Americans, Germans participate in spooky celebration

BITBURG ANNEX, Germany -- Stephanie Hattabi, a local German resident, gets a scare from two actors in costume at the haunted house in the Bitburg Annex Oct. 31. This annual Halloween event, available to both Germans and Americans, took visitors on a 15-minute tour through a house of dressed up killer-clowns, ghouls, goblins, graveyards, chain saws and axe murderers. More than 1,700 people attended the event, with more than 400 from the local area. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Nick Wilson)

Americans, Germans participate in spooky celebration

BITBURG ANNEX, Germany -- Germans and Americans get spooked by costumed masked murderers at the haunted house in the Bitburg Annex Oct. 31. This annual Halloween event, available to both Germans and Americans, took visitors on a 15-minute tour through a house of dressed up killer-clowns, ghouls, goblins, graveyards, chain saws and axe murderers. More than 1,700 people attended the event, with more than 400 from the local area. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Nick Wilson)

Americans, Germans participate in spooky celebration

BITBURG ANNEX, Germany -- Visitors of the Bitburg Haunted House run from a crazed villain with a chain saw here Oct. 30.The haunted house was open for Halloween weekend and was available to the local population to participate in the festivities. More than 1,700 people attended the event. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Nathanael Callon)

Americans, Germans participate in spooky celebration

Published Nov. 2, 2009
By Airman 1st Class Nathanael Callon
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

BITBURG ANNEX, Germany -- On any normal evening, a man chasing you down a dark alleyway with a ripping chain saw in a sinister mask is not of source of entertainment for most, if any at all.

Halloween night on Bitburg Annex was an exception.

The 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron worked with other members of the 52nd Fighter Wing to make the Eighth Annual Haunted House on Bitburg Annex a success.

About 150 people helped with the haunted house Oct. 29-31, from actors to food vendors to ticket sales to tour guides.

"We have people from all over the base coming here to help make the house successful," said Tech. Sgt. Terry Trottier, 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron. "This is my fifth year participating in the haunted house. In my five years, the haunted house has grown exponentially."

"It is a lot of fun watching people get scared," said Senior Airman Robert Hamrick, 52nd Security Forces Squadron, who volunteered to be a guide through the haunted house.

The haunted house took the visitors on a dark and frightful tour that lasted about 15 minutes. Creepy clowns and eerie music were found in the "Clown Room," which was a crowd favorite. There was the "Black Room," which was a maze of black walls splattered with glow paint and creatures that jump out at you. There were also chain saws, graveyards and crazy axe murderers lurking in the shadows waiting for their prey.

The haunted house on Bitburg was comparable to many haunted houses in the U.S.

"We start about a month out, getting everybody together to plan and decide what we need to do to prepare the house," said Sergeant Trottier. "Then we get to work cleaning everything up and making sure everything is structurally and electrically sound."

Volunteers dedicated countless hours toward preparing for the big night.

"Nights, weekends, holidays; any time we can work on it, we are down here working," said Tech. Sgt. Bryan Cornwell, 52nd CES.

The time spent working on the haunted house paid off Halloween weekend. More than 1,700 people attended the haunted house for a good scare this year, with more than 400 of those people from the local area. In past years, the local population was only allowed on the base for one night, but this year they were included in spooky festivities for two nights.

"This is a huge event for everybody. This is one of the few events that everybody can get involved with," said Sergeant Trottier. "There aren't many haunted houses in the local area, so we are providing a unique service for them. It is a good time."