About

About the Jaycees Feargrounds

The Jaycees Feargrounds is the Sioux Falls Jaycees’ haunted house project, and the largest fundraiser and volunteer driver for the Sioux Falls Jaycees chapter. The haunted house is located at the W.H Lyons Fairgrounds, and is open to the community every year in October.

The Sioux Falls Jaycees have run their Haunted House project since 1974. There have been many different versions of the haunt throughout its history, and currently exists as a 6,000-square-foot haunted house in the Fine Arts building on the fairgrounds. Previously known as the Sioux Falls Jaycees Haunted House, the haunted house rebranded as the Jaycees Feargrounds in 2019 as an effort to give the haunt a unique identity and keep the project relevant in today’s haunted attractions industry. 

We Are A Fundraiser!

Did you know that our haunted house is actually a fundraiser? Each ticket purchased is a donation that goes back into the Sioux Falls community through Jaycees projects. These projects include the 4th of July fireworks celebration, a free fireworks show complete with kids activities that has an annual attendance of 6,000-9,000 people annually, and our Holiday Gifts for Kids program, serving over 400 families in need and providing gifts to over 1200 children each year. 

More Than Just A Haunted House

Leadership

Just like the mission of the Sioux Falls Jaycees, the haunted house project encourages leadership training through community service. This project gives volunteers hands-on experience with sales, marketing, operations, project management, staff management and more.

Education

This project gives volunteers hands-on experience with customer service, operations & project management, and staff management, all in a fun and exciting environment. Volunteers also learn valuable life skills, such as use of construction tools and sewing through set build and costume creation.

Community

We love to share our passions with the community partner with local organizations to teach scare-acting and makeup safety classes for youth. We also are proud of our makeup internships, teaching aspiring makeup artists safe, sanitary best practices for using basic special effects makeup products.

Haunt Family

The volunteers at the Jaycees Feargrounds are a fun and welcoming group that love everything Halloween and the art of the scare! We do events throughout the year, and many volunteers stay active with the Sioux Falls Jaycees year round. We are proud to have a fantastic scare family, but don’t just take our word for it… volunteer!
We're glad you asked! Yes, the Sioux Falls Jaycees are a 501(c)(3) non profit, and the Haunted House is our biggest fundraiser and volunteer driver of the year! Proceeds are used to support other Jaycee projects in the community, such as the 4th of July Fireworks at the Fairgrounds and our Holiday Gifts for Kids program, which provides gifts to an average of 1,200 Sioux Falls area children annually. We invite you to learn more about how the Sioux Falls Jaycees give back to the community, or even volunteer if the project is a fit for you.
Yes, the Jaycees Feargrounds is the same haunt that has been thrilling and terrifying Sioux Falls residents since 1974. We just have a new brand to help keep our project relevant as the haunted attractions industry continues to grow.
Absolutely! If you think scare acting could be fun, or are interested in helping out with other volunteer opportunities such as ticket sales, concessions, line management, makeup and more, we'd love to have you!
We rely on parents to make the best decisions for their children. However, we do recommend the haunt for kids age 12 and up. We do have a Kid’s Day event that features fun, light-hearted trick-or-treating through the haunt, with plenty of activities like cookie decorating, Mr. Twister and more.

Haunted Attractions Association Member

The Jaycees Feargrounds are proud to me members of the Haunted Attractions Association, and have three managers that are Certified Haunted Attraction Operator/Owner Safety (CHAOS) certified.