Stingers Paintball hosts HEI Noon horrors show in Brockville, Ont. Saturday nights

BROCKVILLE, ONT. -

It may only be the first week of October, but one Brockville, Ont. company is raring to go for Halloween, with the scariest show in town.

Laura Heisler and Sandy Noonan added the finishing touches Saturday morning, ready to launch their HEI Noon Happenings horror show after weeks of preparation.

"We spend a whole month setting up but then we spend probably, I'd say, four to five months just in our heads going, 'OK, hey what are we going to do this year?'" said Heisler.

The duo run HEI Noon Happenings, and have set up around the area in previous years, including shows like Terror on Temperance Lake and Town Hall Terror in Prescott.

What began as a Halloween house party almost a decade ago has morphed into a scary theme production company throughout the years.

The walk through maze features rooms of horror, with volunteer actors hiding around nearly every corner.

The women say some people don't make it to the end.

"We've had lots of adults go under the barrier to get out," laughed Heisler. "We've had people pee their pants, we've had people crying and screaming and we've had big grown men shoving their wives in front because they were nervous."

Laurie Heisler and Sandy Noonan walk through the HEI Noon horror show at Stingers Paintball in Brockville, Ont. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

That's the main goal.

"We're doing this for people want that scare, right?" Heisler said. "They want to come out of it with the adrenaline going and that's what we do it for."

The maze is in the back of Stingers Paintball, which held its grand reopening on Saturday with live music and vendors inside and out.

Sherry Lister of Stingers says the facility offers a lot more than just paintball.

"We are more of a recreational facility, any sport we can accommodate," she said. "If you want to come in and throw a Frisbee, we can accommodate. If we don't have, it we'll try to figure it out for you."

On Saturday people were playing pickleball, basketball and laser tag, with other sports such as axe throwing, squash courts and batting cages available.

"Most of our stuff is walk on basis. The only time that we really schedule anything is for birthday parties," said Lister.

It's open to everyone, even wheelchair accessible.

"They come in to play ping pong, we have our laser tag field that they can play on. We have enough room for wheelchairs to get through along the fields," Lister said. "It's geared for any age group."

Stingers Paintball has a basketball court, a pickleball court and other activities. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Lister said the facility has held haunted houses in the past, but this is the first year for HEI Noon Horrors.

"We're looking very forward to this," Lister said, glad to be reopened during the pandemic. "It was very quiet in here for the first little bit, but once we've reopened everybody was finally able to get out and get active."

To get inside to play sports or to go through the haunted house, proof of vaccination is required along with face masks.

Noonan says attention to detail is what most people appreciate with the horror show, with a majority of the decorations made by hand.

"They sit there and say, 'Oh my goodness, how creative is this?' and how good it was, and they actually come back through because the fact they want to see the details of stuff after they've been scared," she said.

She noted families and groups of teenagers are the target demographic, but the show might not be right for those under 6 years old.

A preview of the HEI Noon horror show at Stingers Paintball in Brockville, Ont. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

More than 50 animatronics are scattered throughout, adding to the atmosphere.

"We just want them to have fun and definitely come out and bring your family and friends," Heisler said, noting her favourite room is the witch's area.

"We just have so much detail with the potions and just the aroma, you can see that the witch is creating something and we always put a lot of detail into that one," she said.

"We've also got a big clown area," she added. "We just want them to have fun and definitely come out and bring your family and friends."

The Scare Show begins Saturday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and runs every Saturday night through Oct. 30 for anyone that can handle it.

More details can be found at HEI Noon Happenings or Stingers Paintball Brockville.