By HALEY ATKINSON

Two local haunted house attractions have recently garnered national attention. Kreepy Hollow and Scream Acres, both located in Lucknow, between Camden and Bishopville, were voted respectively No. 1 and No. 3 haunted houses in South Carolina by www.hauntworld.com, a site that rates such attractions throughout the country.

Kreepy Hollow is owned by Benji Sims and offers a unique experience to visitors with its "haunted bus ride" feature, Sims said.

"We’ve also got a two-story haunted house, a walk-through graveyard and a hay ride that’s over two miles long," Sims said.

Sims said his goal is to think outside the box so that he can continue to offer his patrons an experience that is "out of the ordinary." For 22 years, he has been working with haunted houses. "I love doing it," he said.

Bobby Hasibar has owned Scream Acres, a haunted house and hay ride attraction for 13 years. Scream Acres is the longest-running haunted house in the area, having been in operation for close to 20 years. It has been owned by Hasibar for 13 years. According to him, as long as it has been in operation it has donated all its proceeds, after overhead is covered, to local residents in need.

Hasibar said they have donated to local fire departments, cancer patients and other people in the community "who need help."

"One year, we took part of the money we made and we bought Christmas presents for families (in the area) that couldn’t buy for themselves," he said.

"We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our volunteers," Hasibar said, and noted that many volunteers have been helping for several years. Scream Acre’s volunteers come from Camden, Cassatt, Bishopville, Sumter, Hartsville and other surrounding areas, and just like Hasibar, are excited to have fun while doing something good for the community.

Dennis Stevens, a volunteer from Cassatt, said, "It feels good to be doing this because it’s charitable and a lot of people from Kershaw County volunteer out there," he said. "It’s really good to see that."

Both Scream Acres and Kreepy Hollow have enjoyed good turnout so far this year and are always happy to see more visitors.

The Lucknow area is also home to Cedar Creek Haunted House and Maze, a smaller yet equally spooky attraction owned by Derrick Brown. Like Scream Acres, Cedar Creek Haunted House donates much of its proceeds to a needful community member. Its website states that its main goal is to "provide the community a safe place…and to help others."

For anyone looking for a good scare this Halloween season, the Lucknow area offers three very different options. Though all three sites are located in Lee County, they are frequented and staffed by many Kershaw County residents. Also, all three are located very close to the Kershaw and Lee county line.

To find out more about Scream Acres, visit www.screamacreshaunt edhouse.com; to find out more about Kreepy Hollow, visit www.kreepyhol low.net; and to find out more about Cedar Creek Haunted House and Maze, visit www.cedarcreekhaunted house.com.