Above: Oliver Thedens, left, Season Kotewa, Elizabeth Kotewa and Nola Thedens created a ‘haunted garage’ at the Thedens’ residence. It will be open to the public this Saturday and Sunday.
FAIRMONT– Halloween weekend is here and while there are many places to attend the increasingly popular ‘trunk and treats,’ locals can also make their way through a haunted house. For the second year, a group of teenagers have set up the attraction and invited the public to come through.
Oliver and Nola Thedens, and Elizabeth and Season Kotewa have worked on setting up the haunted house inside the Thedens’ garage. The haunted house is located at 528 W. Interlaken Road in Fairmont. It will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Oliver said that he’s always been a big fan of Halloween and last year he got around to thinking that putting on a haunted house would be a fun thing to do.
“I asked my parents (Justin and Tara) and I didn’t think they would say yes to be honest, but my dad said it was okay,” Oliver said.
They threw it together in a short amount of time and simply posted about it on Facebook a few days before hand, inviting anyone who wanted to come.
“We had around 150 people come though,” said Season.
Oliver said they were surprised with the attendance, not only because it was a last minute event, but because in years before that, when they were just handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at their house, they’d have about 20 people come by.
He speculated on the popularity, saying, “Maybe because it’s a new thing. There’s not many things like this in the area.”
The kids could recall a haunted house held at Five Lakes Centre in past years. Aside from that, they listed haunted houses that they’ve heard have been in Mankato, Spirt Lake, Iowa or at Valleyfair in Shakopee.
“Those are all so far away,” said Season.
Oliver and Season are both 15 and Elizabeth and Nola 13. They said most people their age attend Halloween parties so having a haunted house to go to just adds another fun option.
After last year’s success, the group said they knew they wanted to do it again this year. They started planning for it in earnest in August.
“We had our diagram all set up and a list of things we knew we needed, and a list of things we wanted but weren’t sure we would get. We got most things on our want list,” said Season.
Oliver said his favorite part of putting on the haunted house is getting the decorations. The group has gone to the Halloween store in Mankato and has also had fun shopping around locally at Dollar Tree and Walmart.
“Last year we were on a hunt for spider webs,” said Season.
Oliver said they started setting it up around the first of the month. The haunted house boasts a number of frightening features, including spiders, ghosts and dismembered bodies. They’ve been able to add new items this year, thanks to donations.
The haunted house is offered for free and Season said they didn’t anticipate getting any donations last year, but that it helped fund this year.
“Any donations we get will help fund next year so we can move to a bigger space or have more decorations,” Oliver said.
Tara Thedens said if they do it next year, they’ve discussed holding it in a bigger space.
The kids are anticipating an even bigger turnout this year since they’ve had more time to get the word out. They also think that by offering it over the course of two nights, it will work better for people’s schedules.
“A lot of people have told us they’re excited to come,” said Season.
While it’s only in its second year, the haunted house has garnered a lot of attention and Tara said she’s proud of the work the kids have done.
“They work so hard and it’s exciting to see them put it together,” she said.
The kids all agreed that they like seeing their vision come to life after weeks of planning, purchasing and setting up.
And they’re not all about scaring people, not if they don’t want it anyway. They can dial down the scare factor by turning the lights on or taking it easy on the scare tactics, which makes it perfect for people of all ages.
Most of all, they enjoy the opportunity to provide something fun for the rest of the community.
“We’re bringing groups of people together and making them happy,” said Season.
“Or scared,” added Oliver with a laugh.
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October 29, 2021 at 12:16PM
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