Another successful season of Haunted Woods 

Nineteen years after he first started it, James Day and the Haunted Woods are still going strong – despite the passing away of Day’s father last week, just before the beginning of this year’s edition.

“It's in memory of him now, so it's even more of a reason to keep this going, because he had such a big impact on me for horror, he got me started on that path,” said Day.

"I built a legacy around Halloween and things like that, and I'll be forever remembered for that. I'm glad he was still here to see my whole journey, how I came from doing bad things to doing great things like this.”

To him, putting all his energy into horror and the Haunted Woods kept him away from trouble. He hopes that young people in town will follow that example with their own passions, Halloween-related or otherwise.

“The kids, they look forward to this every year. I give them passion, I give them a hobby,” said Day. “It can keep the kids off the street from doing bad things. They’ve got a lot of energy; they can come here and use it up and put a mask on.”

This year, Day said they only were able to start the set up for this year’s edition in September, giving him and his team a few weeks to work.

“It's not like other places that have actual buildings where they can work in a haunted house. I'm working with every single element that's thrown at me. Sometimes you get rained out for a week, then we can't go back here, because it's too soggy,” said Day.

Case in point, when The Eastern Door was given a daytime tour of the Haunted Woods prior to their two last shows of the season, straw needed to be put down to avoid slippage from mud.

Even during the day, it is easy to see what has kept the Haunted Woods operating for 19 years: Day’s passion – as well as that of his ever-growing team of runners, performers, and builders.

“The greatest thing in the world is accomplishing something that you only dream of doing, and then you actually get to do it,” said Day.

That passion could be seen as he walked through the Haunted Woods, explaining each step of the tour, how different props or ideas came to be – for example, putting together a broken plastic skeleton and a real taxidermized fish to create a mermaid corpse, or a new handmade log cabin that turned into Pennywise’s hideout, complete with props from the movies.

The hundreds of props, animatronics, lighting, paintings, and the reused palettes that make up the walls are part of what makes the attraction unique. Everywhere you look, there is something there to see, even walking in it during the daytime.

“Some people look and say ‘wow, it looks so old! How did you do that?’ but really, we just reuse old materials and strengthen it with new ones, to give it that look,” said Day.

Also featured are costumed actors, playing popular horror characters like Freddy Krueger, Pennywise, and of course Day himself as Jason.

In their biggest show of the weekend, Day said 40 costumed actors participated in the show.

This year has been a particularly popular one, with lineups going hundreds of metres down the block to get in.

Families and especially kids are the most frequent guests.

“People just drop the kids off and say “I'll come get you later.’ It's a safe place,” said Day.

"And not only kids from town, kids from out of town, they come here too, they've been coming here for years, and they feel safe, and they feel welcome.”

Along with the regular shows and a kids' show was a special needs show, a lower-intensity tour of the Woods.

“I believe they have every right to see it too. They need their time to see it, so I respect that time, and I close everything down just for them,” said Day.

Those who come visit the Haunted Woods are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items, to be donated to the Orville Standup Memorial Food Bank.

“I don't see Halloween as a time of profit. When you answer your door and you give out candy like that, you don't judge who's coming to your house,” said Day on why he chose to give back with donations through the Haunted Woods.

Elizabeth Ann Curotte experienced the Woods for the first time, along with her sons Eric and Jason.

The 74-year-old said it would not be her last.

“It was fantastic, it was wonderful. I'm going to go back again,” said Curotte.

Her favourite part was the anticipation in front of the door, wondering what would happen when she crossed into the Woods.

Once inside, her favourite part was the spider room, filled with cobwebs and ending with a large animatronic spider – coincidentally, this is also Day’s favourite part this year.

“I kept looking at it, saying, ‘is there going to be a spider jumping at me,’” said Curotte.

All in all, Curotte said that it made her and her sons feel like being kids again.

“At the very end, we were given goodies, like old children. It brought back so many happy memories of my childhood, when I used to go out for Halloween,” said Curotte.

[email protected]