If pumpkin carving parties are lacking this year and trick or treating is not exactly in vogue for college-age students, it may be the year to abandon the blasé and try a haunted trail. Bell School House Volunteer Fire Department is getting involved for the first time this year with haunted trail enthusiast Denny Daniels. Daniels has been putting on his haunted trail on his property for the past four years. It started as a labor of love for Daniels and his cousin who made it into a family affair.
“My cousin and I were Halloween fanatics … and we had a Halloween party in the yard (along with the trail) and people had such a good time, they asked when we were going to do it again next year,” Daniels said.
Haunted trails are nothing new for the more serious All Hallow’s Eve crowd, but Daniels really wanted something accessible for families and students in Starkville and surrounding towns.
“I wanted to give the community a fun event to go to … and fundraise for Bell School House Volunteer Fire Department,” he said.
As far as the content of the trail, it is a closely guarded secret, but he said he knows people will be shocked and awed.
“Come out and get your scare on and maybe bring a clean pair of underwear,” Daniels said.
This is the Bell School House’s Volunteer Fire Department’s main fundraiser for the year and it is expecting a big turnout. Fire Chief Wade Howell said he is excited about the project and hopes to have a safe trail for people of all ages.
“We are planning on having fun and raising some funds,” he said.
Volunteer fire fighter Chris Sellars is also helping on the project and sees it as an opportunity for future projects and fundraisers.
“I am super excited, and I hope it will be a lot of fun for everyone. It is a project that we have been focusing on for a while and I cannot wait to see it fleshed out (pun intended) in its entirety,” Sellars said.
Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the fire station on North Jackson Street near Pearson’s Chapel cemetery. A trailer ride will take the crowd to the start of the trail and will ferry the completed group back. The petrifying path will consist of a one-mile loop headed back toward the tent where the victims, or rather participants, are dropped off and will have everything from ghoulish surprises to blood-curling encounters. So if another lame costume party is on the agenda for this year, come out to Bell School House’s haunted trail on Oct. 28 and 29 for a fun, frightening.
Denny Daniels can be contacted at [email protected].