St. Ignatius Haunted Hospital hosts hundreds

The Halloween festivities in Colfax have ended, and Colfax’s Unified Director Valoree Gregory said more than 800 people attended ghost hunts and tours at the former St. Ignatius Hospital over the last two weeks.

“It was just successful,” said Gregory. “With the Pac-12 here and other things, it made Colfax a pretty fun place to be.”

Gregory said she is not sure of the final total raised from the Haunted Hospital attraction, but she estimates at least $7,000 to have been raised, which will be divided among the Downtown Association, Chamber of Commerce and the owners of St. Ignatius.

Gregory said the funds will be used for upcoming events, including Winterfest Dec. 3. She added that it will also go toward projects to help revitalize the downtown area.

Gregory estimated 120 Colfax residents were among the more than 800 Haunted Hospital participants. The rest were from out of town.

She said that the Historic Preservation Commission also had tours of several of the upstairs downtown buildings.

“Quite a few people came through for that,” said Gregory.

Those tours were free, but a donation was suggested. Gregory said several people made donations.

Gregory works with four downtown groups, and said there will not be much time to rest now that the Haunted Hospital is over.

“We have already got some things brewing for the start of next year,” she said. “We are not going to have too much of a break!”