"People pay to be scared, and Whitehall benefits year-round." That's how the Whitehall Ledger put it as Screams Come True got ready to open its seventh season at the Whitehall Community Center on Friday, Oct. 16.
The haunted house is also how Whitehall is paying for the historic Star Theatre, which has stood downtown since 1912. Over seven seasons, the haunt's money has gone toward a down payment on the building, and it paid for a new roof on top of that.
Five nights are left this season. What they raise goes toward a building down the block.
A Halloween fundraiser with a mortgage-sized goal
The haunted house is run by Gold Junction Presents, a Whitehall nonprofit focused on the arts and on keeping the Star Theatre going. In January 2024, the Ledger reported that GJP had taken over the theater business and hoped to contract for the building by the middle of that year. The plan has moved a long way since then. Here is what the Ledger has credited to haunt revenue so far:
- A down payment toward buying the Star Theatre building
- A new roof to stop further damage to the century-old structure
- Other building improvements and day-to-day operating costs
- Free children's programs and movies
- Theater programming and classes
The roof shows how this works. In 2025 GJP was still raising money for a new roof on the Star. This October's coverage lists the roof as finished and paid for with haunted house proceeds.
According to the Ledger's Oct. 7 profile, none of the profit goes to any individual. Part of the revenue pays the Whitehall Community Center for use of its space, and every other dollar goes back into the community through Gold Junction Presents. So the haunt supports two downtown buildings: the Community Center that hosts it and the theater it funds.
What the Star does with the money the rest of the year
The theater is busy. In early October, before the haunt opened, the Star was showing "Heart of the Beast" from Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 11, according to Gold Junction Presents' Star Theatre page. On Sept. 19, Whitehall's second annual Harvest Festival on the Main Street Green ended with a free Jason DeShaw concert at the Star. Montana Farmers Union presented the show, and the Whitehall Garden Club ran the pie auction outside.
The building's upstairs has changed too. In August, the Ledger reported that GJP had been renovating the second floor into community space. It now rents out a flexible-use office, a temporary office, a conference room, a great room and a community room. Anyone who wants to rent or tour the space can call GJP at 406-498-3807.
Taken together, the haunt pays down the building, the building hosts the films, concerts and meeting rooms, and October pays for it again.
The 2026 line starts at the Star
This year the route ties the two buildings together on foot. The haunt begins on the Main Street Green next to the Star Theatre, runs down the alley and ends at the Whitehall Community Center at 11 N. Division St. Visitors stand in line beside the building their tickets help pay for.
Inside, the Ledger describes more than 20 rooms spread across both the large and small sides of the Community Center. Outside there's a custom panel maze, food trucks and scare actors working the line. This season adds five new rooms, along with what the paper called "extensive reimagining of the standard classics."
The build is a big part of what admission pays for. Volunteers moved in on Sept. 20 and kept building until opening day on Oct. 16, putting up what the Ledger called "a building within a building." They framed walls, ran power and built details, all under a commercial fire suppression system installed specifically for the haunted house. That's nearly four weeks of construction in a public building for seven nights of operation.
Who is behind the masks
The cast is made up of more than 40 volunteer "scarers" aged 6 to 86, and most are under 18. The Ledger lists the skills they pick up over the build: construction, painting, lighting, sound, stage makeup, costume design, acting and event production. Every participant signs a contract and agrees to the rules.
This links back to the theater. The same set, lighting and sound skills are what a working stage at the Star needs. The haunt trains people who can run a stage, and it pays for the stage itself.
Screams Come True has drawn attention outside the valley before. In 2022, TravelPulse picked it as Montana's best Halloween destination in a state-by-state roundup. The Ledger says it draws visitors "from throughout Montana and beyond," and that's a big reason the at-the-door line gets so long.
The five nights left
Opening weekend, Oct. 16 and 17, has passed. These are the remaining dates, with hours from 7 to 10 p.m. each night.
| Night | Date | Also in town |
|---|---|---|
| Friday | Oct. 23 | |
| Saturday | Oct. 24 | |
| Thursday | Oct. 29 | |
| Friday | Oct. 30 | Whitehall FFA pop-up pumpkin patch, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Saturday | Oct. 31 | Whitehall FFA pop-up pumpkin patch, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
General admission is $20. VIP is $50, gets you past the line, and comes with a $15 merchandise credit. Tickets are sold at screamscometruemt.com, and there's a separate line for anyone who bought ahead. The Ledger says the at-the-door line can run more than two hours. The crew's long-standing promise still holds: anyone in line by 10:30 p.m. gets in, even if that keeps the cast scaring people into the early morning.
Before you go, know the house rules:
- Tour leaders take groups of six through, with two groups inside at a time.
- It's a non-tactile tour. Nobody touches the actors and the actors don't touch you. Anyone who breaks the rule is removed.
- Intoxicated guests aren't allowed inside.
- There are strobe lights.
- The haunt is designed for school-age kids and up. Every cast member wears a wireless headset, so anyone who gets too scared can be pulled from the group and walked through more calmly with an actor. Glow sticks are available as a signal for actors to ease off.
For anyone who'd rather look at the work than run from it, the Ledger mentions a "Lights On/Chicken Night" option and behind-the-scenes tours. With the lights on, you can take in all the detail the volunteers spent September building. Check screamscometruemt.com for this year's timing before you plan around it.
The rest of Halloween week in Whitehall
The last two haunt nights fall on the same days as the Whitehall FFA pop-up pumpkin patch. It runs Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 33 E. Yellowstone Trail Road, with games, food and treats. The Southwest Montana listing notes that the FFA chapter started in late 2024. That makes it easy to do a daytime stop at the pumpkin patch and a nighttime stop on Division Street on the same day.
After that, the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce calendar moves into November. Coffee & Conversations is Thursday, Nov. 5, from 8 to 10 a.m. A Cowboy Christmas MTWLC fundraiser is set for Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m., with more details to come.
We have a soft spot for old buildings and the people who keep them standing. Joszie spent years in construction and finishing, and Jason spent 29 years in the finishes industry, so a new roof on a 1912 theater looks like money well spent to us. If you'd like to talk about Whitehall, the Jefferson Valley or the downtown blocks around the Star, Joszie and Jason Driear are happy to get in touch. Maybe we'll see you in line on the Green.
