In the 1980s, Denning was brand new to the Jaycees and partnered with the Enon chapter to learn how to operate a haunted house. In 1986, the Enon chapter discontinued its haunted house and Denning decided to start one in Riverside.

With $2,500 on a credit card and about seven teenagers, they started the haunted house in the former Zephyr Awning building at 1213 Old Harshman Road in Riverside. The first year they donated $2,500 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This was at a time when haunted house tickets were only about $3 to get in.

Who are the Riverside Jaycees?

The Riverside Jaycees “was founded on the idea of giving back to our community and providing young adults a way to learn and improve their leadership skill and providing an avenue for networking,” the organization’s website states.

“Being a service organization as we are, we’re out there helping and building a better community,” Julie said. “Jaycees are doers. When you need something done in your community, you call the Jaycees.”

Through the haunted house, the Jaycees were able to buy the Riverside Fire Department its first thermal imaging camera. 10 years later, they were able to buy the department another one and because of networking, a local business donated a second one, Denning said.

Other community service projects the Jaycees do throughout the year include a holiday kids program with gifts and activities, providing gifts and meals to families in need during the holidays, a community Easter egg hunt and movies in the park, among several others.

“Because we learn to become leaders in our organization, we also are out in the community becoming leaders in our community and that is what Jaycees are all about,” Denning said.

What to expect at the Haunted Castle of Carnage & Trail

The Haunted Castle of Carnage & Trail is 100 percent volunteer from the construction and marketing leading up to the season to the acting throughout September and October.

“The only reason we’re able to do this is because of the volunteer kids that we have,” Denning said. “We build this with an idea of how the room is going to work —we’re trusting them to make it work.”

The 3,000-square-foot haunted house features “old school jump scares.” It could take guests anywhere from seven minutes to 20 minutes to walk through the house. Each group is accompanied by an adult to ensure the safety of their student volunteers.

“We may not get you every time, but we’re going to get you at least once,” Denning said.

The haunted attraction also includes a trail that’s about a half a mile long and a maze that could take guests up to 30 minutes to figure their way out.

With the haunt being operated strictly by volunteers, there is a lot of passion that goes into it.

“It allows them to use their creativity, which I think is positive for the youth,” Julie said.

Many of the students are from the Mad River Local Schools District and by the end of the season they are family. Each night, the volunteers get to the haunted house about two hours early to eat dinner and get into costume. The students can then earn community service hours.

My experience becoming an actor

I stopped by the haunt on Sunday to see what it was like to be an actor at the haunted house.

Jason Byrd, a volunteer at the haunt for 39 years, did my makeup to make it look like a dentist drilled into my cheek. He layered liquid latex paint and toilet paper to create my skeleton, then gave my skin a “deadish tone” and went around my eyes with black paint. He completed my wound with more coloring to “grunge it up” and added fake blood.

I was given a shirt to wear with blood splatters on it and was paired with an actor at the dentist scene.

What the actors do at the haunt is harder than it looks. My job was to sit in a dentist chair, scream and flail my arms and legs, while the other actor had a drill and acted like she was drilling my mouth. I found it hard to scream the first couple of times, but by the third go around, I was doing much better.

We ended up changing the scene and I acted as if I was drilling the “dentist” and then the dentist took the drill, started drilling my mouth and went towards the people passing by with the drill.

I can confirm we did scare some of the people that walked through.

Overall, I had so much fun! It was exhilarating not knowing what type of group was coming through next — were they going to be scared? Or were they going to take it like champs?

After meeting the other actors and hearing about what they do each night, I’m excited to go through the haunt and see them in action.

In mid-October, the Dennings and other volunteers will start talking about what they want to change for next year. Depending on their schedules, they could start preparing for the next haunt season as early as February or as late as June.

“By coming to the Riverside Jaycees Haunted Castle of Carnage & Trail you’re not just getting a good entertainment value for $17 a person... those dollars are being given back to the community,” Julie said. “It’s a really easy way to give back to the community, just by coming out and having a nice night out with your family and friends.”

MORE DETAILS

The Riverside Jaycees are hosting a kids matinee from noon to 4 p.m. Oct. 19. It’s designed for young children to see the haunt with the lights on and learn what happens at the haunted house at night. Cost for the matinee is $4 per person and all proceeds go towards helping families during Christmas.

The Haunted Castle of Carnage & Trail operates 8 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 8 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 27. Cost is $17 per person. VIP/fast passes are available for $25.

For more information, visit riverside-jaycees.com or the haunted house’s Facebook page (@RiversideJayceesHauntedCastleofCarnage).