Last week Hair Balls blogger Dusti Rhodes reported that most Houston-area haunted-house attractions were faring pretty well after Hurricane Ike — and managed to elicit this gem from the owner of haunted-house chain Phobia:

Our customer base is still screwed over. We bet they’ll be happy to hear that the fake houses in the area have their power back.

Now from Crosby comes a different kind of Hurricane Ike haunted house horror story: A warehouse attached to auto accessories shop B&M Accessories received so much damage from the storm that the owners decided to scrap their plans to expand their store into it. Instead, they’re turning the entire building into . . . yes, a haunted house:

“When we first came and walked through, my son said it looked like a haunted house in here,” [co-owner Billy] Maness said.

Though the power was out around much of the community, two light bulbs flicked on at the mention of Halloween.

After some discussion it was decided: the eerie warehouse was to become Crosby’s House of Terror, a 9,000-square foot maze of Halloween fun and fear.

While others are mourning the loss of their homes and businesses, the duo turned their misfortune around, giving the entire community something to scream about. Since Sunday, they’ve been hard at work, not cleaning up, but ramping up the Halloween spirit unleashed by Hurricane Ike.

The Halloween attraction will open to the public on October 3. Less than a year ago, the building at 117 Ulrich Ln., off FM 2100 in Crosby, was Shooters Bar. Before that, it was called the Chicken Coop.

After the jump: design touches from Hurricane Ike!

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The Baytown Sun‘s Tara Sullivan continues:

Though they’ve invested about $7,500 in Halloween music, props and other scary do-dads, much of the haunted house came as a gift from the master of [fright]: Hurricane Ike.

“All of the aisles were made with tin that blew off the building,” [co-owner Mike] Hanley said.

Also, large branches and debris blown in by the storm were incorporated into the scary scenes that line the maze.

Neither Maness nor Hanley had designed a haunted house before, but Ike provided great, creepy inspiration. With florescent spray paint, the two outlined the perfect maze, a DJ booth, and set aside areas in which costumed ghouls will hide and haunt.

• No rest for the wicked [Baytown Sun]
• Haunted Houses Laugh, Maniacally, At Ike [Hair Balls]