Twitter
Facebook
***image1***It might be all Halloween hype. But some folks claim there is a haunted
house at Ramstein so scary that grown men don’t make it past the first
room. They say a visit to this spooky spot, located near the wooded
area of the 38th Construction and Training Squadron compound, is a
fright night that leaves visitors wondering whether to scream, run, or
both.
It’s Haunted Tent City 2005 and organizers promise it to be the best nightmare before Christmas that ever was.
“Oh, you can expect to be very scared,” said Tech. Sgt. Matt Castillo,
who is among the 45-member crew constructing the annual haunted house,
which runs today to Monday.
Haunted Tent City was started eight years ago. The 38th CTS booster
club, also known as The Deuce, was looking to raise some money. It was
Halloween. They had some tents and a few twisted minds, they said, and
the Haunted Tent City was born. Now, it’s tradition— a rite of passage
for the 38th CTS crew to devise ways to make the heart thump and pulse
race.
“It’s definitely the most authentic haunted house that I’ve been to,”
said Tech. Sgt. Keith Martin, also working after-hours and through the
evenings to set up the house.
Construction began Oct. 19, on the 30-minute haunted tour that winds
through pitch- black halls, dark forests and a place they call “the
butcher shop.”
Visitors, including local German nationals, in the past have lined the
lot long before tickets go on sale, some waiting two or three hours for
a chance to get the heebie-jeebies.
But the Deuce members are no ghouls. They share their Halloween
haul—money raised from ticket sales—with local clubs, schools and youth
organizations. Last year, the Deuce club gave away about $10,000, said
Staff Sgt. Manolito Carrabis, Deuce president. Club members also send
care packages to military personnel downrange.
Carrabis and the crew won’t reveal any of antics they have planned,
only saying this year’s Haunted Tent City will be better and more
unpredictable than year’s past.
“You’ve got to make it out of there alive,” Sgt. Carrabis said pointing
toward “the ally” or the final attraction at the house. “That’s what we
say.”
Haunted Tent City is open 7 p.m. to midnight today to Sunday and 7 p.m.
to 1 a.m. Monday. Tickets are $4 for adults and children over age 12.
Haunted Tent City is not recommended for children under age 12. The
38th CTS compound is outside of the Ramstein West Gate.
