Gotcha!

By Staff
Ghosts gather at old Burleson School for Halloween haunt
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
If you're itching for a good Halloween scare, Hartselle police have the answer at the Old Burleson Asylum, a haunted attraction featuring ghosts, ghouls, goblins and spooks…the dregs of the human race.
Their lair is the basement of the Hartselle Fine Arts Center (Old F. E. Burleson School). It is equally as intimidating as its twisted, tormented, misguided residents. The dark walls and ceilings and gloomy chambers limit vision and play havoc with the imagination. A maze keeps visitors walking in circles for what seems like an eternity and a cemetery with open graves and wandering zombies leaves them begging for a quick exit. There's also a boiler room with a fiery furnace and a hospital operating room buzzing with surgeons working on patients.
The asylum and its cast of ghoulish characters has been the on-going work of the city's police officers and Hartselle High School art and drama clubs since last January. It was initiated as a joint project of the Hartselle Police Alliance and Hartselle Historical Society. WRTT Rocket 95.1 FM in Huntsville is a major sponsor.
The event was inspired by the success the Alliance had in October 2006 with a haunted house to benefit the Hartselle High School Students Against Drunk Driving (S.A.A.D.) Chapter and the Art Club.
"We wanted to come up with an old-fashioned haunted house complete with actors, sets and props, and the old Burleson School basement was the ideal place for it," said Amy Crouch, investigator and president of the Police Alliance. "It was created with the family in mind. There's nothing obscene about it. It's going to be fun and safe (but scary) for those who come to see it."
Sergeant Kel Roberts played a lead role in the project, drawing from his experience of decorating his family's home on Milner Street for Halloween and making it a "must visit" destination for trick-or-treaters in years past.
Working with Crouch and Roberts as members of the Haunted House Committee are Lt. Justin Barley, Sergeants Robby Robinson and Randy Adams and Officers Alan McDearmond and Shannon Hale.
The attraction will open to Hartselle High School students only on Thursday, Oct. 4. Admission will be $5 per person and all proceeds will go to the HHS Art Club, Drama Club and S.A.A.D. Chapter.
It will open to the public on Friday, Oct. 12, from 7 p.m. to midnight. Six other show dates are planned, Oct. 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 and 31. Admission will be $10 for adults and $8 for children under 12. A rate of $8 per person will be offered to groups of 20 or more.
Proceeds will benefit Hartselle Police Alliance and Hartselle Historical Society.
The event's schedule and other pertinent information may be viewed by visiting www.oldburlesonasylum.com.