While thrill seekers traversing any one of the Niles Scream Park’s six haunted attractions won’t know what is waiting for them in the darkness, what they can expect is that this year’s attractions will feature new frights different and more hair raising than years past.

For the past 44 years, park owner Pete Karlowicz has made it his mission to keep the non-profit’s attractions fresh each year. The 44-acre park opens at 8 p.m. Friday and is located at 855 Mayflower Road, in Niles.

“That’s what brings people back every year,” Karlowicz said. “That is basically our trademark: things change. Nobody changes like we change.”

The park has been rated as one of the “Top 31 Must-See Haunted Attractions” for the past four years by “Haunted Attractions” magazine.

While building attractions from scratch is time consuming and sometimes costly, it’s worth it to feature the park team’s newest ideas and talents in technology and artistry. From the blood splatters on the floor to sound and light effects, details matter, even in the dark.

For inspiration, Karlowicz and park manager Matt Herm tour the country each year searching for fresh inspiration at a multitude of attractions. Last year, Karlowicz said that while visiting Indianapolis, the park team saw an attraction where participants were more scared by what they couldn’t see.  The attraction became the inspiration for the Niles Scream Park’s biggest new thrill feature, called Hooded.

The attraction is for adults only. All willing to try the attraction must sign a waiver, don a black cloth over their head and navigate with the guide of a rope.

When asked who he would encourage to try it, Karlowicz said everyone over 18 needs to give the attraction a try.

“People that are die hard haunted house people want something different. They cry for something different,” Karlowicz said. “We finally have something different. I have great expectations for this. This is not your normal haunted house, where someone jumps out and says, ‘boo.’”

Besides being blind to the elements, Karlowicz said what makes the attraction different is that people go through the attraction alone. While other haunted house features allow the participant to have the support of their friends and family, this attraction removes “the safety net,” Karlowicz said.

“As soon as I tell you, ‘you have to go alone,’ people are like, ‘no.’” Karlowicz said. 

For those too fearful to try this immersive experience, Karlowicz offered some words of encouragement.

“Suck it up,” he said.

The rest of the attraction will remain a secret until the park opens Friday night. While media members could see the façade of the attraction, they were not allowed to look further.

In order to access “Hooded” people must purchase a separate timed $10 ticket for the attraction. With the purchase of Frightful Night pass, the cost for the timed ticket is $8.

More frightful attractions

For those not willing to try this latest feature, there are still a number of attractions to choose from, each featuring new twists, turns and themes from the year before. Each attraction also features mechanical, engineering and design savvy details created to entice, entrance and horrify the viewer, such as dropping bridges, mirror tricks and interactive mechanical features.

The Niles Haunted House is the park’s biggest attraction. Inside the house, thrill seekers will find more than 100 different paths to choose from, each leading them through the frights and thrills of more than 40 different scary movies, from “Saw” to “Hell Raiser.”

Two other haunted houses are available for exploration, including “Incarcerated” — the site of the Four Flags Penitentiary, where viewers follow the fictitious story of inmate riot.

Another house, “Possessed” follows the story of the fictitious Adler family, who foolishly communicates with spirits via a Ouija board, releasing a host of terrors. 

Park patrons can also find their thrill in the Field of Screams. The attraction is managed by Shawn O’Grady, of Mishawaka, a volunteer of more than 19 years who has helped to rig the park with a number of tech savvy features, garnered from his years working in technology trades.

In the Field of Screams, chainsaw maniacs chase park goers through a variety of haunts from swampy bogs filled with alligators to an aspen forest filled with things that go bump in the night.

New to the field this year is a part of the park that floats on about two feet off water. Participants travel down the floating wooden pathways. The feature of the park was a test last year.

Additional attractions include the Dark Terror-tory Haunted Hayride, where participants board a wagon and pass through more than 30 different spooky sets.

Out smart Escape Rooms, an affiliate of the park will also offer several escape room scenarios to test out and a select few were chosen to experience it.

A good scare for a good cause

Yet another unique aspect to the Niles Scream Park is that its operations are comprised almost entirely of volunteers, who work to raise money for a charity of their choosing. According to O’Grady, there are only eight employees on staff that are paid.

About 150 to 200 volunteers are staffed per night. Volunteers represent more than 50 Michiana schools and community organizations. The park has raised more than $1.7 million in charitable donations since 1996.

Park hours:

8 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturday through Sept. 30

7 to 11 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and 7 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 29

7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31

7 to 11 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4