BATON ROUGE - The 13th Gate in downtown Baton Rouge is a Halloween tradition. This year, organizers are dealing with a very real fright.

Haunted houses are being reinvented this year to keep people both spooked and safe.

"We've been in constant communication with the State Fire Marshal's Office who's also speaking with the Governor's Office about haunted houses and their safety," owner Dwayne Sanburn said. 

Sanburn says he has made changes to make his haunted house experience both scary and COVID-19 safe. 

"We've worked really hard and made tremendous changes this year to make sure it's safe and ready to go for everyone," Sanburn said.

So pack your screams and your masks. The 13th gate crew has added sanitation stations, social distancing markers, temperature checks, virtual reservation systems, and that's not all.

"All of our actors will be wearing masks. Our makeup team has been developing some great scary but safe masks that are themed out and people are going to be really surprised at what they see," Sanburn said.

Organizers say the haunted house may be even scarier than it has in previous years because only groups of 6 will be allowed in at a time.

"A lot of times you're used to going in big crowds and at a faster pace, but this time it's going to be pretty intense."

Sanburn says crews will constantly clean common areas throughout the day as they hope to make Halloween a treat for everyone. 

Click here to see more COVID-19 safety measures at 13th Gate.