Pioneer Village spookin', scarin' and creepin'
More than 150 years ago, London’s
early settlers huddled together
around cooking fires, retelling paranormal
tales of hauntings, creatures
in the night and witchery. These storytellers
wove their tales not for fun,
but as stern warnings for friends and
family; guiding them away from
what they thought were real threats
against their life and soul. They
were scared of Hell itself.
Now we tell the same campfire tales from ancestors past, instead to scare each other into going back to their tents, huddling inside sleeping bags and waiting for morning’s first light.
While some may think Halloween is just an excuse for binging terrible candy, many people are quite passionate about the ghoulish holiday, and are making a living on keeping it alive.
This month, Londoners will once again get the chance to see how those early settlers lived – and scared.
Fanshawe Pioneer Village has been offering its own unique brand of spooking stories for quite a while says Executive Director Sheila Johnson, who has been at the Village for 13 seasons.
The Village will again host its Haunted Hayrides event during the final three weekends of October, where local volunteers act out hour-long renditions of Victorian gothic horror novels. Frankenstein in Upper Canada: A Play by Jason Rip was last year’s production, and this year Rip chose to rework The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The year 2014 also saw a partnership with Fanshawe College’s Theatre Arts program, with students working so well they were asked back for this year’s event as well. Johnson says it’s because of those local actors that visitors got a special treat.
“We are able to give our visitors [something] quite unique, very different than a scary hayride you would get at that time of year,” she said. “[It] definitely gives you the chills.”
While the Pioneer Village has been offering a unique way of scaring people for years, local resident Leigh Maulson has been sticking to a more traditional route for Halloween – the haunted house.
The Brantford native has performed in and organized over a dozen Halloween Haunts, from decking out an apple farm in his hometown for the London Participation House to orchestrating last year’s Elgin County Railroad Museum Tom Zombie Tominus Festival.
Also the creator of costume and prop company Sinister Laboratories, busy Maulson spoke about his experiences and favourite moments as a professional scarer through email.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of horror movies,” he said. “My neighbourhood really went all out for Halloween.” This was a tradition Leigh continued when becoming a homeowner.
“I was eager to do my own Halloween decor and it’s snowballed from there. Now it’s a full time job making props, sets and costumes for my fellow haunters nation-wide.”
Because of his lifelong love of everything creepy, Maulson says getting into character when scaring isn’t a problem.
“These haunted houses take months of prep, sometimes years, and many like-minded volunteers,” he said. “By the time the event rolls around we’ve been in a haunting mind set for weeks and nothing special is required, it becomes almost second nature after running a few hauntings.”
Some might think maintaining a straight face would be hard when seeing people wet their pants, but with running an oddity prop-making business, scaring isn’t just a job.
“We live for this shit,” he said. “Most folks are trying their hardest to get away from you so even if you lose your composure, nobody is going to notice,” adding that “creepy laughter is always a plus.”
Though, at the end of the day Maulson says he runs haunted houses as a return to the Halloween he remembers.
“Kids love haunted houses and Halloween seems to be on the decline,” he said. “We’re just doing our part to keep this wonderful holiday kicking and screaming to the bloody end. [I] loved Halloween as a child and I love it even more as an adult. We just want to pass on the same fond memories.”
Between businesses, individuals and local attractions all celebrating Halloween, the spooky holiday is definitely alive and well in the Forest City.
Now we tell the same campfire tales from ancestors past, instead to scare each other into going back to their tents, huddling inside sleeping bags and waiting for morning’s first light.
While some may think Halloween is just an excuse for binging terrible candy, many people are quite passionate about the ghoulish holiday, and are making a living on keeping it alive.
This month, Londoners will once again get the chance to see how those early settlers lived – and scared.
Fanshawe Pioneer Village has been offering its own unique brand of spooking stories for quite a while says Executive Director Sheila Johnson, who has been at the Village for 13 seasons.
The Village will again host its Haunted Hayrides event during the final three weekends of October, where local volunteers act out hour-long renditions of Victorian gothic horror novels. Frankenstein in Upper Canada: A Play by Jason Rip was last year’s production, and this year Rip chose to rework The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
The year 2014 also saw a partnership with Fanshawe College’s Theatre Arts program, with students working so well they were asked back for this year’s event as well. Johnson says it’s because of those local actors that visitors got a special treat.
“We are able to give our visitors [something] quite unique, very different than a scary hayride you would get at that time of year,” she said. “[It] definitely gives you the chills.”
While the Pioneer Village has been offering a unique way of scaring people for years, local resident Leigh Maulson has been sticking to a more traditional route for Halloween – the haunted house.
The Brantford native has performed in and organized over a dozen Halloween Haunts, from decking out an apple farm in his hometown for the London Participation House to orchestrating last year’s Elgin County Railroad Museum Tom Zombie Tominus Festival.
Also the creator of costume and prop company Sinister Laboratories, busy Maulson spoke about his experiences and favourite moments as a professional scarer through email.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of horror movies,” he said. “My neighbourhood really went all out for Halloween.” This was a tradition Leigh continued when becoming a homeowner.
“I was eager to do my own Halloween decor and it’s snowballed from there. Now it’s a full time job making props, sets and costumes for my fellow haunters nation-wide.”
Because of his lifelong love of everything creepy, Maulson says getting into character when scaring isn’t a problem.
“These haunted houses take months of prep, sometimes years, and many like-minded volunteers,” he said. “By the time the event rolls around we’ve been in a haunting mind set for weeks and nothing special is required, it becomes almost second nature after running a few hauntings.”
Some might think maintaining a straight face would be hard when seeing people wet their pants, but with running an oddity prop-making business, scaring isn’t just a job.
“We live for this shit,” he said. “Most folks are trying their hardest to get away from you so even if you lose your composure, nobody is going to notice,” adding that “creepy laughter is always a plus.”
Though, at the end of the day Maulson says he runs haunted houses as a return to the Halloween he remembers.
“Kids love haunted houses and Halloween seems to be on the decline,” he said. “We’re just doing our part to keep this wonderful holiday kicking and screaming to the bloody end. [I] loved Halloween as a child and I love it even more as an adult. We just want to pass on the same fond memories.”
Between businesses, individuals and local attractions all celebrating Halloween, the spooky holiday is definitely alive and well in the Forest City.
