Submitted photo

Ready to be diagnosed and treated for your biggest fears? Northwoods Candy Emporium and the Paranormal Investigators of North Dakota have teamed up to create The Asylum of Fear at Dakota Square Mall.

The haunted house is being held in what used to be Sears. Those who dare will enter through the east doors of the vacant department store space, which is located across from Splashdown and the Sleep Inn & Suites.

Wendy Kimble, lead investigator for the Paranormal Investigators of N.D., has in the past organized haunted houses downtown — one in a parking garage and the other in an abandoned basement area. Now, teaming up with Chris and Ashley Ecker or Northwoods Emporium, Kimble is able to make this her biggest haunted attraction yet.

“(People) will come into a hospital waiting room and they’ll be asked what their greatest fears are,” Kimble explained. “Depending on what their answers are, they can be sent down two different corridors.”

Once scare lovers face their greatest fear, they will be admitted to the asylum and “treated” by the doctor.

“It’s very involved, it’s a lot more than I thought it was going to be,” Chris Ecker admitted. “Wendy told me it was going to be a lot of work and I was thinking, ‘Nah, it should be pretty easy.’ But it’s been a blast.”

The haunted house will be available starting this weekend, Oct. 18 and 19 from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. It will reopen Oct. 24-26 and again on the 31st with the same hours. Tickets are available at the door or at Northwoods Candy Emporium, The Taube Museum of Art and Biscuits & Bows Pet Spa and are $20 per person.

“It’s my first time scaring this year,” Ecker explained. “I’m actually looking forward to just scaring people, to be honest.”

In addition to the haunted house, Escape Point will be there with an escape room. There will also be a selfie station, Too Dark Motorsports will be there selling t-shirts and The Taube will be checking coats for donations to the museum.

To bring something for kids, a smaller version of the haunted house with none of the scares will be available on Halloween Night, Oct. 31, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The kid-friendly version will include characters from popular children’s movies. The cost is $5 per child with parents entering for free.

Kimble noted that the haunted house is not suitable for children; anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The attraction features strobe lighting, colored lights, black lights and fog machines.

“I’m looking forward to having people come out and hearing them scream,” Kimble said with a laugh. “It’s fun to see that journey people get to take through the haunted house.”

To learn more about the asylum, visit their official Facebook page @AsylumofFearMinot.