Jaycees Halloween haunted house opens today

The Havre Jaycees annual haunted house above the Eagles Club on First Street opens today, and goers can expect new rooms and new routes.

"It's going in a whole new direction," Kyle Gooch, a Jaycees member, said Wednesday.

The Jaycees host the haunted house as a fundraiser for their Community Toy Chest holiday charity campaign. The entry cost is $3 per person or $2 for those who bring perishable food items. The food will be donated to the Havre Food Bank.

Quite a bit of experimentation went into this year's scary setup, some of it driven by necessity, Gooch said. The month's record-setting snowstorm damaged some of the rooms, so other rooms have been added.

The changes, however, aren't limited to rooms and route changes, Gooch said. People can look forward to other new scary surprises this year during tours.

Scare-free tours will also be available Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. for those who can do without the goblins and ghosts and other haunted characters. Gooch said a lot of children, who can bring flashlights, like the scare-free tours. The scare-free tours cost $2, or payment can also be substituted by two nonperishable food items.

Before decorating the haunted house this year, Jaycee members had to do a little unexpected cleaning up. Someone had spray-painted during off-season some of the interior walls. Gooch said the walls were cleaned up, and as far as he knows, whoever was responsible for the vandalism has not been caught.