Adelanto nursing student enters horror contest to help quadriplegic father

When Anthony Morrell is not studying nursing or caring for his quadriplegic father, the 27-year-old horror enthusiast from Adelanto is probably watching a scary movie.

Morrell is currently vying to win $13,000 to help his father, Richard, through the Face of Horror fundraising campaign in support of the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation.

In the contest, each online vote is worth a pledge of $1 to the foundation, whose goal is to provide financial assistance to families, fund childhood cancer research and bring awareness to the fight against the disease.

“If I win, I’ll use the money to buy my dad a bed and wheelchair,” said Morrell, a student at Azusa Pacific University. “If there’s any money left, I’ll probably use it for school tuition.”

Besides the money, the contest winner will win a walk-on role in an independent film, a two-night stay at Buffalo Bill’s House, and go head-to-head with horror legend Kane Hodder in a photoshoot for Rue Morgue Magazine.

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Buffalo Bill’s House was featured extensively throughout the climactic finale of the 1991 film "The Silence of the Lambs," starring actors Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster and Ted Levine, who played serial killer Buffalo Bill.

The house is in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, along the Youghiogheny River and about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Kane Hodder is an author, stuntman and actor best known for his portrayal of Jason Voorhees in the "Friday the 13th" franchise.

“I love 'Friday the 13th,' and Jason Voorhees is my favorite horror villain,” said Morrell, a 2012 graduate of Oak Hills High School. “Visiting Buffalo Bill’s House would also be cool.”

Faces of caring

Morrell said nursing and caring for others is part of his “family’s DNA,” with his mother, Rachael, an RN and 2015 graduate from APU, and his brother, Brandon, 22, joining him in the same cohort-based nursing program at APU.

Morrell’s sister, Elizabeth, 20, is a caregiver and student at Victor Valley College.

In 2019, drug counselor Richard Morrell, 49, experienced a slipped disc, which pinched a nerve in his already narrowed spinal column.

“My dad was in lots of pain, and he couldn’t move his legs,” Morrell said. “We had no idea the swelling in his spine had progressed up to his C-3. It took doctors 24 hours to realize the spinal cord injury. By that time, the damage had been done.”

“Our family has always been close, but taking care of dad drew us closer together,” Morrell said. “It’s taught us how to deal with hardship and to lean into our faith, which has made us stronger as a family.”

Joining the horror club

Morrell was initiated into the horror movie club around age 6 when his father invited him to sit on the couch to watch the 1982 supernatural horror film "Poltergeist."

“I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t afraid to watch this movie,” Morrell said. “After the movie, I spent the next two weeks sleeping with my parents at night. I also admit that I was afraid of the dark until I was 14.”

On the Face of Horror website, Morrell explained why he would make it to the end of a horror movie.

“I'm a pragmatic and intelligent guy. I might go check a noise, but I'm bringing a weapon and making sure I've got my back covered,” Morrell said. “If things look too strange, or whoever is chasing me can't be killed easily, I'm out of there, without tripping.”

To vote/donate for Anthony K. Morrell, visit faceofhorror.org. The voting deadline is 8 p.m. Thursday.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Azusa Pacific student enters horror contest to help quadriplegic dad