LINNEUS, Maine — Creepy clowns, zombies and classic movie screen horror villains are once again springing to life as part of the Linneus Haunted Hayride.
The hayride opened Saturday at the Linneus Fire Station and continues with shows starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28
Carrie Palmer, a longtime organizer of the hayride, said this year’s hayride has been changed from previous years, to increase the “scream” factor.
“We wanted to have more things with stuff going on, like actor’s acting out scenes and less just people screaming and chasing after the wagons,” Palmer said. “We really wanted to highlight some of our scenes to feature more activity.”
The 25-minute ride is nearly a mile in length, covering almost six acres, and features roughly 40 different horror scenes. Some of the new items include a re-imagined cemetery scene with zombies crawling out of graves, twisted scarecrows, burning automobiles, and of course creepy clowns.
Spooky props are all part of the show at the Linneus Haunted Hayride. Additional shows take place Oct. 21, 27, and 28. (Joseph Cyr)
One of the other changes involved scheduling. In year’s past, the hayride was held on Fridays and Saturdays for three consecutive weekends, but organizers learned the actors were burning out as the weekends progressed.
“We also were seeing Friday was the slower of the two nights, and we had times the actors were standing around for long periods waiting for crowds,” Palmer said. “Fridays we were only putting a few hundred people through. We would rather be busy. This way there is more suspense and urgency for people to attend.”
Portions of the proceeds go to the Linneus Recreation Department, while other funds go to the student classes whose members volunteer each year. Students also can earn community service time, which is required for graduation and can earn money for their respective classes. About 50 students and 30 adults are involved this year.
Reid Langlois, a homeschooled junior, is one of several first-year students to participate as an actor.
“I am excited, because the Haunted Hayride has been a big part of Halloween for me for a long time,” Langlois said. “I am one of the ‘watchers’ that follows a wagon, lurking in the background, waiting to scare.”
Kathryn Rediker, a senior at Hodgdon Middle-High School, is in her second year performing at the event. Rediker and classmate Kyle Tidd act out a scene involving a deceased wedding couple.
“It’s entertaining,” she said. “We get to pick what scenes we want to do. It’s a lot of fun. We do all our own makeup.”
The event typically draws between 500 and 700 people per night and between 2,500 and 3,500 annually as people from all over Aroostook County and beyond make the trip. It is the sole fundraiser for the Linneus Recreation Department.
Tickets for each evening are $7 and go on sale starting at 6 p.m. with three tractors rolling every 10 minutes. The show closes each evening at 9 p.m. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/linneus.maine.
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- This family of scary scarecrows at the Linneus Haunted Hayride is from left, Crystal Briggs-Folsom and her children Colton and Emma. (Joseph Cyr)
