Haunted Horn Continues through Saturday

Story by Corinne Saunders

Frightening characters such as this one will be a common sight at the Haunted Horn, which takes place at Horn in the West in Boone nightly through this Saturday, October 31. Photo submitted

The final offerings of the Haunted Horn’s spooky trail, located at Horn in the West in Boone, will take place nightly through this Saturday, October 31, beginning at dark. Admission is $10 for adults, $7 for students with an ID and $5 for children under 12.

Haunted Horn has seen vanloads of participants, including moms and dads with their kids plus a few extras, said Virginia Roseman, Horn in the West’s director of public relations.

“They figured this was a decent price range,” she said of the enthusiastic crowds.

More than 25 ASU students and dozens of homemade props combine for a Halloween hike like no other. Four tour guides will lead brave attendees through the spooky thicket surrounding Horn in the West, where they will meet many tormented characters, such as Mike Myers, Dracula and Van Helsing, and see an electric chair, jail, swinging bridge, car crash and Dracula’s lair, among other scary sights.

Organizers stress that walkie-talkies and two surveillance cameras ensure that the grounds are safe, even though the spooks feel real. Because the Haunted Horn Ghost Trail is a hiking trail, organizers recommend that attendees wear tennis shoes or hiking boots—no shoes with slick soles.

Those uncomfortable with chainsaws (with no blades) or strobe lights should be forewarned that these will be utilized in the trail, Roseman said.

At the conclusion of the trail, attendees will witness a zombie-style reenactment of the Civil War battle of Stoneman’s Raid, provided by Brad Harmon and his team of reenactors.

A portion of the proceeds from the Haunted Horn goes to the ASU Teaching Fellows, who in turn put the money toward their annual Angel Tree fundraiser, said Kristen Hall, a sophomore Teaching Fellow.

The Teaching Fellows’ Angel Tree Committee heads up a holiday party for less fortunate children at the local elementary schools, providing “lots of pizza and gifts for the kids,” Hall said.

“Twenty to 40 [ASU Teaching Fellows] are involved [with Haunted Horn] on any given night,” she said, adding that she is the organizer, in charge of making sure everyone involved is safe and that the students log their hours.

Haunted Horn is not recommended for children under 9, but if you bring them, their admission is $5. For more information, call 828-264-2120 or click to www.horninthewest.com and click to “special events.”