Chills, thrills await visitors at haunted house
Staff writer
Sometimes it's hard to tell the adults from the kids when it comes to coming up with ideas for the annual Haunted House, a yearly fund raiser for the Marion Middle School eighth grade class.
"I don't know who has more fun — the kids or the adults," said MMS instructor Charlene Metcalf. She and MMS principal Tod Gordon help sponsor the annual event.
"You never know what's going to happen," said eighth grader Justin Anderson. "Sometimes it's just the suspense that makes it so interesting."
The Haunted House is located at 212 South Coble and is open to all ages. The haunting experience begins this weekend (Friday and Saturday) and continues through the following weekend Oct. 25-26. Hours each night are from 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is $3 per person.
Proceeds from the Haunted House help fund the eighth grade class trip to St. Louis in May. During the trip, students have many educational experiences including visits to the St. Louis Arch, the courthouse where the Dred Scott case was heard, and even a trip to Busch Stadium.
Students who participate in the Haunted House earn points that translate into money for the trip based on how many hours the student works at the Haunted House project, Metcalf said.
Like last year, this year's house was provided courtesy of Tim Richmond of Marion Manufacturing. The house will be demolished at some time to allow for future expansion of the business, Metcalf said.
"Tim owns the house and last year he told us that if it hadn't been torn down yet we were free to use it," Metcalf said. "So here we are."
Since the house is slated for demolition, the kids have pretty much free rein to do whatever they'd like with it including knocking out walls to create secret passageways or escape routes for various ghosts and goblins.
"I told Tim that by the time we get through with the house it will be pretty much demolished," Metcalf said laughing.
Visitors to the Haunted House are greeted by a front porch with red and yellow tape warning "danger" and "caution." Inside, visitors will find a variety of scenes guaranteed to cause a fright including the story room, the witches' room, and the crime scene. In a barn-like structure on the property, visitors will encounter the "mad scientist" room and then slide down to an outdoor tunnel where other frightening scenes may occur.
"You've got to be sure and go down that slide," said parent Caroline Kelly, who was helping at the house Monday.
"For the younger kids who may be too scared to go into the house we've created a children's realm," Metcalf said. "There, the kids can take rides in a trailer pulled by a lawnmower and can dig around in straw for trinkets and candy.
"So we have something for every age," she said.
And by every age, she even means adults. Although most of the visitors to the house are children from fifth and sixth grade on up, even adults take in the scary festivities.
"Last year we had a group of 4-H parents come," Metcalf said. "It's a fun way to prepare for Halloween."
