A Bellefonte family is celebrating a national television win after their home at the entrance to a cemetery was chosen as HGTV’s Scariest House in America, winning a $150,000 home renovation.
Kat Momenzadeh, an English teacher at Bellefonte Area High School, said she and her family were shocked when producers told them they had won.
“We thought we were gonna spend the next 10 years fixing this house,” she said. “And they kind of did it for us, they did our five-to-10-year plan in eight weeks.”
Momenzadeh said filming with show host Retta began around May 16. Just days later, movers arrived to clear out their belongings for the surprise renovation.
“It was a whirlwind,” she said. “By May 19th, they had brought movers to our house to take our stuff out. It all happened so fast.”
The renovation was led by designer Alison Victoria, who incorporated bold colors, arched designs inspired by the cemetery gate, and custom-built bookshelves.
“She went hog wild with built-in bookshelves, which I am absolutely pleased about,” Momenzadeh said. “They’re the most beautiful bookshelves that ever exist.”
Built in the mid-1800s, the Gatehouse originally served as the residence for the cemetery’s caretaker. After the caretaker program ended around the turn of the 1900s, the building remained under cemetery ownership but gradually fell into disrepair. In the 1970s and 1980s, it became a haunted house attraction, with actors and walk-through scare scenes. The property was later purchased and restored in the 1980s, transforming it back into a livable home. Kat Momenzadeh and her family became its newest owners in February of this year.
Living beside a cemetery, Momenzadeh said it would almost be strange not to experience something spooky. One recent evening while cooking, she noticed her Bluetooth speaker repeatedly turning itself down. When she finally lowered the volume, the interruptions stopped.
“The ghosts must not like loud music,” she joked. “We have to respect our ‘neighbors.’”
Local builders, including Paint Ninjas and Bellefonte Building Supply, completed much of the work. Many of the furnishings came from downtown antique stores such as Victorian Rose and Mish Mosh.
“They did a really beautiful job,” Momenzadeh said. “It was actually all local people doing the work, and that was really meaningful to us.”
Momenzadeh said the experience has left her family feeling grateful.
“This is kind of beyond what we could have ever imagined,” she said. “We just feel very grateful that they were able to get us so much headway in our own vision.”