For just one night, ghosts and ghouls will haunt the halls of the Melbourne Beach Volunteer Fire Department.
A team of dedicated helpers devote nearly 200 collective hours over two days to transform the fire station into a spine-chilling haunted house.
It opens to the public Saturday evening (Oct. 20) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Except to make your way through a dark maze of witches, demonic clowns – and a few new spooky characters that will keep regular attendees on their toes.
The event’s coordinator, Jeff Boos, who has the perfect surname for the job, said the haunted house has been an annual tradition for over seven years, drawing between 400-600 visitors for an evening of thrills and chills.
“We are always looking for ways to get involved in the community and this idea became a very popular event,” said Boos. “We start building it Friday and it takes a lot of people to do it.
Boos said it is a scary haunted house that adults, teenagers and children 10 and over will enjoy – but because they have a system in place allowing the characters to tone down the spooky chills when younger kids come in, all ages are welcome.
Adults and teenagers are asked not to wear costumes, but children are encouraged to dress up.
“It’s a little scary for the younger kids, so we have a protocol for the person controlling the line to alert us to a younger audience,” Boos said. “Then we can adjust a bit and put some glow sticks on.”