While the ''underbelly'' of the memorial hall was already the stuff of nightmares, it would be unrecognisable to those who knew it well come Halloween, St John Clutha area executive officer Rachel Jenkinson said.
Mrs Jenkinson is event manager for a horror-themed Halloween event, called Disturbia, to be held in the basement of the memorial hall on October 30 and 31.
''Even though it is dark and creepy anyway, it's going to be completely turned upside down,'' she said.
The fundraiser for St John includes three separate events.
On both the Friday and Saturday nights, Disturbia would lead horror fans through a haunted memorial hall basement.
A Kids Haunted House on Saturday afternoon would reduce the scary stuff and keep the lights on to allow primary school pupils to have some Halloween fun.
Then an R18 Halloween costume ball would allow the adults to party after getting their fright on in the basement on Saturday night, Mrs Jenkinson said.
Ticket sales for Disturbia were proving popular, with 70 snatched up in the weeks after the event was announced, Mrs Jenkinson said.
Disturbia had enlisted the help of Rory Foley, whose Studholme horror maze, Maize Maze, had raised thousands of dollars for the Cancer Society of South Canterbury.
The Balclutha terror walk-through, similar to Fear Factory, had received 50 applications to fill the up to 25 actors' roles.
The ''haunted attraction'' could accommodate 200 people each night.
And soon 400m of timber would be brought in to construct sets that would be transformed with special effects.
To allow more to experience the magic of Halloween, Disturbia organisers had opened the R16 attraction to children as young as 13, but only if a parent accompanied them, Mrs Jenkinson said.
''It will be scary. We don't want to scar anybody for life.''
