CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — The year-round Haunted House Restaurant shines this Halloween season as people from all over the country travel to the Cleveland Heights destination.

Ryan "Shug" Gilkerson calls himself the good thrill ambassador at The Haunted House Restaurant.

And Halloween, well, it's sort-of like their super bowl.

"We wanted to have a concept that brought something really unique to Cleveland, something that made a tourist destination for us here in Cleveland," he said.

Gilkerson said the restaurant has evolved since it opened in 2021. 

"It was interesting at the beginning, you know, it was a slow start," he said. "We were still wearing masks, and not the fun kind, when we opened. It was pretty ambitious to think we could do it, but luckily the strength of the concept of the menu drove us to be able to remain open during that time, and now we’re stronger than ever two years after that."

Guests come in from across the country for special birthday celebrations. The restaurant has a movie-themed menu that includes nonalcoholioc Casper's kid-friendly bowls and haunted potion bowls for adults. They've also had visits from horror movie stars from Jason to Freddy to Michael Myers.

"Last week, we had people from Massachusetts and Alaska here at the same time that came to Cleveland because they wanted to eat dinner with Michael Myers because they saw him dance on TikTok," Gilkerson said.

He said it's the good food, horror movie inspired artwork and cast of characters that keep people coming back for more.

"There’s such a great population of people that love horror movies," he said. "It’s nostalgia. It takes them back to their childhood."