Last Halloween, the Columbus Police Department “investigated” a haunted house in downtown Columbus after a woman reported her family missing from it. The house must have bad luck, because this October, a chemical spill turned it into a zombie-infested “maniac house,” CPD investigator Tommy Watkins said.
That’s the fictional scenario CPD is using to launch its annual Haunted House, this year with a special zombie theme. CPD’s Benefit Fund Committee is presenting the Haunted House to raise money for the citywide annual toy drive for Columbus’ underprivileged children.
The Haunted House will highlight block party-like events outside the Trotter Convention Center on Oct. 27, 28, 30 and 31, which will include everything from people dressed as zombies walking the streets to a kids’ safety zone where children can play on jump castles and take train rides. The Haunted House itself will be across the street in the old tax office behind Zachary’s Restaurant on Second Avenue North.
Police officers and volunteers, led by Community Police Officer Rhonda Sanders, are in the process of setting up the house, which will include zombies and horror movie villains. Just one room in the building will have a costumed priest performing an exorcism, and Watkins promises jump scares all through the hallways. The entire building is full of props and dolls with enough blood and guts to fulfill any horror movie lover’s expectations.
“(In our scenario, the chemical spill) is what made the house go crazy,” Watkins said. “You’ve got insane people in here. … It’s going to be fun.”
Sanders still needs is volunteers for the four nights of events.
“We’ve been really blessed with people donating and volunteering,” she said. “…These are people who just want to be a part of helping kids in need.”
Sanders already has volunteers from the Columbus Air Force Base and organizations for teenagers like school Beta Clubs and the Mayor’s Youth Council to help out in the kids’ safety zone. Still, she and Watkins said they’re not going to turn anyone away who wants to help.
Sanders has coordinated with the Columbus Volunteer Center at United Way to recruit more volunteers to man jump castles and paint faces. In particular, they need makeup artists and adults to dress as zombies.
“We’re going to turn this whole block into Zombieland,” Sanders said.
The zombie theme is prevalent enough that Don Teems, a creature actor who plays various zombies on AMC’s hit TV show “The Walking Dead,” will sign autographs at the event on Oct. 28. Sanders and the Benefit Fund Committee invited Teems back to Columbus after he visited it for the first time last summer at Columbus’ second Golden Triangle Comic Con.
Food can also be purchased any night of the event, with various “grill masters” providing dinner, Sanders said. She added that children will be trick-or-treating, so she is asking businesses to provide wrapped candy.
As fun as it will be, she said, it’s all to raise money for the toy drive, which parents may register for in the CPD lobby Oct. 9-12. They must have a picture I.D., proof of residence within the city limits like a light or gas bill and proof they are parents of the child they’re registering, such as a birth certificate or Social Security number for the child.
Entry to the Haunted House is $10, while jump castles and train rides for children are each $2. While most funds raised will go to the toy drive, Sanders said the Benefit Fund Committee will save some for the families of police officers who become sick or injured.
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