SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A popular Sioux Falls haunted house opens its creaky doors for the first time this Halloween season Friday.
The Jaycees Feargrounds has been a reliable source of scares at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds for more than half a century.
A spooky stroll through the Jaycees Feargrounds haunted house is not for the faint of heart…or bladder.
“It’s fun scaring people, making them pee in their pants, drop to their knees, all that fun stuff,” Jaycees Feargrounds co-chair Grace Arneson said.
Volunteers with the Sioux Falls Jaycees will pop out of the dark hallways and greet you with a friendly sneer.
14-year-old Landon Albers has been scaring visitors since he was knee-high to a ghoulish grasshopper.
“This is my 10th year. I’ve been with the Jaycees my entire life. I started at the end just smacking the door, scaring girls coming out. Now, I’ve been sliding for about three years. I started on just my knees. Now, I’ve got all of the pads and stuff,” Landon said.
Right now, we’re in the common room of the haunted house. Some live musical entertainment. E-flat, e-flat, e-flat, e-flat! There you go.
Let’s see what else we’ve got here. A little more bounce in that step.
What did I tell you: no between-meal snacks! Come on, now!
You never know who, or what you’ll run into whenever you turn a corner in this haunted house.
Blaaaaah!!!!
Get’s ’em every time.
“The hardest part is if you get hit, just by random people,” Landon said.
“Sometimes customers end up bumping into us, or if we just scare them too good,” Arneson said.
Scaring the daylights out of people can be a bonding experience for the volunteers.
“We become like so good a friends out here and it kind of becomes like a close-knit family,” Arneson said.
A frightfully close-knit family. Just be sure to stay away from the creepy cousin.
Money raised at the Feargrounds goes to Jaycees’ projects including purchasing holiday gifts for kids.
Sunday is Kids Day at the Feargrounds, when the lights are turned on inside the haunted house for little trick-or-treaters.
You can plan your visit to the Feargrounds, including ordering tickets, by going to their website.
