New Hope gas station serves up Halloween scares with haunted car wash

With clowns, ax murderers and other creepy costumed characters wiping away soapy windows, the manager of a New Hope service station is warning customers that his haunted car wash is not for the faint of heart.

Dubbed the "Tunnel of Terror," Tommy's Express Car Wash on Friday and Saturday nights will also use giant skeletons, fake blood, fog machines and flashing lights set to pulsating Halloween music to give customers driving through the scare of their lives, said manager Cody Giguere.

"That is what we are hoping for," he said.

Three years ago, Giguere said owners of the station at 7201 Bass Lake Road were looking for a way to bring the community together. They had seen a video of a haunted car wash in the southern United States and decided to replicate the idea here, he said.

The production caught the attention of Tommy's Express executives, who liked it so much that several other Tommy's locations across the country have joined in, spokeswoman Carrie Caldwell said. The list includes Tommy's locations in the Minnesota cities of Duluth, Moorhead, Rochester and Waite Park.

"The one they put on is so fun," Caldwell said of the New Hope event. "With all the props and characters, it gets bigger and better every year."

Customers seeking five minutes of fright have liked it, too, Giguere said. In previous years, as many as 200 vehicles have passed through the Tunnel of Terror in the two hours it operates each night.

"We get a lot of repeat customers," Giguere said. "Some come two to three times. They want it that scary."

For employee Phillip Ponce, the chance to playfully wield a machete and put fear into car wash customers "is a great time," he said. And "it puts a smile on people's faces."

For customers, he added, "they get a great car wash and spooked at the same time."

Between 12 and 15 employees will staff the event, which will run from 7 to 9 both nights. But Giguere said it could run longer if it's really busy.

The clean fun doesn't end with the car wash. There will be a food truck on-site Friday. On both nights, customers can pose for pictures with actors. The station also will hand out goodie bags and free drinks.

Reservations are not required. The cost is $20, but those with Tommy's memberships can go through an unlimited number of times.