WAWOTA - Wawota’s haunted hotel, held from Oct. 28-30, was a scary success, according to Michelle Klein, one of the many organizers.
The unused portion of the Wawota Hotel, known as the community watering hole, is the place this carn-evil took place.
The haunted hotel began in Lynette Coffey’s garage. Kayla Porter and Danielle Dennis previously hosted the Movember fundraiser; together they produced the haunted house idea. They approached Barb from the hotel if they could use the unused portion and then it all started. The haunted hotel was born.
This was the seventh year for the haunted hotel, but for two years the event was put on hold due to the COVID-19 regulations. Now they were eager to get the spook out of everyone.
The group, consisting of five members – Lynette Coffey, Kayla Porter, Kristen Murray, Andrea Smyth and Klein – had to make up for lost time.
Each member of the group has family involved, along with several other regulars who have been faithful in helping every year. According to Klein, it is what makes this event so much fun.
Twenty kids also take part in the event by helping and dressing up on the kids’ side, but once they hit a certain age, they move over to the adult’s side of horror.
It takes weeks of preparing for this one weekend, from lighting to building to costumes. Of course, the scarier the better.
In 2019 over $10,000 was raised and returned into the community.
This year the proceeds will be donated to the Wawota Community Forum, Wawota Curling Rink and the Wawota Daycare.
On Oct. 28 and 29, the event began at 7 p.m. They remained open until midnight or later to allow everyone a chance to go through the horrors.
“It is amazing and so scary, I loved it,” said Kimberley Moore.
“We had a blast. This is our first year and loved how interactive it was,” added Stephanie Leech.
Sunday was kids’ day. The hotel was packed with children and parents waiting their turn, and there was the fresh smell of popcorn.
Eager kids waited in line for a chance to go through the tamer version of the haunted hotel.
If one was faint of heart, they might have toured the kids’ day, as adults’ night had a surprise around every corner for the thrill seekers.
No photo taking is allowed inside the house, as they did not want anyone to give away the horrors that laid in wait for the next victim.
The three-day event had people screaming, exactly what the organizers had hoped for. The more the screams, the happier the team was.
Each corner is carefully planned. One would never know if the mannequin was fake or if it was a real person.
The haunted hotel had nearly 800 people pass through the cobwebs and gore.
The group is extremely happy with the outcome of people attending, to make this a successful event.
