Utah Valley's collection of spooky Halloween destinations will have a new addition this year with the spook alley at the Alpine Transition and Employment Center.

"It's not scary, and it's not like the other haunted houses around here," said Cassie Flint, a transition specialist at ATEC.

Flint said the spook alley is a fundraising opportunity for the school, which works with moderately and severely disabled students to help them transition into living on their own. Admission to the spook alley is $1 or a book per person. The money will pay for new books and for activities the students participate in, such as visiting museums or practicing buying fast food.

"We would like to take our students to see a play at Hale Center Theater," she said.

The school focuses on several areas vital to independent life, including daily living and grooming and interacting with peers, teachers and strangers. Students visit important locations around town such as the dentist's office and Wal-Mart, and staffers work to help them communicate with the bus driver.

"That's our goal, is to have them be able to ride the bus on their own and go to work," she said.

Susan Horne, who works in the ATEC building managing the Medicaid program for Alpine School District, said the spook alley is something the students look forward to every year. They begin planning the different rooms two months in advance and work together painting and decorating. Horne said the event provides an opportunity for the students to put communication skills they have learned to use. It is helpful for them to be able to interact with visitors, and working to complete the project can give a big boost in self-esteem.

"A lot of these kids have a hard time finishing things just because of their disabilities," she said.

Horne said fundraising efforts such as the spook alley and others are also important for the school and its efforts to help students become self-sufficient. The hands-on teaching approach requires funds for such opportunities as a baking class in which students can obtain a food handler's permit. Horne said the skills the school teaches are vital for its students, and it provides opportunities students may not get otherwise.

"I think they just feel more empowered because they've practiced all these skills," she said.

Horne said her daughter brought a group of children aged 3 to 9 to the spook alley Friday for a birthday party and were entertained with Renaissance stories, making scones and, of course, the spook alley itself. All of the children enjoyed the scary spiders and fluorescent paint, even the 3-year-old, she said.

"She held her mom's hand, but she wasn't horrified," Horne said.

Alpine School District Director of Special Education Kay Clark said she and her family will be attending the spook alley this year, and she thinks it is a great way to make the holiday fun for students and visitors. Even if the school only breaks even with its fundraising for the event, she said putting on the spook alley is very beneficial to the students.

"I think it's important for these kids to have opportunities to be creative in what they do," she said.

The spook alley will be open to the public with several carnival events Oct. 29 from 5-8 p.m. at 350 N. State St. in Lindon. For more information or to schedule a private group tour, call Cassie Flint or Jessica Newman at (801) 785-8727.