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36 CES Haunted House - A Frightening Success

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Mariko Frazee
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  It was a dark and eerie night, and the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron made sure it was a frightful Halloween weekend for the Andersen Air Force Base community. At the 36 CES Haunted House, located at the edge of base housing at 1960 Pacific Lane, the sounds of screaming, banging and revving chainsaws filled the air.

The aim was to get a good scare out of their customers, and according to the shrieking heard throughout the house, it sure sounded like the engineers met their goal.

Airmen from the 36 CES and their families worked as volunteers, and ticket prices were on a donation-only basis. The house was open for five nights, and was more of a success than last year's great house.

"We still have one more day left with the house this year, and we have already surpassed last year's numbers," says Master Sgt. Kevin Avila, 36th CES Water and Fuel System Maintenance non-commissioned officer in charge. "Last year we made more than $1,900, and this year with one day remaining we raised about $1,700. Thanks to all the advertising we did and succeeding at getting the word out, we expect about 75 more customers [than] last year."

The 36th CES had no problem soliciting for volunteers because Airmen had planned to work the Haunted House long before Halloween was here.

"Considering we have about 120 people in the squadron, the fact that we had more than 60 volunteers is just outstanding," Sergeant Avila continued. "Most of the volunteers worked at the house every day that it was open. Over the weekend, I noticed we had the same people working as one consistent team."

Each shop within the squadron was designated their own room to decorate and scare as they pleased. The first room upon entering was assigned to the "Dirt Boyz" with Airmen from the Horizontal Repair shop.

Senior Airman Joshua Smith, 36th CES Pavement and Equipment operator, was one of the masked individuals in that room.

"I was definitely one of the first people to jump out at you the second you walked in," he said. "I had on a mask and was screaming while holding a knife. We had other Airmen from my shop jumping out from behind curtains and blowing people with an air compressor. I think the blast of cold air added a good element of surprise."

Airman Smith and others from his shop showed up to volunteer every night and continued to scare patrons past the midnight hour.

"I liked being the first room because people didn't know what to expect," said Airman Smith. 'And when we were outside taking a break, I heard people coming out saying how good the haunted house was. We worked really hard preparing for it, so I'm happy to hear they enjoyed it."

The volunteers from the 36th CES say they look forward to next Halloween, and ensure it will be even more frightening than this year's.