TOWNSEND — For 40 years, Halloween in Townsend has meant more than costumes, candy and trick-or-treating. It has also meant screams, spooky scenes and a haunted attraction that has continued to evolve while preserving a tradition that began in the basement of the Townsend Congregational Church.
This year, the Townsend Haunted Trail will once again invite brave visitors into the woods behind the Townsend Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 7 until 9 p.m. The library is located at 12 Dudley Road.
The tradition dates back to the mid- to late 1980s, when the Youth Fellowship group at the Congregational Church created its first haunted house in the church basement.
Dick Lee, one of the leaders at the time, remembers a scene in which a severed head was served beneath a cake dish as one of his favorites.
Debbie Tersini, another supervisor, remembers the crawl-through tunnel.
“It was fun for us,” she said.
The attraction was a community effort. Adults sold tickets and dressed in costumes, while the young people helped create and operate the scenes. Admission was just 25 cents -but the low price didn’t mean a lack of interest.
The line stretched down the block.
From 1992 to 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson took over the haunted house. Mrs. Wilson remembers that “the children ran it back then” and recalls how the rocky portion of the church cellar’s closet became an effective cemetery scene.
Diane Thompson oversaw the 1998 and 1999 seasons and remembers being impressed by the creativity that went into the different scenes.
Lee McTighe, who led the church’s Youth Fellowship for at least three years during the mid- to late 1990s, also has vivid memories of those Halloween nights.
“I loved doing the haunted houses every year in the old vestry of the church!” she said.
One of her favorite scenes featured “Dr. Demento” operating on a patient lying on a table. Visitors could see the action in silhouette behind a lit sheet as the doctor appeared to pull various objects from the victim’s innards.
The final year McTighe served as leader brought a new theme: “The Haunted Hotel.”
Among the memorable scenes was the “Eternal Restroom,” complete with “blood” flowing from the sink faucets, a head in the toilet and a recreation of the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” using cardboard figures moved by strings.
Admission that year was $1, with half the proceeds donated to Townsend Ecumenical Outreach.
“Every Halloween now, I miss those days!” said McTighe.
The Donovan and Kelley families were among the major supporters of the haunted house from 2000 through 2003. Kara Clement, then a seventh-grader in 2003, remembers the scary clown birthday area.
In 2004, interest in the haunted house declined and the event took a one-year break.
Townsend Recreation was then granted permission by the church to continue the tradition from 2005 through 2009.
Karen Clement remembers that some children were so frightened that they would make it only as far as the basement stairs.
“Some children would just make it down the stairs to the basement door and just couldn’t enter the darkness beyond,” said Clement.
But the darkness would soon move outdoors.
Strict fire codes eventually made it impossible to continue using the church basement, so from 2010 through 2012, the attraction became a haunted trail behind Hawthorne Brook Middle School.
Because of scheduling issues, the trail moved to the Townsend Common for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Steven Walsh and Greg Hoffman were instrumental in leading the Townsend Recreation effort from 2010 through 2014, while Recreation Director Emy Hoff helped oversee the organization and provided committee support from 2012 through 2014.
Walsh’s most memorable scare from those years was the 3-D maze.
When Townsend Recreation decided not to continue the event in 2015, local organizations stepped forward to keep the Halloween tradition alive.
The Friends of the Townsend Library and Veterans of Foreign Wars joined forces in 2015, followed by the VFW Auxiliary Townsend, which has continued its involvement from 2016 to the present.
From 2015 through 2018, the haunted trail was held outdoors near the VFW pond. A large hole and road washouts eventually forced another move, and in 2019 the trail found a new home at the Townsend Public Library.
The trail was canceled in 2020 because of COVID-19.
Since 2021, however, the attraction created by Walsh has continued in the woods at the Townsend Public Library.
And this year’s event promises to be more than a walk through the woods.
Visitors can expect to be escorted along the haunted trail by tour guides, with additional entertainment and activities surrounding the event.
Magic by Jay will entertain those waiting in line, while ghoulish belly dancers from the Salaamati Dance Troupe will add to the Halloween atmosphere. Visitors can also take photographs with costumed walk-arounds.
Volunteer John Hooper will provide the lighting.
A spooky vendor fair and food trucks will open at 5 p.m., with ticket sales beginning at the same time. The Friends of the Townsend Library will sell popcorn.
Admission is $10, or $9 with a canned-good donation for Townsend Ecumenical Outreach.
Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Townsend Library and the VFW Auxiliary-Townsend.
A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 11.
Organizers advise visitors to wear good walking shoes.
And after four decades of haunted houses, trails, creepy basements, cemeteries, clowns, mazes and things lurking in the darkness, organizers offer a simple warning: Yes, it is scary.
For additional information, visit the Townsend Haunted Trail on Facebook.
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