Behind the Screams
Terrified screams can be heard and panic stricken faces seen at every haunted trail and scare house in the county, but the effort to make these frightening attractions can sometimes go unnoticed.
“We know we've got a really good trail if people come out screaming,” said Delores Perry of Sarver.
VolunteersPerry is a member of the Sarver Veteran's Club Ladies Auxiliary, which is putting on the Trail of Terror II at the vet's club. The trail raises funds for veterans in the country and overseas, so it utilizes as many volunteers as the club can get.“Last year counting everybody, we had close to 50 volunteers,” said Sheryl Cribbs, auxiliary president. “Actively working the trail, we have about 20.”The men of the Sarver Veteran's Club helped with construction, and some men are scaring along the trail as well.“On the trail, it's a lot of the guys from the club, the younger guys 20s, 30s, 40s,” said Peggy Ruediger, an auxiliary member.The men helped build flying dummies, a guillotine, a scene from the Wizard of Oz and a shaking bridge, among other attractions.Building a strong core of workers also is essential for the haunted hay ride, 15-acre corn maze and haunted house at The Beacon restaurant in Renfrew.The Beacon pays about 50 to 60 area students, along with other workers, to scare visitors. The Beacon has been family owned since 1920, so many of the workers are relatives of owner Greg Krelow.Relatives also help make food, install decorations and scare people at private haunts like the annual party and maze hosted by Toni Michael of Butler.Michael has thrown the party and maze for 13 years for 150 of her friends and family.“This year I (needed) 14 or 15 people to do each scene,” Michael said.
Bloody bodies, buried zombies and the Grim Reaper are just a few of the many “dead” bodies used to scare visitors at haunted attractions.The auxiliary's Trail of Terror uses classic straw-filled dummies with terrifying masks.“We had some of the older lady members sit and make dummies,” Ruediger said. “Anyone can make a dummy.”Michael uses more manikins than dummies, which she stores in her father's attic the rest of the year.Many haunted houses and trails use sensor activated bodies that move or talk when a person draws near.Michael has a Grim Reaper in her bathroom that moves when unsuspecting visitors sit down, while the Trail of Terror greets visitors with a bodiless head.“We have a remote and when people get close, Delores will say, ‘Hey you in the green shirt,' ” Cribbs said.Krelow's daughter, Chandler, is in charge of the Beacon's haunted house.In the house, workers hide with the dummies, such as a psycho clown and saluter room.“This year we didn't really have a theme, which I think I liked better,” Chandler said. “That way, you don't have to relate to anything and you can be more creative.”
Spider webs are a basic necessity of all haunted places.Michael spends about $800 a year buying decorations and props.“I try to get new things every year, Michael said.The new addition to Michael's haunted house this year was a spider scene, with volunteers wrapped in webs and spiders eating them.“It seems like all the kids hate spiders,” Michael said.A casket is another standard prop for many haunted trails and houses. Usually, a brave volunteer will lay inside.Ruediger said the Trail of Terror volunteer actually likes the coffin because it keeps him warm and out of the elements.Bats, birds and even pretend heads all dangling from clear strings can appear as if they're floating in mid air.“When it's dark, anything hanging they are afraid of,” Ruediger said.The Beacon's haunted house has its fair share of props, but the corn maze is scary enough with just a few scarecrows, some fake chain saws and a lot of workers.“Some of the kids make straw igloos to jump out of,” Krelow said.Krelow's son, Nicholas, walks around in the corn maze on jumping stilts in different outfits to scare anyone who might look up.Other Beacon workers wear brown camouflage or Carhartts to blend in with the corn.“All the kids make their own costumes,” Krelow said. “When they are out there and standing on the trail, you can't tell if it's them or the corn.”
Making people scared out of their minds but safe at the same time is the key aspect of any haunted house.The Beacon staff goes through state required training as a certified amusement attraction to make sure all codes are up to date, just like Kennywood and Six Flags have to do.The house and corn maze, this year shaped like a steam engine, have many emergency exits. When walking in the maze, visitors can yell “Beacon” at any time and a staff member will escort them out of the attraction.One way Michael keeps children and her props safe during her parties is by placing small fences around each scene.She also recommends using battery powered props to minimize the number of extension cords on the ground.While trails and haunted houses are intended to be dark and scary, having some light is important.“We have orange tickle lights the whole way to show the way,” Cribbs said.Beacon asks customers not to take their cell phones into the corn maze to help see.“We lost nine cell phones last weekend (Oct. 15 and 16) and found three,” Krelow said.Visitors also like to sneak flashlights into the maze.“The actors love flashlights, because it gives you away. It's a free scare for the field guys,” Krelow said.Krelow said some visitors try to arrive when it's just getting dark, thinking they can still use some of the daylight, but it's actually lighter later when the moon is out.
Fear does not have to stop at the trail.Michael has a way of scaring her friends and family out of touching their plates.She bought a new toilet from Lowes to serve warm chili. The chili actually sits within a crock pot liner in the toilet“Everybody said, ‘They can eat it, they can eat it.' Nope. I don't think we had five people eat out of it,” Michael said.Michael recommended having a crock pot full of chili beside the one situated in the toilet so people who aren't brave can still eat.She also makes “puke” taco dip and a “kitty litter” desert.“The toughest part is trying to come up with new ideas that will surprise people,” Michael said. “But then I feel like there is pressure sometimes, because every year people say, ‘How are you going to top it next year?' ”<B>Fear and fun</B>A key aspect of working at a haunted attraction is not to get too scared.“I know what's out here, and I've even gotten scared,” Perry said.Chandler and her workers in the haunted house at the Beacon play games to scare each other while waiting for their next visitors.“I don't really get freaked out, but a lot of the younger workers do,” Chandler said.Michael and the Krelows said working with friends and family in the dark can be a ton of fun.The Trail of Terror team said their club members' relationships have grown tremendously thanks to working the haunted trail.“The trail brought so many people together in friendship,” Ruediger said, “because we're all out here working and we're all out here acting like idiots together.”
