WELLINGTON COUNTY – From a creepy corn maze to a 100-year-old haunted farm house, if you’re looking for a good scare this Halloween, Wellington County has plenty to go around.
The following list is just a small sample of the frightful attractions that await you this month.
Haunted Corn Maze
Returning for its second year is the Haunted Corn Maze in Moorefield at The Ottens Farm (8563 Concession 6).
“We charge $5 a person or $20 a family if they can afford it,” organizer Marlene Ottens told the Advertiser. “All that money goes to the (Palmerston) hospital.”
The one-day event is slated for Oct. 18 from 5 to 9pm, with a rain date of Oct. 25.
“Gentle scares,” as Ottens calls them, will be from 5 to 6:30pm or until the sun goes down. That’s when the real scary monsters come out.
“The people just poured in last year. We must have had almost 500 people come,” she said.
Ottens’ love for Halloween is the driving force behind the event. Her kids, grandkids and friends help by volunteering or participating in the scares.
“There’s zombies, witches and spooky people,” she said.
Guests can buy soda pop, water and barbecued witch fingers (hot dogs).
“Last year we bought 90 hot dogs and cut them to look like witches’ fingers … they sold out within the first hour,” Ottens said.
To volunteer as a scare actor email jmottens@live.ca.
Fergus House of Horrors
Evan Juergensen, founder of the Fergus House of Horrors, is also returning for his second year of haunted frights.
Guests will walk through the house, located at 6854 Beatty Line North, going room to room through flashing lights and fog, as well as an outdoor area filled with old dolls.
“We don’t have the corn (maze) this year, it wasn’t planted,” Juergensen said.
The haunted house attraction was built with the help of his mother and father.
“We had a really fun time last year and wanted to expand on it and make it better to thank our returning guests,” he said.
The attraction will take participants 15 to 20 minutes to complete, if they make it out alive. The House of Horrors opens every weekend, from Oct. 10 to 31, between 7:15 to 9:30pm.
Salem Frights
Darryl Magierowski ups his game every year, scaring all who dare enter his haunted attraction.
This year Salem Frights, located at 470 Wellington Rd. 7, Elora, presents Hell Ride.
Scary times – The front entrance of Hell Ride by Salem Frights. Submitted photo
“Hell Ride is a rundown, grungy, 1970s-style freak show/midway carnival,” he said. “People think it’s a circus but it’s not. We’re doing a midway.”
The attraction will be open on Oct. 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 31 and Nov. 1. General admission tickets will be $10 and the option for a fast pass sold for $20.
Magierowski bought a large circus-like tent that will host four shows throughout the month:
– Spirit of Elvis, Oct. 17, two shows;
– Fenyx Fyre, Oct. 18, two shows;
– Ryan Brown Illusionist, Oct. 24, 25, two shows nightly; and
– Monsters of Schlock, Nov. 1.
Performances with two shows will begin at 9pm and 10pm.
Gates to Hell Ride open Friday and Saturday from 8 to 11pm and on Sunday from 8 to 10pm.
The attraction features two four-person carts that will push you through the haunt for an unknown amount of time.
“I’m trying to get more people to come out and just have fun,” Magierowski said. “If they don’t want to go through the haunt they can still come here and watch the events.”
On Halloween night the haunt will be open early, from 6 to 7pm, for kids to ride on the cart portion at no cost. At that time the fear factor will be “lighter,” he said – “it will be entertaining.”
This year will be the last ride for Salem Frights.
Fergus Ghost Walk
“The very first Fergus Ghost Walk was in September of 2015 so we’re officially at 10 years now,” walk organizer Debb Greer told the Advertiser.
“And it sells out pretty much every single walk.”
The lantern-lit walk includes three actors who guide participants through downtown Fergus, sharing the history and mystery of older buildings.
The tours begin in August and end in October. The four walks left include: Oct. 18, 24, 25 and 30.
“People have reported they’ve seen or heard things and so we talk about what could have happened in the buildings that would have tied the spirit to it,” she said.
The walk lasts 90 minutes, includes a steep hill and uneven ground, and begins at the Bookery (191 St. Andrew St. W.) at 8pm.
Tickets are available for $20 and can be found online at bookery.ca or in the store.
“It’s not meant to be creepy or scary but it’s meant to be informative, fun, entertaining and interesting,” Greer said.
