Thursday afternoon, the middle of DeVargas Center was in the process of being transformed into what could be Santa Fe's scariest haunted house — ParanorMall.

Curious mall patrons stole peeks behind black tarps hanging from sturdy wooden frames.

"It's all going to look quite different in 24 hours," said Bruce Weatherbee, member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, as he stood near a wooden work table atop a floor full of sawdust.

IATSE generally does sets for movies, stage performances and television shows, but Weatherbee said the alliance is lending its talents to the local Elks club to put on a great haunted house.

Phillip Montoya of the Elks said they've been holding a haunted house for several years, but outgrew the Elks Lodge, where the event had been held. The site at DeVargas is perfect for what they have planned, he said. This also is the first time they have had professionals do the haunted house set.

"We need to really, really thank the people from the film crew," Montoya said. "They're the ones that have done it all. They are amazing."

Santa Fe's fire and police departments also are teaming up for the event to raise money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico.

"All these organizations got together to do this for us," said Bernadette Garcia, community coordinator for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico.

"It's a good organization," Weatherbee said. "People can have some fun and help a community organization that gives a lot back to the people here in Santa Fe."

The structure should be ready today to deliver fright and fear to Santa Feans, young and old, from 5 to 11 p.m., with the first two hours designed for young children.

While the super, secret, scary surprises will be left under wraps — until they pop out at you as you go through the haunted house — visitors might stumble upon a coffin full of chains and skeletal remains, which was spotted yesterday in the staging area, an empty office space near a mall entrance. A Victorian living room complete with a black marble fire place, tall windows and brick walls looked like the spookiest of living rooms.

"There's going to be a little wake going on in here," Weatherbee explained. "It's going to be creepy."

"The whole thing is going to be scary," Montoya said.

Just outside this room, you might catch a glimpse of La Llorona, the weeping woman of local folklore who cries for her dead children in the night.

The crew who put together ParanorMall worked carefully with the space DeVargas Center already had to offer. They used the fountain in the shopping center's central square as the site where La Llorona just might snatch up any stray children. They also incorporated the mall's live potted trees into a creepy little space.

Montoya challenges all city employees to come to the haunted house to see if they can survive the fright.

Santa Fe firefighter Justin Allred, who volunteered to work on the house, said, "It looks like it's going to be fun."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.