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A Haunting Legacy: Leitersburg Haunted House
For Three Decades, the Leitersburg Haunted House has Given Ghoulish Thrills. The Show Won’t Go On After this Season, but Its Benefits to Its Community will Continue.
by Dianna Heim + photos by Mike Maginnis
• • •
Kelly Eakle’s voice is friendly on the phone. And seen among the alloy wheels and mobility chair lifts of his Pennsylvania Avenue business, no one would ever guess that this congenial businessman and his cohorts strike fear into the hearts of thousands with an experience infamous for its terror. But … it’s all for a good cause. For the past 29 autumns, Kelly has been one of 50 volunteers who produce the Leitersburg Haunted House, a macabre fund-raiser benefiting the Leitersburg Youth Organization and the Leitersburg Ruritan. While this will be the event’s last year, organizers promise to see it out in a big way. “This is our thirtieth year and our last,” Kelly says with a sad smile. “We’ve put our heart and soul into this event. We don’t want it to just fizzle out. So we’re going to give people the best show — the best effort — the best of the best we’ve ever done.”
Creating a Monster
The “best” is a reputation the Leitersburg Haunted House has earned. It all began in 1978, when Kelly’s church, St. Paul’s Lutheran of Leitersburg, was looking for ways to fund its teen center. “We started out by going to other haunted houses,” recalls Kelly, the event’s administrative coordinator. “We began putting bits and pieces of a show together. It was pretty simple then.”
Gene Snowberger was an amateur musician looking for a rehearsal hall; he asked Kelly if the teen center was available. “He said ‘Yes, but not in the fall.’ Then I found out why,” Gene remembers. He donated a sound system and helped with makeup in the first years. A horror movie buff, Gene was a natural at brewing up fright-filled shows, applying gruesome makeup to nearly 30 actors, designing costumes, setting up eerie lights and creating the chilling sounds emanating from the house. “He’s very imaginative,” Kelly says. “[Gene] quickly became someone we couldn’t do without.”
A few years later, the Haunted House was becoming too large for the Teen Center. The Leitersburg Ruritan offered an old schoolhouse building for the event; since then, the two organizations have split the profits. Gene Keadle, past Ruritan president and chairman of its Haunted House Committee, remembers that what began with a few dozen visitors during a weeklong operation evolved into a more successful, three-weekend show that now draws 150 people per hour. With only a few tickets given out for publicity, his committee sells out the event’s 3,000 tickets. This year, tickets will be sold until midnight, Gene K. notes. “This being our last year, we’re looking forward to some heavy traffic. We don’t want to turn away anyone.” Cast and crew are excited about their farewell performance. “This is the blow-out year for us,” Gene S. says. “Some things are expected, but so much more will happen, including outside activities.”
Scaring and Sharing
Behind the scenes, hours of work by volunteers go into preparing for the crowds. Before the house opens, Gene K.’s committee rebuilds its mazes to Gene S.’s specifications. Then, the fire marshal does a walk-through. “The nights we’re open, we’ve got the Leitersburg Fire Co. and a Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy on hand. Safety is our top priority,” Gene K. says. Large crowds make safety and security essential for the event. But dwindling volunteerism and increasingly stringent fire and building codes are the reasons this year is the haunted house’s last curtain call. “Our cast spends weeks — every single weeknight and weekends — getting ready,” Gene S. says. “They’re very special people, but there are fewer of them.” Kelly agrees: “It’s very labor intensive. It’s harder to find the volunteers and we’re all gettin’ older. ... It somewhat takes over your life. I always say the epitaph on my grave will be ‘Mr. Haunted House.’”
The Leitersburg Haunted House has been a labor of love that’s reaped many benefits for the small community. In recent years, the Youth Organization and the Ruritan have raised more than $30,000, Kelly says. The Youth Organization uses the monies for its Teen Center, scholarships for Leitersburg teens and other youth programs — including the Boy Scouts. Gene K. proudly calls the fund-raiser “one of the better things to ever happen in Leitersburg.” Thanks to event proceeds, the Ruritan has been able to install $20,000 worth of playground equipment, pay for street lights, plant trees, help the firefighters and give to needy families at Christmas. “It’s made a big difference in how nice of a town we’ve got here.” Though its doors will be closed, the haunted house’s legacy of good works will continue: the Youth Organization’s board created an endowment fund for the Teen Center five years ago. “I hope the haunted house is remembered as one of the most unique haunted houses anywhere,” Kelly says, “and as a fund-raiser that was able to give long after it was over.”
Need to Know …
What: Leitersburg Haunted House
Where: Old Leitersburg School House, off Md. 60.
When: Continuous shows begin at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, Oct. 12–13, Oct. 19–20 and Oct. 26–27.
How much: Tickets cost $10 and will be sold until midnight each night of the performances.
For more information, call the hot line at 301-766-0039 or visit http://www.myspace.com/LeitersburgHauntedHouse.
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