A scary good cause: Marietta man in running for Face of Halloween contest
Marietta resident Brandon Lee Richards is trying to make it to the next round of the Face of Halloween contest, with hopes of using the prize money to benefit kids in the community at Halloween and Christmas. (Photo provided)
Marietta resident Brandon Lee Richards is trying to make it to the next round of the Face of Halloween contest, with hopes of using the prize money to benefit kids in the community at Halloween and Christmas. (Photo provided)
Marietta resident Brandon Lee Richards is trying to make it to the next round of the Face of Halloween contest, with hopes of using the prize money to benefit kids in the community at Halloween and Christmas. (Photo provided)
Marietta resident Brandon Lee Richards is trying to make it to the next round of the Face of Halloween contest, with hopes of using the prize money to benefit kids in the community at Halloween and Christmas. (Photo provided)
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MARIETTA - A Marietta man is looking to scare up local support for a good cause - and give something back if he makes it all the way to the grand prize.
Brandon Lee Richards is one of the top 20 finalists in the Face of Halloween contest, with online voting to determine the top 15 set to end tonight at midnight. People can vote once a day for free at faceofhalloween.org. Adding "/2026/brandon-richards will take them right to Richards' page. Additional votes can be obtained by donating to the Starlight Children's Foundation.
"They do really great things for seriously ill kids," Richards said.
A 2012 graduate of Frontier High School, Richards works as a teacher for ArtCart LLC, providing arts education in the region at schools without art programs.
"Once I saw what the charity was all about and what it took to be in the contest, I just on a whim decided to enter it," he said.
Contestants are asked to share photos and information about what they love about Halloween.
"It's always been my favorite holiday," Richards said, pointing to the nostalgia of trick or treating. He and his wife do not have children, so "a big part of it is being able to give back that childhood wonder and fun.
"Halloween is the perfect time with the candy and people dressing up; it's a good time for me to kind of feel like a dad," Richards said.
They decorate their house so that it's "spooky but still enough that the kids won't be scared to come up to the house." Weather permitting, he likes to set up a screen and show a family friendly Halloween movie, as well as "try to give out a little more than some other houses might."
The Face of Halloween prizes include a trip to a horror convention, where the winner can meet stars of famous scary movies; an appearance in Rue Morgue magazine; and a ghost hunt alongside Kane Hodder, who played Jason Voorhees in four "Friday the 13th" movies and appeared in a host of other horror flicks.
But the biggest lure for Richards is the $13,000 prize, which he wants to share with the community for Halloween and Christmas.
Richards said he'd like to put on a community Halloween party in his old stomping grounds of Lawrence Township, featuring a trunk or treat and other activities for children.
At Christmas, he'd like to use the money to ramp up his and his wife's donations to Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program and "try to make Christmas next year for the kids in the community really special for them," he said.
Richards said he wants to give back after the support he received during a health crisis last year, when local churches held fundraisers to help with his medical bills.
"My community here, they really came together for me, helped me out," he said.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.