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NEW ULM - Everyone seemed to be out and about this Halloween on Saturday night in New Ulm.

About two dozen teens dressed in costumes and spent time working at "The Slaughter Shack," a new haunted house in town.

The Slaughter Shack - known by most people on a "normal" day as "The Beat Shack" teen center on Broadway - was transformed into something rather "frightening" for people on Halloween.

"We're just having fun," said Sheldon Rieke, youth program coordinator for Healthy Communities/ Healthy Youth of Brown County, "For the weather last night (Friday) we had a good turnout. A number of kids went through it twice. We needed something like this in the community and we're planning something bigger for next year."

The Slaughter Shack was geared for children in grades 5-12 and operated both Friday and Saturday nights. It was a project of the New Ulm Area Youth Council.

The Slaughter Shack was sponsored by Healthy Communities/Healthy Youth of Brown County, the United Way of Brown County, IDS 88 and Underage Substance Abuse Coalition.

The idea for haunted house came from the Youth Council, but extra help came from the S.P.O.T.S. (Students Performing on Tough Situations), Rieke said.

"I think it's safe to say the kids who went through it had fun and the kids working it had fun," said Rieke.

Beth Bunda, who 14 years old, got dressed up and worked at the Slaughter Shack.

"The little kids are scared," said Bunda, "I love Halloween - it's my favorite holiday ever."

This year for Halloween Turner Hall invited all of the State Street trick-or-treaters with their families (and anyone else who wanted to come) to park in its parking lot and go through the "Scary Maze." The maze was created in the Turner Hall Park. It was another new attraction this year for people who were out and about on Halloween. The Scary Maze is a dark, haunted maze filled with "spooky surprises" at every turn. People could go through the maze free of charge.

"We've never done anything big for Halloween," said Virginia Suker-Moldan, general manager of Turner Hall, "We're hoping that each year we'll do something for Halloween ... for people to either start or end their night."

The idea for the Scary Maze came from Jennifer Pinkelman, who is employed as the kitchen manager and activities manager at Turner Hall.

Suker-Moldan said that last year people who live on State Street got some 1,400 kids trick-or-treating at each home.

Downtown New Ulm was bustling with young trick-or-treaters who attended the "Halloween Community Treat" Night held at the American Legion Club. The event, which was started in the 1970s, was sponsored by the Sons of the American Legion, American Legion Post 132, and the American Legion Auxiliary. Many local busineses contributed to the success of the event, said Paul Maday, who was a co-chairman of the event (he is a co-chair with Pete Macho).

"It's a free event for everybody," said Maday.

They packed about 800 bags of candy for kids. Local people donated stuffed animals for the youngsters and 600 coupons were given out to every young kid who came through the door. The coupons were for free items like ice cream treats and other items, said Maday.