Haunted Grotto awaits those who dare

With Halloween less than a month away, the frights await those who dare to visit the sixth annual Haunted Grotto.

This year’s Haunted Grotto is “completely different” than in years’ past, said Mikhail Stith. “We tore it completely down last year and have put up new scenes, new hallways and mazes.”

The walk-through haunted house will feature “15 different scenes or haunts” with “strobe lights, fog, complete darkness (and) uneven floors,” Stith said.

To prepare for this year’s Haunted Grotto, Stith and other Aad Enterprise members attended the Transworld Halloween and Attraction Show in St. Louis in March.

Stith described the event as the “biggest one in the world. A few of us attend that every year for new props, new ideas, new masks (and) new makeup.”

The planning and construction, according to Stith, then began in May.

“Just like with any other event we put on, anyone else puts on, it takes several months of construction,” Stith said.

The scenes, Stith said, will all be different and feature some not-so-happy clowns, which are featured in “just about every haunted house.”

Without giving away too many details, Stith said, “we have a chapel with nuns this year,” as well as a life-size morgue.

Stith said it will take on average about 15 to 20 minutes, depending “on how the fast the group goes, to walk through it.”

The Haunted Grotto, he said, usually averages between 2,400 and 2,500 visitors each year.

While there is no age limit to attend the Haunted Grotto, parental discretion is advised.

The Haunted Grotto will be open from 7 to 10:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October, as well as on Oct. 30 and 31. Cost is $10.

All proceeds will go toward the Aad Grotto building and maintenance.