Silent Mills haunted house planned as fundraiser

The Carrier Mills-Stonefort High School juniors held the first meeting of the prom and after prom party fundraising committee at the village library on Friday evening. These juniors are embarking on endeavor to raise funds for their prom and after prom party and are planing an ambitious display as their first effort.

The juniors, with the assistance of the parents working with the students, have acquired permission to use the old NAPA building located on North Main Street in the village, to create a veritable chamber of horrors, of frights and scares, tricks and traps to thrill area residents with their "Silent Mills" Haunted House. The Friday meeting was the first for the committee.

Under the guidance of the six or so parents in attendance, the over a dozen juniors in attendance quickly decided on what they wanted to do as their first fundraising project. As the various ideas had begun to come together last week in the form of a haunted house, the assisting parents made arrangements for the use of the old NAPA building.

At the meeting the juniors were quite enthused about the project, ideas for scenes, masks, the possibility of the old pie in the face delivered to random guests in the haunted house, and different lighting and sound effects flew around the table. Each young man or woman present eager to add their input to the discussion.

As the parents discussed the nuts and bolts of providing electricity if necessary, time frame for construction and costumes, the juniors were deciding on a theme for the October event.

"Has anybody see that movie "Silent Hill?" Kelsie Charley asked the group.

Most said that they had and Kelsie then suggested the theme of "Silent Mills" for the October events, This was duly adopted by a unanimous vote of the committee. Further ideas were discussed, with Rhaman Fann suggesting a three-on-three basketball tournament with the fee for each team being $20 to $25. A penny pinch, car wash and soda and hot dog sales fundraiser was set for the weekend of Oct. 18.

The Silent Mills committee decided to have the haunted house open for Oct. 9, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 of Catskin Days. They plan to have it open again for the Friday Halloween celebration in the village Oct. 31. Some ambitious juniors wanted to open the house on every Friday night after Catskin Days.

So Catskin Days visitors can look forward to a chilling, thrilling and maybe a just plain terrifying experience in the Silent Mills Haunted House this October.