If you’re looking for a nice affordable haunted house this Halloween season, look no further than Hell’s Gate Haunt located at 3045 W. Alexis Road.

The haunted house, run by Toledo Technology Academy student Nick Francis, has moved from his family’s backyard into the abandoned Foodtown Store. He said he got into the idea of running a haunted house by hosting Halloween parties in his backyard. It was a natural progression.

Francis has a staff of about 35 people, including 19 actors, working on turning the 38,000 square foot facility into a frightening experience. Hell’s Gate is set to open on October 2 at 7 p.m. He prefers using live actors instead of animatronics because it gives more realism to movements.

“We have trained actors, some from UT, working here,” Francis said.

Hell’s Gate will open every Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and will close at midnight unless there is a large crowd waiting. Francis plans on keeping the haunted house open late on the first Friday to accommodate the crowd from the Whitmer football game.

Francis said he pans on having a person trained in parkour in costume running through the haunted house. Parkour is an urban sport in which participants run a route and negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible.

The first attraction is the haunted house. It has all the typical frightening features one would expect. There is a morgue room with actors wielding chainsaws and even air cannons.

“The air fills up the passageway and really gets people,” Francis said.

The second scary attraction is the Chaos maze. It is a pitch black maze for visitors to walk through. Francis said he will add strobe effects and actors to the maze as the season progresses.

“By the time Halloween gets here we will really be on top of our game,” he added.

So far his efforst have paid off. Haunternet an international haunted house ranking site ranked Hell’s Gate as the sixth best in the nation based on the number of times the attraction was recommended.

Francis said he has had considerable help in this endeavor from several friends and family members. His cousin Max Simon, 15, is his partner. His dad Jim Francis helped build the haunted houses and fireproofed both.

Even though Francis is young, he understands all aspects of operating an attraction like this. He will have security on hand to keep people from getting out of hand and to keep people safe.

Francis was also able to get a sponsor for Hell’s Gate. Rip It energy drink is sponsoring the house and he said every Friday and Saturday night the first 100 people in line will get a free energy drink. Concessions will also be available.

“I am going to try and get non-profits to run the concession stands,” Francis added.

Francis said that visitors won’t have to wait outside in the elements either. The vestibule of the store has been converted to the line queue. He said there will be a DJ or music for guests to enjoy while they wait to enter the haunted house.

Admission to Hell’s Gate is only $10 and visitors get to go through two unique scary attractions. All proceeds from the haunted house go to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation.

Visitors should hurry to see Hell’s Gate because Francis plans on moving it to Cleveland next year where it will have a permanent home.

For more information about Hell’s Gate you can visit the Web site at www.hellsgatehaunt.com.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Halloween, Special Section.
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