Powderhorn haunted house raises money for acting troupe

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Bessemer - Screams echoed off the slopes of Big Powderhorn Mountain Resort this weekend as the ski hill and the Awkward Stage Drama Club partnered to host A Haunting at the Hill.

"(A haunted house) has always been something (we've considered), and all of us thought it would be a really fun thing to do. And so we decided to try and go for it this year," said Cathy Flory, who oversees marketing and special events for Powderhorn. "And then (we) found out the Awkward Stage wasn't doing it at the Historic Ironwood Theatre anymore so we asked them if they wanted to do it here, and it's been an awesome collaboration."

Those who weren't able to make it to the ski hill over the weekend will have one final chance, as it is open Wednesday for Halloween from 5 to 8 p.m.

Starting in Powderhorn's main lodge, visitors took the elevator down into the building's basement to tour the haunted house, traveling through the passages to emerge in the Caribou Lodge.

"It was pretty scary," Ironwood resident Samantha Grace said after completing the tour. "It was very thrilling."

With an estimated 300 people visiting the haunted house and wait times over of one hour or more Saturday night, and a steady stream of visitors Sunday; organizers were pleased with how the first year of the haunted house was going.

"It's going great," said Mary Hansen, the co-director of the drama group. She said everyone was having a great time over the course of the weekend.

She thanked Powderhorn and its staff for sponsoring the haunted house, explaining the drama group got involved because they had hosted past haunted houses.

"They asked us to collaborate because we had done it before," Hansen said.

There were 22 kids in the group this year, according to Hansen, with around 20 kids taking part in the haunted house.

Along with the kids, Hansen said there were many adult volunteers who made the event possible - including her co-director Gene Goss, who did most of the planning for the group; and Greg Gasman, who invested over 100 hours helping get things ready.

The money the club will make from the three days will help the club pay for its various costs.

"We have to pay royalties on any production we do, we have costumes to buy," she said.

With the first time an apparent success, organizers are already looking forward to bringing the haunted house back in the future.

"We're hoping to do it again next year even bigger and better, and take all the feedback we've gotten and improve every year," Flory said.