Friends Kristen Hurteau, 15, left, and Diana Della Porta, 14, both of Cranston, made up and dressed up for a night of fright, pose in front of the Haunted Labyrinth at 804 Dyer St. in Cranston. Proceeds benefit the Rejoice in Hope CYO Center.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

CRANSTON –– It began with a simple Halloween party for youngsters at St. Lawrence Catholic parish inNorth Providence. And when it was done, they found they had so much fun they wanted to do it again the following year — but for money.

It was 1984, and youth minister Mark Sauriol, a teenager then who is now a priest and pastor of All Saints Church in Woonsocket, says no one really knew what to expect.

“We mapped out our haunted house in the gymnasium, and a carpenter in the parish showed us how to build the walls so they wouldn’t fall down,” he recalled Wednesday. Visitors came, and, in the end, the group was surprised to learn it had made $3,000.

Jump ahead 25 years, and the 44-year-old priest still serves as a consultant to what, through a merger, has become the Rejoice in Hope CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) Center in Cranston. He says he is still astounded at how big that haunted house, renamed the Haunted Labyrinth, has become.

In 2001, 18,000 visitors turned up at the CYO’s doorstep, providing it with $110,000 in gross revenues, and $60,000 in net income. And there have been other years when the revenues topped $100,000.

“I didn’t think it would last this long,” Father Sauriol said. “We have been around longer than some companies, and, collectively, we’ve raised more than $1 million for youth ministries.”

The CYO’s current leaders say the center decided years ago to forgo having witches, devils or chain-saw-type blood and gore, relying instead on amusing and scaring visitors with strategic “surprises.”

“Most families appreciate that,” says Patricia Kane, the center’s director of youth ministry. “They also appreciate that the $10 admission is for a good cause. It goes to support such things as youth retreats.”

CYO administrator Philip Ricci acknowledges that the goal of $45,000 this year is a bit more modest than some years past. He says it’s still a crucial element in making ends meet, but the true value is in attracting more young people to the CYO.

“It’s a real community builder,” says Kane, who estimates that nearly 500 young people will have worked on the labyrinth at one time or another this year, beginning when volunteers started putting up walls at the center in July. On a night like tonight, she expects 80 young people will be on hand to deliver the scares.

The theme changes each year, and this year, it’s Haunted Hollywood, including such things as a haunted movie theater where visitors can sit and relax until they discover that the lifeless dummy sitting next to them is alive. There’s also a sound room, a “Wizard of Oz” room, a “Jaws” room and a room dedicated to Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”

As for competition, leaders say some of the nonprofit organizations that used to stage events in dilapidated houses had to give them up when fire-safety codes became stricter. And unlike some commercial competitors who have opted for outdoor events such as haunted hayrides, they don’t have to cancel when it gets wet and nasty.

Says Kane: “During the final days, we actually pray for rain, because it gives us even bigger crowds.”

The Haunted Labyrinth is at 804 Dyer Ave. in Cranston. It’s open Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. “until the last person screams.” Admission is $10, with a dollar-off coupon at www.hauntedlabyrinth.com. For more information, go to the Web site, or call (401) 943-8686.

rdujardi@projo.com