After two months of work, she and a host of volunteers have turned the talk from what horrors might have gone down there to what frights they have put up in the now truly fake haunted house.
Nightmare on Grelle Avenue opens at 6 p.m. Friday and continues Fridays and Saturdays for the remainder of the month, with the final night being Oct. 31 — Halloween. Tickets cost $10 and are available at Rosauers, Hot Shots, Zions Bank in the Lewiston Orchards and all Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union locations.
The approximately 15-minute tour will take visitors through hallways of the demented and demonic with more attractions outside the former care facility.
Rooms will be filled with actors playing evil parts, keeping with the theme of mental institution. Many of the faux insane will be local high school students who are active in drama. Lewiston Parks and Recreation has loaned its big outdoor movie screen to the production and the horror show “The Ring” will be playing in front of the building.
Concessions, including hot dogs, chili, nachos and hot chocolate, will be available for purchase. A sponsors appreciation night costume party is scheduled for Oct. 27, and the band Capi Kills Cotton will perform on the grounds.
The scares will be toned down on Halloween night and parents are encouraged to bring younger children out to walk through with the lights turned up to trick or treat, Kelly said.
The idea for the haunted house spawned from a circle of friends one night over wine, Kelly said. It just seemed to fit.
It was built as a county poor house in the 1920s and was converted to a care facility in the mid-1970s. In recent times, however, it has sat vacant; ruminating in local lore just past Lewiston city limits toward Mann Lake.
Kelly bought it in 2003 and didn’t really touch it until this August.
By Aug. 6, she was in a meeting with community members who answered an all-call advertisement for those interested in helping.
A caretaker of the elderly by trade, Kelly soon found herself out of her depth but into the idea all the more.
“I’m so far out of my box, I’ve fallen flat on my face,” Kelly said of the new realm of being a haunter.
Work started Aug. 20. On a given weeknight, more than 50 people showed up to help with the transformation from creepy to safely scary. Most were the young actors, but several other community members and professionals donated time and materials to the project, Kelly said.
There wasn’t time to form a proper nonprofit organization, so this year she is fronting the costs. If there are proceeds from the event, some will be saved to put on the event next year and the rest will go to the Lewis-Clark Animal Shelter.
Kelly said she and others have committed to putting on the show for five years.
IF YOU GO: WHAT: Nightmare on Grelle Avenue WHERE: 2621 Grelle Ave., Lewiston WHEN: 6-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26, 27 and Oct. 31. COST: $10 per person, children younger than 12 must be accompanied by an adult over 21. TICKETS: Available at Hot Shots coffee stands, Rosauers, all Potlatch No. 1 Federal Credit Union locations and the Zions Bank in the Orchards. NOTE: On Halloween night, the lights will be turned on and the terror turned down so younger children can walk through and trick or treat.
By Cody Bloomsburg for inland360.com
