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Stories

Woman breaks both ankles in NYC haunted house: lawsuit

Nick Cannon once visited this haunted house in Queens and made it out unscathed. He was one of the lucky ones.

A Haunting in Hollis, which operates out of a private home along Hollis Avenue in Queens Village, has created a true trail of horrors, according to no less than five lawsuits brought by people claiming to have been hurt there.

A decade ago, Cannon filmed a segment for his talk show at what he called “haunted house in the ‘hood.’”

Solainne Moncero-Tannis, 33, wasn’t as lucky. She visited the spooky attraction, which has been in business since 2002 in a house owned by Janette and Lataya Carter, in October 2023 and left with two broken ankles, she alleged in the latest lawsuit, filed Oct. 2 in Queens Supreme Court.

A Haunting in Hollis operates out of a private home in Queens Village. J.C. Rice

Moncero-Tannis had gotten married just two weeks before she visited A Haunting in Hollis, where she went down a 20-foot slide inside called Satan’s Slope, according to her Oct. 2 lawsuit.

The slide went “straight down in the pitch dark” and landed on concrete, her lawyer, Michael Goldberg, told The Post.

The spooky attraction has been in business since 2002. J.C. Rice
Solainne Moncero-Tannis had to learn to walk again after her surgery. Courtesy of Solainne Moncero-Tannis

Moncero-Tannis had surgery to repair her shattered ankles and needed to learn how to walk again.

“It’s been very difficult for me, psychologically, emotionally, and physically,” she said. “To this day, I have difficulty navigating stairs, and day-to-day activities are not the same for me.”

The terrifying attraction was finally shut down by the city over safety concerns this week after officials found the building had been “radically altered.”

“The interior arrangement was totally changed so that anybody in there, in case of an emergency, would have a very hard time getting out,” NYPD Assistant Chief of Fire Prevention Tom Currao told The Post.

The city issued a full vacate order for the home Oct. 5, Buildings Department records show.

Inspectors found 40 paying guests on site at the time, as well as a “combustible maze,” a blocked exit, and removed fire-proofing.

The haunted house has been sued five times over severe injuries. J.C. Rice

Currao cited structural and electrical issues, noting the two-story, two-family, 1,982-square-foot home had some of its wooden beams cut to accommodate a spiral staircase that was part of the attraction, along with “holes in the walls.”

“We want folks to enjoy the holiday and kids to have a good time, but this had really all the makings of a very, very dangerous situation,” he said, adding, “Right away, when we heard about it, we thought about the Great Adventure tragedy that happened a number years ago.”

A fire in the Jackson, NJ amusement park’s Haunted Castle killed eight teenagers and left seven others hurt in May 1984. Great Adventure and its parent company were eventually found not guilty of manslaughter.

Four other lawsuits against A Haunting in Hollis and its owners were lodged last year over injuries sustained in 2022 and 2023. At least one other person claims to have broken their ankles on Satan’s Slope.

A Haunting in Hollis featured a maze as well as a number of escape rooms with live actors. Tickets cost $30.

The haunted house features a slide called Satan’s Slope and Pennywise the Clown from “It.” J.C. Rice

There are several disclaimers for A Haunting in Hollis, including an online waiver releasing “the owners, operators, and staff from any liability, harm, injury, or death” that may occur once “you assume all risks associated with the experience.”

Janette and Lataya Carter, who property records show live in Owings Mill, MD, did not respond to repeated emails seeking comment.

The city does not require haunted house operators get a license.

“This is a real house of horrors,” Goldberg said before the city inspection. “I am amazed that this can continue to operate, year after year, without safety protocols put in place, without safety inspections, and, at a minimum, liability insurance, which it appears they do not have.”

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