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Floors of fright at the Rudd Haunted House

A new level of spooks is waiting at the Rudd Haunted House this Halloween season. Press photo by Kate Hayden
Three floors of fright are waiting at the Rudd Haunted House this Halloween season. Press photo by Kate Hayden

By Kate Hayden | khayden@charlescitypress.com

The old Rudd school will be teeming with life again this weekend during a busy spook season for the Rudd Betterment Corporation.

“We formed the board 25 years ago when the school closed down. We took over the old Rudd school and converted that, slowly, to a haunted house,” board member Mike Rachut said.

Six to nine members over the years have joined the board to preserve use of the school, founded in 1910, once the school district consolidated into Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock. Although some members have moved to other parts of Floyd County, most had grown up in Rudd or attended the Rudd school.

Every year, the Rudd Betterment Corporation hosts a Mother’s Day dinner and the haunted house, and sells memberships to the community year-round for private use of the gym and cafeteria. The board also keeps the gym open to residents in case of dangerous weather.

“A lot of graduations, the school gets used for, family reunions, Christmas gatherings,” Rachut said. “They can come in and use the gym for walking, basketball, etc., stuff like that…They let us know if they want to reserve space for family events.”

This year’s haunted house is expanded into three new rooms on the third floor, with new surprises in store for annual visitors, Rachut said. It takes around 20 volunteers to do the decorating and design work, and an estimated 40 volunteers in total to run the whole operation each weekend.

As well as the haunted happenings in the old school building, the gymnasium operates a less scary miniature haunted house for kids up to ages 10-12, depending on their tolerance for fright. The gym is also where visitors can purchase tickets, play a few fair games before their spooky tour or grab a bite to eat.

“No kids go in the big haunted house under age 10. (Ages) 10-12 probably (need) to have parents’ supervision,” Rachut said. “If the kids get too scared, we have multiple workers who will escort the family out so the kids aren’t stuck.”

Tickets for the Rudd Haunted House are $6 for students and adults, and tours begin this weekend, Oct. 21-22, and end next weekend, Oct. 28-30. The haunted house is open from 6:30-10:30 p.m. all nights.

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