CENTRE WELLINGTON – If you’re looking for a place to revel in the Halloween spirit and dive into your fears, then these places are the ones for you.
The month of October can be fun and lighthearted, but it can also exploit the darkest fears hiding inside.
From unique displays to terrifying haunts, Centre Wellington has got it all.
Let’s begin with a man who bleeds Halloween and expects tears from those who enter his man-made haunt, Darryl Magierowski.
“This is a whole new façade for this year,” he told the Advertiser.
Magierowski has been frightening those who dare enter for years. What began as a small display on his front yard turned into a fright fest called Salem Frights.
Since 2016 he has called Salem his home and since 2020 he has been building, plotting and enhancing his haunted lawn.
“I did this little thing on the lawn in 2020 and I thought ‘that’s not good enough’ so the following year I talked to my wife and said, ‘I think we should do a haunt again’,” he added.
Before moving to Salem, Magierowski had lived in Niagara Falls and continued his haunts for six years prior, making this year an anniversary.
“We’re celebrating 10 years of tears,” he noted referring to this year’s tag line.
Creating these intricate haunts is no small feat but with the help from his 75-year-old father, they get the job done.
“He’s my right hand man,” Magierowski stated.
He emphasized how much hard work and passion his father puts into the project, “I just tell him what to do and he just does it.”
As for the haunt itself it will include scare actors, loud noises, frightening visuals and escape doors for those who can’t handle the haunt.
“We specifically made some exits halfway through the haunt cause there might be some people that won’t be going past that part,” noted Magierowski.
“We’ve had people drop and pass out and their friends would drag them out.”
He has gone even “deeper” into his scare tactics to make sure the regulars aren’t too comfortable.
This year’s theme is called “The Tourist Trap” but “this one’s a little different, this one you come but you never leave,” he stated.
The haunt is located at 470 Wellington Road 7 in Elora with the last weekend opening from Oct. 25 to 27.
It opens from 8 to 11pm on the Friday and Saturday and at 8 to 10pm on the Sunday.
Tickets are $5 per entry with other options on Salem Frights website at twistedtsmerch.com.
House of Horrors
A lesser well-known haunt has joined the fun in Centre Wellington but promises quite a fright.
The Fergus House of Horrors is a 100-year-old, haunted two-storey farmhouse that has been producing screams and nightmares since its opening night on Oct. 4.
This haunt was created by Evan Juergensen and his parents on their family’s property at 6854 Beatty Line North between Alma and Fergus.
“With the bones of a haunted house already … I just needed to fill it up,” Juergensen told the Advertiser.
They began construction in June, working throughout the summer to be ready for October.
With around 10 scare actors, loads of props and a haunted cornfield, this house will have guests running for their lives.
“I’ve been a huge fan of Halloween before any of this; I’ve always done a graveyard in our front yard as a kid,” he noted.
He also had an appreciation for the houses who had scary displays at the ready for trick-or-treaters like his young self.
On their opening night the house had “well over 100 people” visit.
Family and friends of the Juergensens will be involved in the scaring with a few Elmira District Secondary School drama committee students lending a hand for volunteer hours.
Guests will venture through the many rooms, out the backdoor into a corn maze, where actors await their arrival with a surprise at the end.
“It’s become a real family thing now and we’re all so happy to be here,” stated his mom, Brandy.
“We want people to enjoy it because we believe in it,” she added.
The last dates to experience this haunted house are Oct. 25, 26, 27 and 31.
Home displays
Those interested in households keeping the spirit of Halloween alive will enjoy seeing this display on 588 Black Street in Fergus.
It includes a “full onslaught” of animatronics displayed only on Halloween day and night, two 12-foot props, one being a skeleton and the other a grim reaper type character.
The owners expand their display each year by purchasing at least one new characte.
“In this neighbourhood we have approximately 250 or more trick-or-treaters; our area has become well known and people travel from other towns to come and see our display,” stated Kim Cripps.
The Cripps have purchased 300 full size chocolate bars to make sure they “don’t run out.”
“If we do not have at least one child cry we have not done a good job. That is the true spirit of Halloween,” added Cripps.
“Let’s celebrate the occasion and pray for good weather,” she said.
