If you enjoy getting scared, Mikisew Provincial Park in Machar Township, near South River, is where you want to be on Saturday.
The municipality is hosting its annual Haunted Halloween Walk, designed for people of all ages. This is the fourth year for the event, which was largely created by Machar Coun. Neil Scarlett.
Scarlett says Mikisew Provincial Park is a jewel but not many people know about it.
That started to change several years ago when the park wanted to open the site to activities like snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The municipality helped make this happen with snow removal at the park for parking and the new activity was well received.
Scarlett says the park pushed for still more off-summer events and that’s where the haunted walk was created.
Scarlett may have been the catalyst for the walk but readily acknowledges it would not have been possible without community partnerships.
“There’s not a lot you can do by yourself," Scarlett said.
“You need others and as a town council we’re about pushing the community. And once you get everyone together it shows what you can pull off."
The walk attracted more than 500 people in the first year. That was unexpected, and the second-year attendance was well over 1,000. Last year the gatekeeper stopped counting at 870 when large groups of people entered and he could no longer keep track of the crowd.
So, what’s the attraction?
Scarlett says the jump scares in the scare zone, which was first put together by Little Paws Pet Rescue, is a big hit.
One of those jump scares was thanks to the work of South River merchant Dr. Eavestrough, who helped create a body drop that would fall from a height in front of people, startling them.
“People would re-enter just to experience the body drop again,” said Angela Loney, the municipality’s treasurer and deputy clerk.
Scarlett said the organizers learned something from this attraction.
During the first year, about 100 people entered the park grounds early in the evening, but soon after experiencing the body drop, Scarlett said people were texting friends to get to Mikisew for a great experience.
“Within a very short period, hundreds of more people showed up,” Scarlett said.
“So, we began to come up with more intense attractions."
Scarlett also says the huge rush of people was so great that the event ran out of hot chocolate, prompting volunteers to go back to their homes to make more for the unexpected numbers.
Another attraction is an inflated Krampus that lights up and hisses.
There is also a storyteller in a rocking chair who tells children a local legend about a man who got lost in the park, became feral and would attack people who wandered around the park by themselves.
Scott Andres, an actor with the Highland Players of Almaguin, is the storyteller.
Scarlett says Andres’ acting skills allow him to recount an exciting tale and he knows just when to emphasize certain parts of the story that keep the kids wanting to know what comes next.
The haunted walk is made up of two trails.
Loney says the candy trail is intended for children and is where they can collect candies donated by businesses.
Kidd’s Home Hardware Building Centre in Sundridge donated the candy for the first year, and has continued the practice, and today more businesses contribute.
Loney says the second trail is the scary zone.
She says some children who walk the trial will emerge saying it was scary.
Tiki torches light the trails, there are campfires throughout the area and there is a sensory site where the public can touch a character, like a witch’s hair, and sounds are emitted.
There are also numerous inflatable floats, tombstones, and Halloween memorabilia thanks to Corner Wines of South River, which donated a large portion of its Halloween collection to the municipality.
The public is encouraged to come dressed in Halloween costumes.
The candy trail runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and the scary trail is open from 7 to 9 p.m.
The event is free and the South River Machar Fire Department will be on site directing traffic.
Scarlett says people are asked not to bring their pets.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
