Clinton Haunted House back after one year absence

CLINTON Haunted houses are supposed to be scary, but a year ago, officials in Clinton announced that a venue without a sprinkler system was just a little too frightening for the state fire marshal's office.

For the first time in 19 years, the Clinton Chamber of Commerce's most profitable and dependable yearly fundraiser, "Terror on Washington Street," was canceled due to the safety concerns.

But on Oct. 10, the house will reopen, better and safer, said Clinton Chamber Executive Director Marian Brisard.

"We have been working on this since May," she said. "The sprinkler system was installed and we are about ready to get that hooked up to the city's water service. As far as making it even safer, we have had a volunteer electrician rewire the entire upstairs and hopefully we can get to the downstairs, too. But, everything is going to be much better and much safer."

Also, the ceiling tiles on the main floor were removed and several other odds and ends were completed to improve the haunting experience, she said.

Several volunteers, such as Clinton resident Tim Allen, are meeting at 6 p.m. weekday nights to prepare.

"I really enjoy working with the youth because they have so much energy and are always very excited about this house," he said. "It's a longtime tradition here."

The grand re-opening is set for Oct. 10, at the house, located at 513 E. Washington St. The house has made the list of top 10 haunted houses in the state of Illinois in seven of the past 11 years, as determined by http://www.hauntedillinois.com.

In past years, it has attracted about 5,000 visitors yearly and brought in thousands of dollars for the chamber.

"There were a lot of people disappointed last year because it is something that a lot of people look forward to every year," said Brisard. "We have most of our volunteers back, not all of them, but most of them and we are hoping to get some new volunteers to replace them. We think it's going to be a great year."

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Clinton Haunted House back after one year absence