Airmen from the 730 Air Mobility Squadron work on a haunted house inside building 76 Monday on Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Monday as part of the base’s Halloween festivities. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
Airmen from the 730 Air Mobility Squadron work on a haunted house inside building 76 Monday on Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Monday as part of the base’s Halloween festivities. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
Master Sgt. Chris Tubbs and wife Natausha build a platform while working on Yokota’s haunted house. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
Master Sgt. Scott Samdahl and Staff Sgt. Phil Lorensen check lighting and electricity at the Yokota haunted house. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
Airmen from the 730 Air Mobility Squadron were sweating the details in putting the finishing touches on the Yokota Air Base haunted house. (Christopher B. Stoltz / S&S)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — At Yokota’s Building 76, airmen are working hard on a construction project.
While some are running electrical cables, others are hammering in nails and cutting boards. The lights in the building dim whenever the power saw turns on, drawing electricity from the generator.
Meanwhile, Master Sgt. Chris Tubbs of the 730th Air Mobility Squadron builds a platform that will hold a row of wooden coffins. In another room, shackles hang from the walls next to a bloody guillotine.
It’s not your everyday building renovation: The 730th AMS is turning Building 76 into a haunted house for Halloween.
Construction of the house started in late August, with squadron members pitching in their time and muscle to make sure that this haunted house lived up to its slogan: “The scariest thing to happen on Yokota … ever!”
“It’s been a family affair,” said Jacqui Parker, the haunted house’s organizer. Airmen have been coming in on their days off and at the end of their shifts, she said.
“The squadron has come together to put something on for the community,” said Col. Stuart Haire, 730th AMS commander. “This will be a haunted house for everyone.”
Originally conceived as a fundraiser, Haire said the house has evolved into a way for the squadron to provide a little piece of American culture for people living here in Japan.
“I’m hoping that this will be a lot of fun,” Haire said.
Haunted house visitors will be led through a twisted maze of rooms where they will encounter witches, mad scientists, ghosts and monsters. For the younger children and the faint at heart, there will be a separate room featuring milder Halloween-themed activities and treats.
“I was stationed at Kadena [Air Base on Okinawa] and their haunted house is excellent,” said Master Sgt. Scott Samdahl, who has worked on the 730th’s haunted house a couple days a week. “This one will put it to shame.”
