Like zombies to brains, scare seekers will flock to 22911 E. Eaglebend Lane in Liberty Lake this Halloween and Halloween Eve.

The unholy congregation is thanks to James Schumacher, his wife and three kids, whose annual "The Witching Hour Haunted House," attracted over 1,000 people last year. For four years, the community coven has attracted trick-or-treaters to an elderly neighborhood in Liberty Lake and provided community service opportunities to high schoolers who learn construction skills.

"The Witching Hour Haunted House's" five-minute tour begins in a mansion-like hallway of computer-generated family portraits that jump and age before visitors' eyes. Sparks shoot from the wall as visitors' exit.

"It sounds like a machine gun, so it's pretty startling," Schumacher said.

The witch's room holds spell books and potions. A cauldron sprays colored fog. New this year, books will move by themselves on a bookshelf.

James' oldest daughter, 16-year-old Alyssa, plays the witch. Her costume includes colored contact lenses, dentures and a prosthetic mask glued on to her face so that it moves with her. 

In the clown room, painted clowns jump at patrons who wear the supplied 3-D glasses. For those who feel safer without glasses, clowns still leap from barrels as heads drop from the ceiling. 

Clowns elicit patrons' greatest anxiety and strongest reactions.

"No one wants to go in if it's got clowns in it," Schumacher said. 

Alyssa enjoys allaying these fears when she greets patrons at the door as the witch. 

"I get to see everybody that's anxious to go in," she said. "I get to tell them that there's no clowns in there, so don't be worried." 

They're terrified when they find the clowns. Son Brandon's clown character sends most patrons screaming away, but some stand their ground.

"I've gotten punched and kicked a few times," the 18-year-old said. "If you shock someone, they tend to lash out a little bit. It depends on how well you scare somebody. It kind of comes with the territory." 

Twelve-year-old Kami does not share her brother's business-like attitude and takes pure joy in terrifying her subjects.

"When she was a little bit younger, every time she would scare somebody she would laugh hysterically," Schumacher said. 

Exit through the zombie room, with pneumatic props and more computer-generated images. 

The family tradition has its roots when Schumacher was in high school and needed to raise money for his theater class. He raised $5,000, and over 20 years, his haunted houses have reaped community benefits. Schumacher created a haunted house for his son's elementary school, donating the props and sets. 

Now, the experiment has escaped the lab, and building lasts from July to October. The neighbors, who skew elderly, don't mind months of construction. 

"They all come over and check it out, and they're looking forward to it," Schumacher said. They see costumes of trick-or-treaters who wouldn't come to the neighborhood without "The Witching Hour Haunted House." 

The build also provides community service hours. Brandon, a Central Valley High School alumnus, and Alyssa, a junior, said their friends have logged hours through the project. Schumacher said the school accepted the haunted house because it's free and open to the public. The sheer amount of work lets plenty of people lend a hand.

Schumacher estimates that each family member contributes 30 hours per week. 

The Schumachers, whose family business is construction, do not slap up shoddy walls Oct. 29. In July, they research ideas online that lead to sketches. When they settle on a design, they put it in a computer-aided drafting program to guide construction. 

Then they build, using crown molding, chair rails, textured finishes and embroidered wallpaper to create authenticity. Techies will appreciate the TV monitors, LED lights, 5.1 surround sound and high-end effects. 

"The other garage haunts, people will just run some string back and forth and hang plastic over it," Schumacher said. "This whole thing's constructed out of 1-inch-by-2-inch and half-inch OCD, a chipboard type material" and quarter-inch Lauan plywood. The students who build the house learn construction techniques.

Brandon has learned the technology behind props like "how pneumatics work, like the rocking skeleton and how the counterweights in it make the rocking chair move back and forth." 

Alyssa started at 10 years old learning to build props and run electrical wiring. Kami is learning how to use chop saws, nail guns and screw guns, "and she's getting pretty good at it," Schumacher said.

At a cost of $3,000 per year and hundreds of hours, family members have different reasons to build. 

"It helps with being hardworking at your job," Brandon said.

"It's a good thing for the community to have fun and give back to the community for everything that they do," Alyssa said.

But at the end of the day, Schumacher thinks it's fun to "make people's skin crawl."

• • • 

6 to 10 p.m. Oct. 30-31

22911 E. Eaglebend Lane, Liberty Lake

This free haunted house is appropriate for all ages, especially young trick-or-treaters. It is customized for each group that goes through.

 

Submitted photos These 2014 scenes from 22911 E. Eaglebend Lane attracted more than 1,000 visitors. The  Schumacher family is planning for more big crowds this Oct. 30-31 to visit their annual  "The Witching Hour Haunted House."