GINA B. GOOD / PVT Jack Crane, General Manager of Saddle West Hotel, Casino and RV Resort, at right, smiles at his ghostly buddy, one of the stars of tonight's haunted house at the Haunted Hotel area around Saddle West's pool in the courtyard. Advertisement

Saddle West Hotel and Casino has re-purposed 25 hotel rooms around their hotel swimming pool area just in time to entertain Pahrump's children for Halloween. A lot of preparation has gone into staging the Haunted Hotel, which will be open from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tonight only.

The glorious ghoulification of Saddle West Hotel is the brainchild of General Manager Jack Crane and his enthusiastic staff, with Human Resource Manager Elona Goldner heading up the newly formed Halloween Costume Acquisition and Decoration Department.

"We're expecting anywhere from 500 to 1,000 kids and their parents, grandparents or caretakers," said Crane. There is no charge for the event, which is open to children ages 3 to 12 years old.

After getting approval from Nye County School District, Crane had flyers delivered to local elementary schools inviting them to the free event. A line drawing of a jack-o-lantern to color was on the backside of the flyer, urging kids to drop their colored page at the Saddle West Haunted House to vie for prizes.

"We want the kids to come trick-or-treat at the Haunted Hotel for a safe and fun Halloween," said Crane, adding that the event was warmly received by many local merchants and service organizations.

"The Haunted Hotel concept had a great reception with the Chamber of Commerce, Nye County Juvenile Probation, the drug court, Nye County Search and Rescue, Building and Safety and the sheriff's office.

"We have 25 hotel rooms cleared around the pool for this special night, including our hospitality suite," said Crane. Each organization is decorating the doorway and windows of their room. No children will be allowed in the rooms -- which is where all the goodies will be stored for the costumed donors to hand out at the door.

The pool area also features a small, fenced graveyard with tombstones.

Saddle West's security team will be beefed up for the event by Bailiff Bear Smith and of course, each child must be accompanied by an adult.

In addition to the traditional candy treats, other small gifts will be handed out. Rumor has it there may even be toothbrushes in the gift bags.

Children are also invited to enter Saddle West's Haunted House, in the area previously known as a seating area at the bar around the pool. Crane and his crew cleared the tables and chairs out of the tiled-floor bar and filled it with black drapes, six-foot ghosts and skeletons. Peek closer and you may see bats, pirates and all sorts of other haunts to stimulate the imaginations of revved up, sugar-filled kids.

The bar itself will be transformed into a snack station, selling items from $1 to $2.50. The menu will feature mummy dogs, tombstone cupcakes and brain-freeze punch.

"This is going to be tremendous," said Crane. "We've spent thousands of dollars on decorations for this event, but it's just the first Haunted Hotel with many more to come throughout the years and each will be better than the one before. We want to reach out to the community and let people know that Saddle West is the place to hang out again."