Screams will soon emit from a ghoulish Ohio Wesleyan University fraternity house.

Members of the Alpha-Chi Chapter of Chi Phi Fraternity have spent weeks turning their Victorian-era living quarters at 216 N. Franklin St., into a spook-filled haunted house for the public. The group’s 25th annual haunt kicks off Thursday.

“Twenty-five years is a huge thing for us,” said Neill McGrann, Chi Phi member and OWU senior.

Proceeds from the event are donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters and People In Need. The fraternity raised roughly $3,000 from last year’s haunted house, according to McGrann.

The OWU fraternity has collected a wealth of creepy props and helpful construction material over the years, but organizers aim to create a new spook house experience each Halloween season.

McGrann called the haunted house’s first floor design “one of the most ambitious plans in a while.” Students have created a large, elevated boardwalk for visitors to traverse. The room has an eerie-swamp feel complete with dry ice fog, tall brush and a skeleton dripping water.

The second floor of the three-story mansion is designed as a tribute to 25 years of horror films, according to McGrann. The hallways have been covered with black tarps and will be slathered with mud and dirt. The third floor draws inspiration from the Saw movie franchise. A creepy doll seated on a tricycle will lead visitors through the gory area. As tradition dictates, the always-popular basement is a nearly pitch-dark maze.

“This (the basement) is what I think gets the most screams because they know what’s coming but they’re never prepared for it,” McGrann said.

Thirty fraternity members live at the Franklin Street house and it takes all of them along with roughly 50 volunteers to construct and operate the haunted house, he said.

The old mansion is already kind of spooky on its own. The creaky building features tall ceilings, oil and antique light fixtures and paintings. Still, turning the property into a haunted house takes a great deal of work. It’s also an inconvenience for the students living in the house during the three week-long building process, as their hallways and common areas are overtaken with decor.

McGrann said it is all worth it, calling the event good fun for a good cause.

“The best part is just scaring the hell out of people, it’s so much fun,” he said.

The haunted house is open from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29; 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Oct. 30; and 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. Admission is $6.25 for adults; $3.25 for children ages 12 and under; and $5.25 in food points with a valid Ohio Wesleyan University ID. The public receives $1 off admission for bringing a canned food donation.

The Chi Phi fraternity was founded in 1824 at Princeton University. The OWU chapter has other community service events including an Easter egg hunt and highway trash cleanup.

bbullock@delgazette.com