Scituate Scouts get spooky to help the needy

SCITUATE - The Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of Scituate provided a haunting good time for a great cause at their 4th annual Haunted House at the Community House Sunday night.

Girl Scout Troops 236, 009 and 555, and Boy Scout Troop 2 collaborated on a Halloween horror show to draw donations for the town's food bank. Locals looking for an eerie experience donated non-perishable food items as the price of admission.

What has become a popular Halloween tradition in town started several years ago as an event just for Girl Scouts and their families, but grew to include others in the community looking to share the spooky holiday spirit with those in need.

"We had so much fun doing that first haunted house, and we recognized that we have a great need in our community," said Girl Scout Troop 236 leader Cindy Toro.

"So we thought, what better way to give back to our community and provide some Halloween family fun? This is our fourth year doing the haunted house as a food drive and we've been able to donate a lot of food to the town's food pantry."

Her daughter, Girl Scout Brittnee Toro, 16, said she enjoyed setting up for the event and even cleaning up after, but didn't want any part of the pretend hauntings. "It's a little too dark and creepy for me," Brittnee said.

Thrill-seekers entered the house through the kitchen, where they saw cooks preparing such delicacies as eyeball spaghetti and five finger dip. While visitors may not have found the fare appetizing, the pet rats certainly did.

Guests were then invited to the formal dining room, where they were served body-part punch and a severed limb buffet.

Kayte Sousa, 13, camouflaged in black, served as the dining room centerpiece and the main dish.

"It's a lot of fun doing the haunted house, and not scary at all," said Kayte. "It feels good to see that people enjoy what you do, and I'm glad to be doing this for the food pantry, too."

Around the corner from the eating quarters, visitors were expected to need medical attention, as the next hallway featured a gory operating room.

Medical unit manager Amanda George, 16, oversaw younger sister Allison, 10, undergoing treatment for a malady that apparently only mummies can get.

Dressed in her mummy costume, Allison submitted to a tortuous surgery performed by 10-year-old mad scientist Holly Swanson.

How did she keep from being frightened? "It's not really scary," said Allison. "I have all my friends here."

The community service project extended to the nearby town cemetery that was swept clean of dead branches and overgrowth to be used in the sinister, spider-webbed forest corridor, where creepy creatures jumped out and surprised unsuspecting passersby.

A ghastly electric chair constructed and operated by Girl Scout Kayla Woodbury's father, Craig, offered one final scare before visitors were led outside to breathe a sigh of relief.

Troop 009 leader Colleen Rose noted that the event served as a great opportunity for young people to have fun and to give back to their community.

"We've been able to collect so much food for the food pantry doing this year after year that we're looking to expand next year at our fifth anniversary. We're hoping to hold the event two days instead of just one, and collect hats and mittens as well as food items," said Rose.