If you think haunted houses are only for kids, you’re in for a good scare.

Students at Pennichuck Middle School have been working with city resident Kathy Thomas to transform her Foxboro Street property into a haunted hot spot.

“Everybody sort of fit into the roles that they picked,” Pennichuck guidance counselor Marianne O’Connor said. “As soon as they got their mask or makeup, they went right into character,”

The children have volunteered to participate in the haunted house as part of the 21st Century program, which provides students with structured after-school activities.

“I would say around 15 to 18 kids altogether participated one way or another, mostly as actors,” O’Connor said. “We had some kids painting like a tapestry, a haunted graveyard scene.”

This is the third year that Thomas and her family have hosted the haunted house, which they call the “Graveside Manor.”

As a theme for the haunted house, Thomas created a fictional story about an estranged doctor whose obsession with mortality led to his mysterious death. The eight-room, medieval-style manor features many of the doctor’s subjects,

“It takes up my entire driveway and my two-car garage,” Thomas said. “And then we have the cemetery along with a cript that you walk through. It’s pretty big.”

The house is free and open to the public, but donations are appreciated, Thomas said. This year, 100 percent of the donations will go toward the Nashua Police Athletic League, she said.

“The whole idea is to raise money for whatever charity we’re working for and this year it’s for PAL,” she said.

Thomas credits her brother, Bill Thomas Jr. with much of the building, as the house features projector effects and a sound system. Many local businesses, including Home Depot have donated materials for the house, Thomas said.

“We have projections, and we have a talking skull who’s our newest haunt – he’ll sit there and he’ll actually give you the house rules,” Thomas said. “Then if you go through the home, we have computer monitors that are showing these projections in the doorways.”

Thomas said the students helped to establish the house’s haunted feeling, and contributed greatly to its overall production.

“They’re definitely part of the acting crew,” Thomas said. “It really is very much like a show. The kids came in and they checked out the costumes. I think it’s good because it’s teaching them some responsibility and commitment.”

O’Connor said the kids enjoyed participating in Thomas’s haunted house, and that it allowed them to contribute to their community. Sheri Bullock, the 21st Century coordinator at Pennichuck, also was involved in helping the students participate, O’Connor said.

“I really saw this as a service learning project,” O’Connor said. “The kids make a commitment and do their part, and it’s work, but it’s theater and performance and even kids who might be very shy … a lot of them find these little parts for themselves.”

The house, at 13 Foxboro St., will be open from 6-9 p.m. Thursday.

Emily Hoyt can be reached at 594-6403 or ehoyt@nashuatelegraph.com.