Jaycees gear up for haunted house

If you're wondering where the bodies are buried or in which closets the skeletons hide, ask a Carson City Jaycee.

The Jaycees are busy rummaging through those closets, digging out the costumes and props for their annual Halloween season spook house, the Haunted House of Horror.

The spook house is a fund-raiser for a number of local causes and volunteers from several organizations help the Jaycees put the attraction on each year, Jaycees president Mark Jacoby said.

"The Karson Kruzers, the Carson High band, the Carson High drama club and the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada will all benefit from the haunted house," Jacoby said. "But the main beneficiary this year will be the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada."

The haunted house will be at the north end of Frontier Plaza at Carson Street and Winnie Lane, 1987 North Carson St., in the former location of the Bike Brothers bicycle shop.

"We've got 16 or 17 rooms and we've got all the costumes and props we used the last two years when we at the Ormsby House," he said.

Because the location is smaller than at the Ormsby House, the less-spooky side for small children had to be dropped. The Haunted House of Horror would be appropriate for any child at least 10 years old, Jacoby said, and parents may want to accompany younger children.

"We're just doing it for the older folks this year, but we're packing a lot into that smaller space," he said. "The tickets are less expensive this year - admission is just $5 instead of $10."

Revenue from the haunted house is a major source of donations to the other organizations, he said.

"Last year we brought in $61,000 from tickets, but we also had a lot of expenses. This year we got a good deal on the lease from Frontier Property, only $1,200, and our only other expense has been drywall to create the rooms."

The Haunted House of Horrors will run Oct. 20 and 21, then Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, he said. Hours will be 5-11 p.m. schools nights and 5 p.m.-midnight weekends and the nights before holidays, he said.

Volunteers from the Emblem Club, Kruzers, school band and drama club boys and girls club and museum are helping the Jaycees prepare and present the haunted house, but anyone else who would like to volunteer is welcome, Jacoby said.

"Last year, we had a pool of 380 volunteers. So far this year we've got 40 to 45, but we'd like to have as many as possible," he said.

Anyone interested in volunteering may call him at the Boys & Girls Club, 882-8820.