Downtown Mitchell haunted

• Haunted house

Spooky scenes like this face visitors to the Halloween Haunted House through Halloween night at 223 N. Main St. in Mitchell. Proceeds will aid the DWU Theater Department and the Children’s Miracle Network in South Dakota. (Ross Dolan/Republic)

Talk about it

Those who dare can experience the terrors of the Halloween Haunted House — above Ben Franklin at 223 N. Main St. — from 7 to 10 p.m. through Halloween night and help some children and college students at the same time.

A tamer tour for young children will be from 6 to 7 p.m. each night.

The Haunted House tour costs $5; proceeds will be split between the Children’s Miracle Network and the Dakota Wesleyan University Theater Department.

DWU theater students will run the fright fest.

“Every room offers a different kind of scary,” promised Nathan Hofer, DWU student activities director.

Hofer said theater students, with the help of community volunteers, are pulling out all the stops to make this year’s haunted house a memorable terror tour, complete with fog, lighting, make-up and other special effects.

“The theater students bring a ton of creativity,” Hofer said. “We’ve had some people who have had so much fun they came back and went through a second time.”

The location has long, dark hallways with lots of doors, a scenario that offers unlimited possibilities, he said. Building owners Ron and Jan Christensen gave permission to use the location.

Children’s Miracle Network raises funds for children’s hospitals, and the funds raised will be used by the organization to help local children, said Hofer, who is also planning a February Children’s Miracle Network “Tigerthon” fundraiser.

Tags: haunted house, life, updates, local, mitchell, halloween