Bob Spalding's Haunted Monster Barn is back, but not in its full glory due to new state fire marshal codes which went into effect a year and a half ago relating to "special amusement buildings," or haunted houses.
"We want to allow this, but we can't violate the code, especially with so many people going through," said Signal Mountain Town Manager Honna Rogers. "We went out with our attorney and fire chief to work with him to find alternative ways to do it."
Rogers said the town is required by the state to meet National Fire Protection Association uniform fire codes. Updated every four years, the codes changed in 2006 and had not previously affected the Monster Barn in its first stint running from 2003-2006.
"In just recent years the state got a lot more stringent," she said.
The new requirements include the installment of an automatic sprinkler system in special amusement buildings exceeding 10 feet in height or with horizontal projections greater than 160 feet in length. This applies to the Signal Mountain barn where the Haunted Monster Barn was held in the past, as well as the new elevated tunnel under construction.
"We helped [Spalding] to look at other ways he could hold it; he just wasn't able to hold it in what he's been constructing," Rogers said. "It's basically closing people up in different compartments, and if there was a fire or emergency, how would people get out?"
She said the state fire marshal's office released in late September a notice listing the code updates and reminding town officials they must be enforced. She said she informed Spalding of codes as soon as the town was notified.
In the Barn's first weekend 50 thrill seekers flocked to the attraction, which Spalding said still features a haunted forest and a brand new light show added this year. The popular "Buford Bat" puppet show continues, though the audience is not permitted to fully enter the barn.
Spalding said he hopes to make the necessary corrections to bring the tunnel structure he and other volunteers had already started building in time to host a holiday attraction with an Easter theme.
"We can't use the tunnel at all," he said of the new structure in its current state, which must be updated with Sheetrock walls and electrical wiring compliant with current commercial codes. "We're trying to become compliant; this is too big of a project to not get all these codes taken care of so people can use it as a fundraising tool."
Other area haunted houses, such as Ruby Falls' Haunted Cavern and Sir Goony's Haunted Carnival, are inspected by officials from the city of Chattanooga, which maintains its own code and is not yet subject to the 2006 regulations.
"We have not been affected," said Hugh Morrow, president of Ruby Falls, which has operated its Haunted Cavern in its present format for the past eight years. "We go through a fire inspection prior to each year, and we do that every year since we've been open."
The Haunted Monster Barn, which benefits the MACC Foundation, continues at Spalding's property adjacent to Nolan Elementary Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 5 as well as Sunday and Monday, Oct. 30-31, from 7:30-10:45 p.m.