The Newburgh Civitan Zombie Farm recently opened its doors, continuing the 35-year tradition of haunting for charity. As a joint project of Newburgh Civitan and Newburgh Junior Civitan, this haunted house benefits the community by providing horrifically good entertainment, as well as raising proceeds to benefit other non-profits.

Last year, the Zombie Farm raised $24,000. This money benefits a variety of projects and charities such as Civitan Research Center, which researches causes and cures for physical and mental disabilities; the Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center; a new light display at Fantasy of Lights at Garvin Park, which also benefits Easter Seals; Special Olympics; and a Secret Angel family. Portions of the profits also fund several smaller projects and the two non-profit Civitan clubs, which use the money to continue service and volunteerism in the community.

Civitan is a civic organization that does fundraising and hands-on service projects to help others.

"We particularly enjoy working with kids, retirement homes, Civitan Research Center and Special Olympics," said Deneen Cave, Newburgh Civitan Treasurer. "The feeling I get from helping a Special Olympian practice skiing, caroling at a nursing home or delivering presents to our Secret Angel family at Christmas makes it all worthwhile."

Junior Civitan is comprised of students from 12 to 18 years old. The adult club sponsors and works actively with the junior club on projects year-round. The juniors are the majority of the monsters and zombies in the haunted house.

The project started 35 years ago as six cardboard scenes for children to go through for a fun Halloween weekend. The house has moved four times and enlarged each time, but continues to run as a charity fundraiser to benefit others in the community. Each year, the clubs spend over 2,500 hours getting the haunted house ready for the Halloween season. This past summer, major remodeling took place to create the Zombie Farm's newest attraction, the Blood Beast.

Each night, 40 to 50 volunteers from the clubs offer up their time and talent to raise money for charitable causes which makes this the only non-profit haunted house in the area.

The Zombie Farm is open every Thursday through Sunday through the end of October. The haunts begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 9 p.m. on Thursday and Sunday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

For the faint of heart, little ones and the scaredy cats, the Newburgh Civitan Zombie Farm offers a special "No Scare" tour. From 6 to 6:45 p.m. on each night the Zombie Farm is open, guests can encounter the house with the lights on and no monsters or zombies inside and a tour guide to help guests through.

Adult tickets are $10, with $2-off discount coupons available online at www.zombiefarm.net. Children's tickets for those age 10 and under are $5. Discount coupons cannot be used on children's tickets.