Correction appended: A previous version of this article listed the final day of the park as Oct. 31 instead of Nov. 2. The change has been made.
Those looking for a good scare can visit Camp Carraway this Halloween to be hunted by witches, chainsaw murderers, clowns and kooky counselors.
Athens Scream Park, on 11950 Black Rd., Glouster, opened Oct. 17. General admission tickets cost $15 and a “R.I.P. Fright Pass,” allowing access to the haunted attraction and additional games, costs $25. The Scream Park also offers “no-boo necklaces” to children, notifying the scare actors to tone down their performance.
The Scream Park campsite resides on a large lot, surrounded by fields of long grass and dark woods. Torches are lined along the sides of the path, illuminating it, but providing enough darkness for scare actors to keep out of sight.
The trail begins when attendees, or campers, meet their camp counselor, who leads the way. Campers travel through several cabins, built by the scare actors themselves and focus on specific horror themes, including demonic rituals and cannibalistic feasts with life-like props and gore.
The experience includes a mix of jump scares and terrifying set designs, with scare actors jumping out from behind trees or large structures holding a fake weapon.
Tori Swarm, Ohio University student success adviser and scare actor, said she describes her character as a deranged camp counselor, who she named Sammy. Swarm said she enjoys experimenting with the character every weekend.
“It's cool because your character doesn't have to be set,” Swarm said. “The more of a storyline you have for your character, the more you can play with it each time.”
Before Swarm worked at the university, she was a professional scare actor for Cedar Point and attended acting school. Swarm said she attended Scream Park’s open auditions and met one of the owners, Breck Avenmarch, who ended up loving their improv style.
Avenmarch said the attraction is roughly a 30-minute walk, depending on whether an attendee is running or not. It’s recommended attendees wear warm clothing, but running from scare actors can definitely warm someone up.
However, cold and unsafe weather conditions did not turn away customers and Avenmarch said opening weekend was a success.
“We had a little over 300 people for the entire weekend,” Avenmarch said. “We were also closed on Sunday … my actors were slipping and I didn’t want people out there who didn't know the location slipping and sliding.”
Avenmarch said they began building and gathering actors in May and spent five months perfecting the park. Swarm said the crew finished setting up the Friday before opening, but is still making small improvements.
Avenmarch and the Scream Park crew not only attempt to terrify attendees, but strive to help those in need.
“Every weekend, we're doing up to $5 off (a ticket) if you bring in five cans of food, dog food or dog beds for the animal shelter,” Avenmarch said. “We're trying to give back to the community, even though we are scaring people.”
Cans are donated to an Athens food pantry and Friends of the Shelter Dogs.
Brandi Vickers, a Glouster local, said the actors did a great job with their jump scares and the set was tastefully done.
“The setting was so realistic and I just felt like I got to jump into a scary movie,” Vickers said.
Athens Scream Park is open until Nov. 2. Avenmarch said they plan to bring Camp Carraway back next year, including more monsters and the same fun for Bobcats and Halloween enthusiasts.
