The doors of the Waimate Hospital closed for good in 1996, but for four nights in August a block of the building was brought to life again, transformed into an ''Asylum Horror House'' by Studholme farmer Rory Foley.
About 20 actors dressed as doctors, nurses, clowns, patients and ''insane'' people crept about the rooms and hallways of the old hospital as people paid for the displeasure of being startled and terrified.
More than $10,500 was made from ticket sales, and a cash bar, to go towards the school playground upgrade project.
The Waimate Centennial School principal, Barry Jury, said he could not praise organisers and volunteers highly enough for their efforts.
''It's just amazing the way it's turned out,'' he said.
The school's 10-year-old playground now serves both junior and senior pupils and, with a roll of 176 pupils, they had outgrown it, Mr Jury said.
A new playground would be just for junior pupils of the school.
''We've got prices and we're just about to put applications in to supplement it,'' he said.
''It's really exciting. We're really grateful [for the money raised].''
Mr Foley, also the mastermind behind the horror Maize Maze in Studholme, expressed a massive ''thank you'' to the people of the South Island for their support, some of whom came from as far away as Christchurch, Dunedin and Winton for the opportunity to feel terror without danger.
The block of the old hospital is due to be demolished next year, but Mr Foley has other ideas for terrifying attractions and events.
Discussions about a Zombie Mud Run have started, and cultivation of the annual horror Maize Maze, due to open in mid-February 2015, is under way with plans to include spiders next year.
