It’s still two weeks before Halloween, but the Temple Emporium is already getting spooky.
Temple Emporium owner Jennifer Rheaume and her brother Steve Harling were busy this weekend, preparing the Haunted Grounds Walk, a creepy Halloween tradition that takes more than a week to set up and includes over 25 people assisting as cast and crew.
“It becomes totally different at night,” said Rheaume. “The ambiance is incredible.”
The walk is in its eighth year. The first two, said Rheaume, she did it for fun, and didn’t charge anyone anything to go through the lighted path. Now, those that want to test their courage against the doll graveyard, caged monsters and brewing witches have to hand over a non-perishable good or donation to the local food bank.
It’s been a growing endeavor since its first year, when it took a close loop around Rheaume’s house, which doubles as her business.
“Then we started flying with it,” said Rheaume.
Now, the path meanders through most of the property, including a short jaunt through a wooded area and through a tunnel of “spiderwebs” built by Harling. Over the years, Rheaume has been collecting donations of her own – of costumes and set pieces to fill out the walk and make it grow each year.
And while eight years of effort has grown the walkway into something that gives the Halloween chills, it’s also designed to be family-friendly, said Rheaume. the walkway is lighted, and groups are led through by guides who can give a code word to cast members if they’re leading a group with someone in it who is getting too frightened.
“We do want families to be able to go through, or even if an adult is terrified,” said Rheaume. “We want it to be family-friendly.”
The Haunted Grounds Walk is held at the Temple Emporium at 128 West Road in Temple on Oct. 22 and Oct. 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cost of entrance is donation of non-perishable goods or cash donation to benefit the local food bank in Manchester.