those two cities, plus the surrounding communities, he believes Heebie Jeebies would draw a significant crowd every fall. By his estimation, it would put the business on the map as one of the largest Halloween attractions in the world.

“I’m very much looking forward to that,” Muys, 53, says of the expansion. “(It’s) still years away. That’s the long-term plan, though.”

Now in its ninth season of operation, Heebie Jeebies features five mazes, four food trucks, five carnival games and more than 20 interactive photo booths.

This year’s edition boasts more than 30 new characters and 40 new animatronic scares, four new photo ops and the second annual appearance of the attraction’s giant Frankenstein’s monster, of which, Muys says, there are only two in the world. Each night also features a performance by local magician, stuntman and escape artist B. Oddly.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that gives you a bigger bang for your buck or has more to do than we do,” Muys says. “This isn’t a 45-minute walk-through. Our event is a two-hour-plus event. There’s so much to do here.”

The scares began with lawn care, and the lawn care began with a love affair.

Tim and Michelle started dating when they were Grade 10 students at St. Maurice School in the late 1980s. They graduated in 1991, and were married three years later. He pursued a degree in environmental design at the University of Manitoba, while she worked toward a nursing degree.

During his university years, Muys mowed lawns and was employed at Safeway, where he worked his way up to an assistant manager position. Michelle worked at the Westin Hotel for five years before taking a position at Air Canada, where she spent the next decade.

By 1996, the lawn mowing business had grown large enough to warrant a name, and Green Blade Lawn Care was born. The Muys decided to make it their full-time pursuit, and by 2007, it was a million-dollar company. Four years later, annual revenue was $2 million.

Along the way, the couple had four children: Declan, Cole, Gabrielle and Brycen.

Today, Green Blade Lawn Care employs around 75 people during the summer, with annual revenue totalling $6.5 million. The Muys’ opened a second location in Calgary two years ago (under the name Bam! Green Lawn Care), where there are around 20 staff members during peak season and annual revenue has grown to $2 million.

Ten years ago, business was going well and the Muys family were plotting their next entrepreneurial endeavour.

Muys had long thought about starting a Halloween attraction. The family had gotten hooked on them about a decade earlier while vacationing in Florida and attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios resort.

The couple figured they could either expand Green Blade Lawn Care into Calgary or start a Halloween attraction in Winnipeg. Since their children were still in school, they figured staying close to home for the time being was the best decision for their family.

“We decided, OK, let’s do Heebie Jeebies,” Muys says.

One of his first orders of business was to travel to TransWorld’s Halloween & Attractions Show, an industry convention held annually in St. Louis.

He connected with suppliers such as Poison Props from Minneapolis and Unit 70 Studios from Columbus, Ohio, and began purchasing costumes, animatronics and static props for his new business.

The Muys family built Heebie Jeebies in a fenced section on the same property where Green Blade Lawn Care is headquartered.

They tested a modest-sized attraction with family and friends in 2017, and opened to the public the following year. About 7,000 people visited.

Now, Heebie Jeebies is a 70,000-square-foot site that features more than one kilometre of mazes built inside shipping containers. The site includes more than 200 animatronics, plus giant static figures that cost around $15,000 each. There are $2,500 worth of pumpkins purchased from a local farm, and the business raises money for three charities — STARS Air Ambulance, Make-a-Wish Canada and the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation — via hot chocolate sales.

The business runs every Thursday through Sunday in October. It employs 230 people, including 25 parking attendants, around 40 security staff and 140 actors. The Muys family invests $1.2 million into the business each year, which includes purchasing $400,000 to $500,000 worth of new props, animatronics and costumes.

Tickets range in price from $40 to $52. Annual profit is around $300,000, which makes Heebie Jeebies the Muys’ least successful business from a financial standpoint. Still, they foresee that number growing in the future, especially if they expand into Alberta.

The market is there, according to a report Mars Canada released Oct. 19. Based on a survey of 1,000 Canadians that Ipsos conducted, the annual “Spooktacular Trends” report shows that nearly half (48 per cent) of Canadians consider Halloween one of their favourite holidays of the year. Gen Z (63 per cent) and Millennials (57 per cent) enjoy the holiday most.

Almost half (49 per cent) of Canadians consider Halloween to be a full season and not just one day, and two in five (41 per cent) engage with Halloween content year-round.

For Muys, the best part about running Heebie Jeebies is watching visitors react.

“I’ve sort of discovered inadvertently that I’m a voyeur of watching people having a great time and screaming simultaneously,” he says. “I love seeing the people having a blast. That’s what it’s all about for me.”

He praises his staff for making the attraction what it is today.

“I’ve got 200 animatronics here, but if that’s all it was, people would get sick of this real fast and nobody would come anymore,” he says. “We have all this really cool stuff, but it’s the human beings that make it come alive. They’re the heart and soul.”

aaron.epp@winnipegfreepress.com