It was a record opening weekend as nearly 400 people experienced the frights inside this year’s Haunted Grotto.
Now in its seventh year, the Haunted Grotto is a walk-through haunted house featuring “14 or 15 different haunt scenes … dark hallways, flashing lights and mazes,” said Mikhail Stith.
The scenes, according to Stith, are very similar to last year when the haunted house was completely revamped.
Planning, Stith said, goes on year round, but “a lot of the trade shows and things like that were canceled this year, so nobody really got to attend anything like that” to get new props or ideas.
“We never really hesitated to have it,” said Stith. “We were just kind of waiting to the last minute to see what was going to be happening” with the pandemic.
The Haunted Grotto opens at 7 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October, with the last tickets sold at about 10 p.m. each night. Tickets are $10 per person.
Masks, Stith said, are optional, but “we’ve got places marked in line to keep you six feet apart from other groups.”
It typically takes about 15 to 20 minutes to go through the haunted house.
“We usually send anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 (people) through a year,” Stith said. “Our goal this year is to try and get 3,000, but we don’t know if we will with everything going on.”
Both nights of recent opening weekend were “record nights,” with between 375 and 400 people in attendance, Stith said.
While there is no age limit to attend the Haunted Grotto, parental discretion is advised.
All proceeds will go toward The Grotto building and maintenance. The Grotto is used during the year for meetings and events organized by the Three Rivers Shrine Club, as well as for other functions.