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When Emily Allas received an 1800s prison cell as a gag gift from her dad on her 21st birthday this past summer, she never knew that it would actually come in handy.

Allas and her friend Kaitlin Johnson are putting that jail cell to use, and they’ve also discovered plenty of other scare tactics as they are putting on a haunted tunnel called Halloween Chaos in Lansing from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.

“We started this as a joke and then it kind of fell together. We started planning to do it at the end of September,” Allas said. “Anybody is welcome to come. It’s scary, but not too scary. We kind of stepped out of our zone and had a little fun with it.”

Allas’s father bought the prison cell off of a Facebook auction and the haunted tunnel will also include a cauldron pot, a cast iron bathtub and an autopsy room with bones.

There is no cost to attend Halloween Chaos, but anyone who comes out is being asked to bring two non-perishable items for the Salvation Army Food Shelf.

“Instead of taking money for ourselves, we want to give back to the community,” Johnson said. “We’ve had a lot of volunteers help us set up and scare.”

Allas and Johnson have dedicated a lot of time on Halloween Chaos and they’ve made sure to make it accessible for handicapped people, while also making it safe in the COVID-19 era. The entire haunted tunnel is outside and family and friends have helped put it together.

“I think it’s fun, but it’s a lot of work at the same time,” Johnson said.

Halloween Chaos will be held at 54310 270th St. in Lansing. Attendees are being asked to wear masks, practice social distancing and wait at the campfire before entering the haunted house area.