Ghosts, Goblins, Ghouls! Oh my!

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristin High
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Fall festivities are celebrated in many different ways around the world. In Mexico and other Latin American countries, Día de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, honors deceased loved ones and ancestors. In countries such as the United States, Ireland and Canada, families celebrate Halloween traditions by trick-or-treating and having costume parties.

At Barksdale, the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron booster club will be honoring the holiday in a ghoulish manner by hosting their annual haunted house Oct. 26 to the 31.

"This year everything is so different because we are hosting two haunted houses," said Lainy Fromm, 2 CES office automation clerk. "We have added one off base to get more involved with the community and hopefully build more revenue from the sales."

Last year, the haunted house earned more than $2K, from which the booster club donated a portion of the proceeds to the Combined Federal Campaign.

"The haunted house is one of our squadrons main fund raisers because we can all come together in fellowship with other members of our squadron," said Airman 1st Class Tevin Tolver, 2 CES structural journeyman. "We rarely get to see some of our EOD and Fire Department brothers, so we do the haunted house to bring our big family together. It's an environment that we can all share our thoughts on how we want the event to run and also share a few laughs."

The Civil Engineer Squadron includes everyone from structures and electrical to explosives ordinance disposal and fire fighters. Training from most of their everyday jobs helped to create the spooky labyrinths.

"The training I've received helped tremendously in building the haunted houses," Tolver added. "I was able to use all the knowledge I gained to make sure all the walls we built were safe and sturdy. I also was able to teach other members of other career fields about my job as well as learn about theirs."

Attractions that were built include zombies, ghosts and some Fright Night classic villains along with an abundance of surprises lurking around each corner of the mysterious walk-through.

"Thrill seekers can expect to walk through a maze of terror and excitement," he said. "We're definitely making sure people are getting their money's worth at our haunted houses. Everyone is invited to the haunted houses, however if there are children or anyone with heart conditions, we will accommodate them. It's all in fun for a nice scare."

The haunted houses are open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day until Nov. 1. The house on base is located at 3700 Dunn Blvd. on the East side past the Airman Leadership School building and is open to all DoD personnel and guests. The haunted house off base is located at 7081 Youree Drive and is open to the general public. Admission is $5 for children and $7 for adults. For more information contact 1st Lt. Cameron Bowsky at 318-456-4148.