Haunted House plans to fulfill dreams with screams

Yuma Nightmares Haunted House has teamed up with Yuma Habitat for Humanity for the second year to help raise funds to build this year's Habitat home.

The haunt opened Oct. 1, and has been creator Mark Plante's dream child for the past 10 years.

This Halloween season, Plante and his “Boo Crew” are eager to usher guests through their entertaining and scary event that spans an acre of land on the corner of Avenue 4E and County 15-1/2 Street.

“We are always looking for more victims to come out,” Plante said with a mischievous chuckle.

This season's haunted attraction boasts an array of spooky fun that includes a jack-in-the-box room, an expansive graveyard, a scarecrow alley and many more scares to surprise guests.

For guests interested in celebrating the spooky season with an exciting twist, Yuma Nightmares Haunted House, 15485 S. Avenue 4E, will be open from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The price to enter is $5 per person.

“All of the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity,” Plante said. “Then that goes toward them building their home for the year.”

Frank Carrillo, Yuma Habitat for Humanity's executive director, is both excited and grateful to work with Plante for another season of fear and fun.

“He's always been a dual purpose person, and this is definitely one of those things that is dual purpose. He gets to enjoy himself and keep the kid inside of him, and he's able to help Habitat try to make somebody have the dream of a home,” Carrillo said.

According to Carrillo and Plante, Yuma Nightmares is not a gory attraction like other haunts in Yuma have been over the past years.

“It's good old-fashioned surprise me, scare me,” Carrillo said.

Plante said the recommended age for his haunt is 12 years and up, but younger brave souls are always welcome.

On its opening night, the haunt scared the spirit of the season into a handful of locals.

Alex Weaver, 10, said that even though the attraction was frightening, he still enjoyed himself and plans to go through again in the future because the experience was so thrilling.

“I went to a haunted house in another state, and it does not compare to this,” Weaver said.