As a chill seeps into the air and the darkness of night creeps earlier and earlier, each day feels a little more like Halloween than the one before.

The annual haunted house put on by Last Passage Haunts will return to Wrangell for two nights Oct. 16 and 17 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the community center. This is the third year for the official charity haunt, which puts all money collected to support The Salvation Army.

This year, it will take place in a slightly smaller space but Damon Roher, who creates the designs, assured it would be no less exciting.

“In prior years, we have had the old gym. So we used an entire gym worth of space last year,” said Roher, “and this year I think it is going to be condensed down into the multi-purpose room.”

Roher, who works graveyard shift as a sergeant with the Wrangell police, has been designing haunts in town for the past six years, with the first three happening at his family’s home. For the past few years, they were able to turn it into an official charity event by collecting a $5 suggested donation at the door to support The Salvation Army’s youth programs. 

“That pays for kids to go to camp. That pays for their Bible Bowl program. That pays for their teen night,” Roher said. “Hoping this year to raise somewhere around $5,000, but we will see.”

He said their first year they were able to raise just under $4,000. Last year they raised $2,500 from some 400 people who took the ghoulish tour. 

As for why he started the haunts in the first place, Roher said growing up in Upstate New York gave him an appreciation for the season. “It was fun. It was a little spooky, a little scary, a little, little of everything, a little magical.”

Although this year’s design will be a bit condensed, they will still be bringing back some of the favorites from years past like including a circus room and a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme. He said they will also be adding some new props they’re dying to unveil. Just a week before showtime, Roher and around eight volunteers will meet at The Salvation Army to get everything done in time to be installed.

“We're gonna have like full-size ghosts,” he said. “We have cornfields that are coming in. There’s some new graveyard scenes that we'll try to incorporate.”

Everyone is welcome, however children 8 years old and under must be accompanied by someone 14 and above.