Several days of hard work will finally pay off Friday night with the opening of a haunted house inside the Andala building off the square in Andalusia.

Jeff McClure, a California developer who purchased the Andala building property in late 2006 with the intent of bringing a restaurant and game room to the structure, said he was informed Wednesday afternoon that the haunted house would not be able to proceed as planned because it did not have a sprinkler system, but work has since been completed to resolve the issue.

“The first floor sprinklers are now fully operational and we have water on in the system,” he said. “We had to add a few things here and there, but we completed the state requirements.”

McClure said the haunted house will feature work completed by students at Andalusia High School.

“I want to invite everyone to come out and see what the local kids have been working on this entire week,” he said. “ I went out there and bought the decorations, but the kids put the hard work into putting everything together.”

AHS agribusiness and art students began working Monday to complete the haunted house and McClure said the event is a work in progress.

“We will continue working on the haunted house through the weekend,” he said. “People can come back for a second visit another night and expect to see something they did not see before.”

Price of admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for children and under. The doors will open today and Saturday at dusk and will remain open as long as the crowd demands.

“This is really a place for the kids to come and have a good time,” he said. “We are just going to have fun with it. We will have ghosts, ghouls, black lights, smoke machines and a room that leads to nowhere. It will be good, wholesome fun for Halloween.”

McClure said the event would not have been possible without the help of AHS students.

“They have done everything from signs to decorations to actually using hammer and nails to complete the woodwork,” he said. “They have worked to put everything together. It was so refreshing. You would never see something like this in Los Angeles. You would never see so much participation.

“Whether it is successful or not I will make a donation to the (Andalusia High School),” he added. “I want to show my appreciation for them helping out. There is no way I could have done it without them.”