Those looking for an extreme scare leading up to Halloween can expect something creepy lurking around almost every corner in the legion basement.
Royal Canadian Legion Turner Valley Branch #78 volunteers are working to put fear into the brave of heart in the annual Legion of Monsters’ Stone Hill Asylum.
Participants brave enough to do so can tour the asylum through dark hallways and rooms Oct. 25-30 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Oct. 31 from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Co-ordinator Jace Staples is ensuring volunteers don’t hold back this month.
After being under the guidance of Legion of Monsters’ brainchild Jess Friesen, who stepped down this year due to personal commitments, Staples knows what sends shivers down the spines of the young and old.
“She taught me a lot over the years,” Staples said. “I’ve been going off what I’ve learned from her and some of the ideas that she’s given me over the years, but I’ve been putting my own twist on it a little bit.”
Staples began as a volunteer a decade ago, lurking in the shadows as one creepy character or another.
“It’s always fun as a kid to hide around a corner and scare adults,” he said. “I went from being one of the actors to doing a lot of the design and a lot of the set up. Now here I am organizing it.”
The experience served Staples well. She is now working with a crew of mostly children.
“One of people’s biggest fears is seeing young kids portrayed in any type of horror aspect,” he said. “That’s going to work out in my favour because we have a lot of young kids volunteering this year.”
Keeping hallways and rooms dark is another aspect that contributes to the scare factor, said Staples.
“If they can’t see what’s going on immediately in front of them that tends to get under their skin a bit,” he said. “In areas we do have some corners that are very, very dark. They get so disoriented that it gets easy to scare people.”
Loud noises also bring on fear, said Staples.
“We’ve got elements of loud noises,” he said. “Once you get down there we’ve got music playing, which is fairly loud.”
Linda Macaulay, who’s volunteered for the Legion of Monsters for eight years, said work preparing the asylum began last month. Macaulay and her husband, Doug, have played a role in both setting up and scaring people.
“It’s so much fun,” she said. “I don’t go out trick or treating anymore, as much as I would love to, so it’s just something that gives you enjoyment. The best part is when you’re there in the basement scaring people.”
Macaulay said Legion of Monsters has become a major event in the community.
“The mission of the legion is, first, take care of our veterans and their family, and then the community,” she said. “In our community there is not a lot for the kids to do. This provides seven nights of entertainment that the kids can come to and have fun and don’t have to leave the community.”
The Legion of Monsters isn’t only directed to children, said Macaulay.
“The adults are the most fun to scare because they come in with attitudes like, ‘you’re not going to scare me,’ yet suddenly they’re freaking out,” she said.
Participants can select one of three scares: no scare with the lights on, some rooms eliminated and no interaction from actors; medium scare with little interaction from actors; and extreme scare that involves the actors going into full scare mode.
Macaulay said the volunteers have radios and are told in advance which scare level is requested from each group going through.
“If visitors can’t go through any level of scare, we have chicken doors,” she said. “It’s a way to get them out without finishing the rest of the tour. We’ve had some who can’t even get through the first part.”
Macaulay said an average of 2,400 people tour the asylum each year.
Tickets cost $7 for ages 13 and older and $5 for those 12 and under.
The legion is hosting a children’s Halloween costume dance Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The $5 admission includes a tour through the asylum.
