Talk about being scared straight!
A Prospect Heights police station will become a bone-chilling haunted house for the days leading up to Halloween. From Oct. 26–30, the basement of 78th Precinct will be a spookier, ookier house of horrors than any other spot in the city, according to the precinct’s commanding officer — and unlike other creepy corners, it’s free!
“A lot of these haunted houses are expensive and I think ours is a lot better and a better price,” said Deputy Inspector Frank DiGiacomo. “We had parents last year who said they went a lot of haunted houses and ours was better.”
Officers have spent the past month and a half adding terrifying touches to lower level of the Sixth Avenue precinct, creating a series of spooky spaces that include an execution chamber with an electric chair, a guillotine stand, and — worst of all — a clown room, among other horrors. And watch your back! Police officers and community volunteers in bone-chilling costumes will lurch through the fog-filled rooms to surprise guests.
DiGiacomo, a self-professed Halloween fan, revived the precinct’s haunted house tradition from its five-year slumber in 2015. And he promises that this October’s house of horrors will be completely different from — but just as scary as — its previous incarnations.
“If you came last year, you’re not seeing the same thing again this year,” he said.
The haunted house at the 78th Precinct is the only one hosted by the New York City Police Department. DiGiacomo said it is a great way to reach out to kids who only see the precinct as a place for punishment.
“We do it mostly for the kids, because we get a lot of kids in the neighborhood who only go to the precinct for negative things, and this brings them in for positive things,” he said.
For those whose knees quake at the thought of spooks and spectres, the police will also hosts a kid-friendly Disney Halloween party upstairs, featuring the usual suspects of pumpkins, costumes, and candy.
And no matter how brave they think they are, those who descend the stairs into the 78th Precinct’s makeshift dungeon should prepare to run for the Prospect Park hills, said DiGiacomo.
“Even the biggest, strongest guy who comes will be running upstairs,” he said.
Haunted House at 78th Precinct (65 Sixth Ave. at Bergen Street in Prospect Heights). Oct. 26–30, 3–9 pm. Free.
Updated with the correct cross street.
