CENTRE WELLINGTON – Elora and Fergus are calling all ghouls, ghosts and monsters to celebrate the month of October with Sensational Elora’s Monster Month.
Now until November, Halloween-themed events will be taking place all over the community.
“Monster Month started based upon the Twilight Zoo, which was developed by Tim Murton, 20-plus years ago,” Sensational Elora and monster month committee chair Kirk McElwain told the Advertiser.
The Twilight Zoo includes over 100 spooky monster sculptures created by Murton, a local artist.
The monsters can be admired on buildings, in bushes and along streets in downtown Elora.
Once Murton began installing his creations around town, other organizations started “getting in the mood” and began their own events during October. With various events all occurring in October, Monster Month slowly evolved, McElwain explained.
Sensational Elora, a not-for-profit fundraising organization, bought the “zoo” from Murton in 2017 and has been installing, repairing and storing the monsters ever since.
“Anybody that is running an event during October, we try to bring into the committee so we can coordinate everything and have a good marketing message,” said McElwain.
Monster Month runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1 and has over 13 events for those who have a soft spot for the dark side.
Events
A new event this year is located in a 100-year-old “haunted” two-storey farm house surrounded by darkness, cornfields and scares, stated officials.
The Fergus House of Horrors is open on Oct. 4, 5, 11 and 12 from 7 to 10pm. The house is located at 6854 Beatty Line North, northeast of Fergus, is recommended for ages 14-plus.
“I had the opportunity to tour the house of horrors while it was being developed and they are doing a whole lot of work to make it pretty exciting for everybody,” said McElwain.
The tour will take guests through the house and outside through a tree-lined cornfield, where live actors await. A daytime, family-friendly event with minimal scare actors will run on Oct. 19 from 3 to 5pm.
“It really is an old farmhouse that has got some strange and quirky stairs and entrances,” he said.
Asked about fan-favourite events, McElwain listed Sensational Elora’s Pumpkin Day on Oct. 12, its Sensational Soup-off on Oct. 14 and of course the Monster March on Oct. 19.
“Last year there … (was) over 1,000 people participating in Monster March,: he said.
“It’s a great event for families; it’s free … families get all dressed up, including their pets, and join the parade.”
Other popular events include:
– a murder mystery dinner theatre, Oct. 5;
– Fergus Ghost Walk, Oct. 19, 25 and 26;
– Fall at the Farm, Oct. 19 and 20; and
– Spooky Stables, Oct. 26.
For more information about upcoming events visit monstermonth.ca.
Fundraising event
One event has been serving as a fundraiser for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Centre Wellington (BBBS) organization for several years.
Spooky Stables is a walk-through haunted house hosted by the Grand River Raceway. The walk-through takes place in the stables where horses are held.
“It’s a great way for community members and businesses/organizations to get involved through either sponsoring or decorating the stalls,” BBBS spooky stables lead Olivia Minnick told the Advertiser.
BBBS is also offering businesses free advertising to bring community members in to help with stall decorating.
“It’s geared towards families with young kids so we have two different times the same evening,” she noted.
The family portion runs from 4 to 6:30pm with a “calmer” atmosphere, a craft station and all lights will be on. Volunteers will also be handing out candy and children are encouraged to dress up.
“It’s a bit less scary so families and their kiddos can enjoy it and walk through and see all of the decorations,” Minnick stated.
From 7 to 8pm, the event turns into a more spooky experience for the older crowd, with volunteer scare actors scattered throughout the facility.
Tickets are set at $5 per person or $25 per family (up to six people). The raceway is located in Elora at 7445 Wellington County Road 21.
The money raised will help the BBBS continue its programs.
“We raised $8,000 last year,” Minnick said, adding the goal for this year’s event is $10,000.
Tickets will be sold at the event and those wanting to skip the line can pre-order online at centrewellington.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca.
Tim Murton
In an interview with the Advertiser, Murton shared his story and how Monster Month came to be.
Growing up in England, Halloween was never a massive celebration. Instead, Murton would celebrate Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes Night, he stated.
“I worked in the film business at that time and I kept working too hard and then crashing,” he added. “The doctor said ‘well why don’t you do something creative.’”
With the help of one of his three step-daughters, he got to work. Together they created “ways of scaring people.”
“I made these four ghouls to hang on the corner of my house; I lived down by the river at Mill Street (in Elora) at that time,” he noted.
“It was a huge hit, everybody loved it.”
After the positive reaction from the public, the following year he built a few more creatures to display.
Two years after he started, he took a break but quickly realized what he had created when people from London and Cambridge were driving to Elora just to see his monsters.
“That’s when I realized that I acquired a cultural responsibility and it just kept getting bigger from then on,” Murton said.
The monsters are made from “readily available” items and the only thing Murton had to order were the steel rods to make the monster’s “skeletons.”
“It’s basically wire, cheese cloth and glue and just hard work and imagination,” he said.
As time went on, the “zoo” became too much for Murton. He credits McElwain for “keeping it going.”
“It kept getting bigger and I kept getting older,” he said.
Although he sold his zoo he still makes creature from time to time. This year he is hoping to complete two new “skeleton characters” for Monster Month.
“I think it’s an important cultural event. It’s a way of embracing the dark side with a sense of humour … Light up your fears and have a giggle,” Murton said.
