PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — A bright harvest moon loomed over the Nordic Heritage Sport Club’s annual Haunted Woods Walk on Friday night.
The evening’s visitors made their way up to the lodge to buy tickets and then gather by the dozens behind the lodge where they waited for a guide to break them off into groups before entering the woods.
Screams echoed through the evergreens as walkers followed a path of burning torches stabbed into the ground giving only the faintest shadow of what awaited them as they slowly made their way into the unknown.
“We have a blast doing it and it’s a great way to raise funds and also it brings the community together and we’re all about bringing the community together,” said Dawn Poitras, a board member of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce.
The proceeds help pay for other community projects hosted by the chamber in support of local businesses, Poitras added.
Area middle and high school students volunteered to hide in the woods dressed in costume and scare walkers.
“There were a couple things in there that were good,” Sara Bernier of Presque Isle said after finishing the walk. “I liked the zombies crawling across the ground and the kids coming up and talking to you were a good feature.”
Bernier said this was her first haunted woods walk and she’ll be back for next year.
A showing of the science fiction thriller “10 Cloverfield Lane” also was projected on an inflatable screen next to the lodge as part of the evening.
The walk brought in $5,000 for the chamber of commerce.
