Extra Large Tormented Corn Trail, Fence Maze of Fright, and The 33 year Long Standing Haunted Shack all located in one place! The Haunted Shack started several years ago as a community driven haunted house. It was just a small three-hour product held in a small 600 sq. basement of the local fire hall in Gary New Duluth. With local citizens digging through their attics and garages for Christmas lights and other props that they used to make the haunted house. Someone else would bring a small boom box with a Halloween spooky mix and play it in the background. A web of ropes and plastic suspended form the fire house ceilings made the haunted maze. Actors dressed up in costumes and would jump out on cute to scare kids and adults that ventured through the small haunted house. One day they asked a local citizen if he would be willing to put the product on. This man accepted the challenge and put his thoughts together with some of his closest friends. They started setting up three days prior to the event. Working long hours throughout the night to set up their web of ropes and maze of plastic walls. Then worked on detailing their scenes for the three-hour product to come. The day came and passed and this man was asked to do it again the following year. He accepted under a few conditions:
1.) A much larger building
2.) More running days
3.) A donation fee to be given to the local Special Olympics and a can good donation for the local food shelf
The conditions were accepted and the local man (dubbed as the Halloween Freak) gathered his closest friends and the local Troop 13 Boy Scouts and ventured into their new 1,800 sq. building. The following year, flyers were distributed and word of mouth roamed quickly that the local skating shack was to be turned into a “Haunted Shack” thus the name. The Haunted Shack – having two weeks to put up their plastic walls and scenes, they turned the skating shack into a true haunted shack. Neighbors pooled their skills and props together to make this a successful fund-raising drive. With full community and city support the Haunted Shack was a success! On opening night they had a sneak peak for the press, media, and even city officials – the Mayor, City Council, and even a State Senator) attended the opening event. Each year the Haunted Shack has grown with more volunteers, more sound equipment, and the evolution of portable 2x4 walls. In 1998, the Haunted Shack had a little snag. The local community education group needed the building during the dates of the Haunted Shack and after looking like the 3 years of fun was coming to an end – a local Parks & Recreation employee offered half of his community center to the now 50 Halloween freaks to continue their fund raising activities. The new building offered 2,500 sq. of space. The advertising went out to local papers, TV channels, and radio stations. This year was the biggest success of the annual Haunted Shack event. Over the years the Haunted Shack has escalated into a full blow month long production with live actors, computer animation, and many volunteers. The planning for this Haunted House constantly goes on year round, between designing new sets to gaining sponsorship support – it takes an entire crew constantly work to make each year better. For more history visit our website at: http://www.hauntedshack.com/evolution-of-the-shack.html
