By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — As we creep toward Halloween, local residents prepare for the final weekend of frights.
Haunted walks and houses have been a New England tradition for decades, and for some, they are a real labor of love. Without some of these folks’ devotion to all things spooky and scary, All Hallows Eve might be a little more dull. That’s where places such as The Devils Playground, Bobo’s House of Mayhem and the Haunted Maze at Balsam Wood Tree Farm come in, to leave some folks in terror.
This Halloween season marks the first year for the Haunted Maze at Balsam Wood Tree Farm in Newport. Owned and operated by Sebastian and Kristian Baca, the maze started with a love of Halloween and a unique opportunity. Balsam Woods Tree Farm, for many years, has been a beloved Christmas Tree farm and over time so many of the trees have become large and dense offering a maze-like quality.
“We let the land kind of guide us towards what was best. Looking at what areas were more open or dense and deciding what fit best there,” Baca said of plotting out the Haunted Maze.
The Baca’s say that the maze started initially as a haunted walk, something more festive than frightening, but after some constructive criticism from customers, they decided to ramp up the scares. They themselves will often act as “scarers”, a term for the people dressed in costume who leap out in an effort to frighten guests. While the maze has become a bit more scary, they say that being family friendly and safe are the biggest components that came to mind when setting everything up.
“We’ve had a lot of fun getting to do this and seeing if people would come out. Now that we know there’s an interest we are looking forward to making it even bigger next year. I think we’re going to try and have a scary Santa as well,” the Baca’s said of the season.
Bobo’s House of Mayhem in Claremont, was started by Ethan Laushance roughly six years ago. Laushance says he has loved Halloween since he was a kid, going so far as to even get the word tattooed on his arm. His circus themed haunted walk came after a number of different themes over the years, but it’s Bobo’s that really caught on.
“There’s lots of trial and error figuring out what to do. We’ve only been open one night a year and we’ve had to switch things up on the fly,” Lauschance said of setting up the scary walk every year.
The Do-It-Yourself motto rings true not only for Lauschance, but also all of the Haunted walks in the area. After working at a haunted walk in Charlestown, he says he fell in love with the idea and wanted to start one of his own. After getting a number of volunteers to help him over the years, Lauschance has come up with a haunted walk that aims to terrify without being terribly long. Lauschance, located on East Street, intends to have the walk open this Friday and Saturday and again on Halloween.
The largest of the three is a sprawling walk that winds around the woods of Unity. The Devil’s Playground, constructed by Bruce Clough, takes roughly thirty five minutes to complete and has been growing since he started in 2014. Last year, it took fifth place in the WMUR Viewer’s Choice Award for haunted walks in New Hampshire. The walk features roughly 15 “scarers” who volunteer each year. Bruce likes to say the walk takes “35 minutes to walk or 20 minutes to run, depending on how scared you are.” He, like all of the other haunted walk builders, has a true love of the holiday.
“I have loved Halloween ever since I was a kid. I got married on Halloween. Going out trick or treating and getting scared or scaring people is always fun,” Clough said of his favorite time of the year.
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