NATCHEZ — Natchez firefighters were greeted to a spooky sight when the special effects from a local haunted house set off a fire alarm Wednesday night.

Firefighters were called to St. Mary Basilica at approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday when a fog machine set off the church’s fire alarm in the building’s elevator room.

When firefighters arrived they discovered the church’s youth group participating in a rehearsal for its annual haunted house set up in the basement of the basilica on Main Street.

The youth will be practicing several night this week before the haunted house opens on Sunday and Monday night.