By Josh Staloch
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The Halloween season has arrived, which means the scare grounds behind the Beja Shriners building at Taylor and Bond are buzzing with creepiness as this year’s haunted house comes together under the unique circumstances brought on by COVID-19.
Some are familiar with just how scary Green Bay Fear is.
Waiting in line to make one’s way through the twists and turns of the Fear complex can be a terrifying ordeal as actors, disguised in extremely convincing costumes, roam around making the customers as pleasantly uncomfortable as possible.
And that’s just the wait in line to get into the attractions.
Once inside, things get considerably creepier.
The folks in charge of bringing Green Bay Fear to the community have been working hard to make this year’s event possible.
The pandemic has changed how Fear will operate in 2020, but guests can rest assured, there will be no shortage of unsettling things going on at this year’s Fear.
“We’ve been working with our volunteers all summer long to figure out how we can make it scary and fun for our customers while still maintaining a safe distance,” said Marla Van Lanen, Fear operations manager, who has been in charge of updating safety measures this year. “We’re going to have to change the ways we scare people a little bit. We’ve redesigned the whole layout to help us keep safe distance and the actors are working on ways to scare people without getting so close to them.”
Van Lanen said the people in charge of making Fear happen have been watching guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as local and state recommendations for necessary precautions.
A dedicated cleaning staff will be on hand to sanitize the entire attraction several times a night, and volunteers will have temperatures checked every day before being allowed to perform.
The overall number of guests allowed to wait in line will be limited, and organizers encourage patrons to buy tickets online at greenbayfear.com.
Green Bay Fear is open from 7-11 p.m. each Friday and Saturday in October.
Walkup ticket sales will be available, but organizers have figured out how many people can be in the park at once while maintaining social distancing, so access will be subject to availability.
All volunteers will be wearing masks, even under their costumes, and guests will be required to mask up as well.
Volunteers would also like guests to be aware they will be sending groups through the attraction in a manner to allow for safe-distance scares while keeping the experience as fun as possible.
Nick Brosig, past potentate of the Beja Shriners, said he is confident this year’s version of Green Bay Fear, in spite of a full plate of challenges, will just as frightful and fun as ever.
“Our actors and volunteers have been working extra hard on changing how they do things while still keeping it scary,” Brosig said. “It’s been a challenge, but they’ve all been great about it. I think the community is going to be impressed with what they’ve put together.”