Haunted Woods delays opening
Inside James Day’s haunted woods labyrinth, where there’s only one way in and one way out. Courtesy James Day
The sounds of chainsaws, smoke machines, and flickering lights are filling James Day’s Haunted Woods, signalling the start of the annual Halloween tradition. But while Day has faced setbacks with a fire destroying part of the setup and rainfall putting a pause on the first nights of thrills, he’s refusing to give up.
He announced on Thursday afternoon that due to inclement weather, the woods would be closed that day and today, Friday, for safety reasons. The show will, however, go on Saturday and Sunday, continuing the festivities after Halloween.
“I know this sucks, but there’s too much mud and I don’t want anyone getting hurt before Halloween,” Day said on Facebook.
Day will also be adding additional days for visitors to the woods on November 8 and 9, to make up for lost scares.
He has been preparing thoroughly for this year’s edition, with new props and sets to scare the community.
“All my builds are done. I’m just adding light and smoke everywhere now. There are a lot of actors, too, to give that real theatrical, misty look in the woods. It’s really, really going to be cool,” Day says.
“I’m a 1970s horror kind of guy. You come in here, I give you that old, vintage feel of a haunted house. You get those good scares. You get those good memories. That’s what I’m all about.”
Financially, recovering from the fire was a challenge, but Day emphasized that nothing would stop him from delivering a spectacular Halloween experience. “It took about six hours to rebuild the area where the fire broke out, and we lost about 70 pallets worth of props, over $50,000 in equipment,” Day explained. “But we started laying everything out, and it just came together. The rebuilt section is actually better than it was before.”
Inclusivity remains at the heart of the event, with daytime hours geared towards community members who might want to see the magic without too much of a scare. “Every one of them, young and old, they get to go through the haunt, and they get to see it for what it is and then they feel like they were part of something as well. And that's very important,” Day says.
Haunted Woods features elaborate horror-inspired scenes.
“The key themes would be like Leatherface’s room, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a mansion, Pennywise’s spot, a clown tent, Michael Myers’ room, a 30-foot-hollow city long bridge in the middle of the woods, a witches’ spot, a black church, a replica of Pet Sematary, there’s probably at least 150-200 body parts in the woods right now.”
Among this year’s features is a room run by 11-year-old Cheston Patton, who has been part of the Haunted Woods since he was four. For the first time, he’ll have his own setup to scare visitors, a dream come true.
“This is everything I wished for during Halloween. This is the best time of my life. I go every day after school to work on my room, and every day on the weekends I’m there,” he said.
Cheston’s love for horror began after watching a YouTube video of Leatherface. “I looked him up and asked my mom for a Halloween costume of him. Ever since then I have been Leatherface and I like his chainsaw,” he said.
“This is what I love to do,” he said. “Working alongside James is super fun, he always includes me in everything. He's my best friend. Our scare crew is the absolute best,” he said. “It gets bigger and bigger every year.”
His mom, Candice Jacco, said the Haunted Woods has become a family tradition.
“I’ll never forget the glow in his eyes the first time James asked him to be an actor. Pure joy,” she said.
“Going into the woods is fantastic. It’s fun and exciting, you just never know when someone is going to pop out at you. I feel happy to be a part of the Haunted Woods family."
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Halloween is part of Day's everyday life, he said.
“I just love horror, and I want people to see how much I love it,” said Day. “It’s all for charity, and I do it simply because it makes me happy. Halloween is for everybody; it’s the best time of the year.”
The Haunted Woods will be open tomorrow, Saturday, with a kid’s show running from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and a show for special needs visitors running from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. All ages will be able to attend from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the space will run the same hours for those groups on Sunday, as well as on November 8 and November 9.
Admission is free with a non-perishable food donation, and visitors can enjoy free food from Old Haunt BBQ and Halloween candy. The event is listed on Google Maps as James Day’s Haunted Woods.
