Fright Nights

Three haunted house attractions have joined forces this season to offer the community a Fright Nights discounted combination pass for entrance into all three haunted houses – Terror Within the Walls in Jamestown, The Haunting at the Mall in Lakewood and Town of Terror at the Children’s Safety Village in Ashville.

Fright Nights was established this year after many discussions and ideas were brought up last year from the three haunted house directors, LeAnne Samuelson, Scott Mekus and Terri Kindberg.

“After we brought the idea to the table, it was definitely a hands-down ‘Yes’ decision by all three parties involved,” said Mekus, director of The Haunting at the Mall. “With proceeds benefiting National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc., Chautauqua County Humane Society and Children’s Safety Village, we knew that all the hard work going into this community project is well worth it.”

Friday, Oct. 10, at 7:30 p.m. marks the opening of all three Fright Nights haunted house attractions in the local area. Each haunt has different dates and times.

The cost of the combo pass is $21 and it is available for purchase at Don’s Car Wash, The Cherry Lounge, event locations and online at www.townofterror.net. Tickets must be handed in at each haunted house and the organizers are not responsible for lost tickets.

For more information on Fright Nights, visit www.southerntierfrightnights.com.

Terror Within the Walls, under the direction of Halloween enthusiast Samuelson, will also return to Jamestown this fall. It boasts a haunted house attraction for a great cause beginning Oct. 10.

Terror Within the Walls is a local haunted house attraction that benefits various causes and organizations.

The organizers’ goal is to provide safe, fun, fright-filled evenings for the community as well as support and donations to charities. Through the dedication of the people involved, Terror Within the Walls was able to grant a local wish through the Make-A-Wish Foundation in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 it made donations to Hospice Chautauqua County and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Western New York, as well as Make-A-Wish Foundation again in 2013.

This October, Terror Within the Walls will be presenting a brand-new attraction – Into the Darkness. It is a ghost-hunting experience. Visitors will enter into total darkness with only the ghost detection light to guide them.

“I absolutely love Halloween, putting on haunted houses and all the frights that come with it,” Samuelson said. “I’m looking forward to this year’s Into the Darkness ghost hunting theme.”

The dates are Oct. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 30 and 31, and Nov. 1 from 7:30-11 p.m. at the Pintagro Building (above the Babalu Cafe) located at 14-16 E. Second St. in Jamestown.

The cost is $10 per person with proceeds benefiting the National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc.

For more information, email terrorwithinthewalls@live.com or visit its website at www.terrorwithinthewalls.com or on Facebook.

The Haunting at the Mall, under the direction of Mekus of Eventz by Scott, makes its second-year debut starting Oct. 10 at the Chautauqua Mall. The exterior entrance to the second-floor haunt is behind JCPenney with parking just past the salon entrance.

The dates of the “Fear Revisited” haunted house are scheduled for Oct. 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 30 and 31, and Nov. 1 from 7:30-10:30 p.m.

The indoor haunted house, featuring over 20 rooms of acting scenes, mazes and scares on the unknown second floor of the mall, was introduced to the community in 2013 by Mekus’ childhood memories of St. John’s haunted house in Dunkirk.

“I always loved going to and eventually helping out at the popular St. John’s haunted house on Central Avenue where I grew up in Dunkirk,” Mekus said. “The room-by-room acting scenes were very creative and I remember one year waiting outside to get in through the metal cellar doors which was so creepy as a kid. I wanted to bring this back to Jamestown where I live since the haunted house no longer exists there.”

The cost is $8 pre-sale and $10 at the door. Pre-sale tickets can be purchased at Chautauqua Mall’s Top It! Pizza and Bounce A Lot, Second Chances Thrift Stores and Century21 Turner Brokers.

A special discounted haunt ($5 per person) for the younger children will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 3-6 p.m. during the trick-or-treat event at the Chautauqua Mall.

A portion of the proceeds benefit the Chautauqua County Humane Society in Jamestown. Last year, $1,085 was donated to the animal shelter on behalf of Eventz by Scott.

For more information on the event or to volunteer at the haunted house, contact Mekus at 720-0564, smekus@eventzbyscott or on Facebook at The Haunting at the Mall.

The Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village is hosting the third annual Town of Terror at 2695 Route 394 in Ashville, next to the Hewes Education Center-BOCES.

It will be held Friday and Saturday nights, Oct. 10-25 from 7:30-10:30 p.m. The Halloween event is sponsored by Cummins, Tim Hortons, Wegmans and JS Auto Supply.

This miniature village, normally a training grounds for safety education classes for children, has been overtaken by creatures of the night. Those who love Halloween and would like to be a part of the Town of Terror are encouraged to form a team and use creativity to decorate the most terrifying, haunted building in the village. All guests who come through the haunted village will vote on their favorite, most terrifying building at the end of their tour. The team with the most votes at the end of the contest wins $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place and $250 for third place, which may be kept or donated to their favorite charity. Those participating can encourage co-workers, family and friends to come and vote for their building.

“The Town of Terror gets scarier and scarier each year.” says Terri Kindberg, executive director of the Safety Village. “We assure guests will receive a spine-tingling tour through our haunted village where they will hear dark, eerie, screams of terror coming from somewhere unknown.” It is not recommended for those under 12 or for the faint of heart.

“It is exciting to watch the village unfold into a haunted playground where creatures are around every corner,” Kindberg said. “We can barely wait to have the community be part of the fun. This fundraiser will help us to continue offering hands-on safety classes for children in our community in the areas of fire, traffic and bicycle safety, as well as the new classes offered this year for first aid, CPR and AED training. These classes are so important for the children and may one day, save their lives.”

This event takes more than 75 volunteers each night to fill in all the roles to make it possible. Volunteers include members of the RSVP and Foster Grandparents programs, volunteers from the Cassadaga Job Corp., students and faculty from JCC, organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, Rotary, Lions Club, the American Legions, and members of the Club Associates.

In addition, students from several area high schools are volunteering, not only to assist the Children’s Safety Village, but are receiving community service hours, as well.

To volunteer to be part of this event, contact Terri Kindberg at 499-8138 or tkindberg@hotmail.com.

All proceeds benefit the Children’s Safety Village, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children in our community.

The Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village is located in Ashville. It is a nonprofit organization which was formed in 1996. The DFT Communications Educational Facility, where classes are held, is surrounded by a child-sized village, complete with a business district, paved roads, street signs, sidewalks and everything you would find in an actual village. The purpose of the Safety Village is to educate children, primarily in the areas of traffic, bike, fire and water safety. The Safety Village is sustained through fundraising efforts, grants and donations. All donations are tax-deductible.

For more information, tickets or to make a donation, check out our website at www.townofterror.net or contact Kindberg at 499-8138 or tkindberg@hotmail.com.

Original article by The Post-Journal.