Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Friday, October 24, 2003
Boo: Behind the scenes at area haunted houses
By day, Tracy Lindley loves kids. But when the sun begins to go down and 6 p.m. rolls around, things get a little scary.
She becomes an "insane, psycho, demented woman" who frightens her family members and loved ones.
The transformation from nice to nasty begins at 5 p.m., when she and other volunteers arrive at The House of Shadows, a haunted house run by the Boys & Girls Club in Sparta, Wis.
More than 50 people — including Boys & Girls Club staff members, students of all ages, business owners, firefighters and law enforcement officials — volunteer night after night to thrill others.
"All these volunteers give up every weekend in October," Lindley said. "It gets to be a long season, but it's fun."
A typical fright night begins with Amy Roeske, a four-year volunteer at the haunted house. She gets the evening rolling by applying her makeup techniques.
"I don't do pretty for makeup," she said. "I only do ugly."
Roeske makes Lindley's face white before using different applications of color to make her eyes appear to be sunken in. A splattering of blood serves as the finishing touch.
After Lindley is done in the make-up chair, she puts on a dark brown robe and styles her blond hair to look as though she stuck her finger in a light socket. Then she puts in her glow-in-the-dark contact lenses.
Throughout the night, Roeske, who learned how to do scary makeup through her high school drama club, assists scarers with touch-ups.
"It's fun to make people look ugly," Roeske said. "I like to scare the crap out of people."
For Lindley, it's the "sheer adrenaline of getting people to be scared" that keeps her volunteering at the house.
"We work with a lot of great people," she said. "People say we're nuts to give up every weekend, but it's definitely worth it."
As Lindley sits in a rocking chair waiting for guests to come into her room, her eyes aglow, she said the anticipation of a good scare oftentimes gets the best of her.
"It's kind of a domino effect," she said. "I can hear screams throughout the house. Scare after scare. It's hard to wait until it's my turn."
While in character at the haunted house, Mike Jamesson, a second-year House of Shadows volunteer and Monroe County Sheriff's Department detective, becomes a reverand, who has come to the house to help save lost souls, and Bobo, a fat, dorky kid who is in search of some candy and isn't allowed in the house.
"I help out, tease kids and scare adults until they wet their pants," Jamesson said. "It's very cool."
As the Rev., Jamesson walks around in front of the house, tells some true — and some not-so-true — stories and does a skit with a coffin. Jamesson said Bobo is a character that has proven to be popular with kids. He wanders around the outside of the house wondering how to get inside for treats.
"It's fun to be someone you're not," Jamesson said. "I like the acting."
Natalie Carlisle, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Sparta, volunteers behind the walls with a walkie talkie type system.
"We walk around throughout the house and let everyone know it's time to run," Carlisle said. "We take care of the guests outside and help set the rooms."
Once the house is open, Carlisle and other behind-the-scenes volunteers take care of quality control checks and also trouble shoot.
"We make sure everyone is OK and doing good scares. We also assist with working breaks of food and water," she said. "If the music stops, we get it started again."
The most requested item by scarers, Carlisle said, is cough drops.
"They're all screaming and yelling and need something to keep their throats wet," she said. "Sometimes water bottles just don't equal scary."
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 782-9710, ext. 357, or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
IF YOU GO
Looking for a good scare this Halloween? Look no further. Here is a list of some of the Halloween haunts and
scares throughout the Coulee Region. For those looking for less scary, more family-friendly events, check out the Family Calendar in Sunday's La Crosse Tribune.
n Haunted house: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 29, 30 and 31, Green Lantern Coffeehouse,
571 E. Third St., Winona, Minn., not suitable for young
children, (507) 453-9520.
n Walk of Horror: 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26, and
Friday, Oct. 31, bluffs behind Saint Mary's University,
$5 for adults, $4 for children younger than 14, $3 for
SMU students, Winona, Minn., (507) 457-1638.
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