Trail of Terror Set to Scare Crowds This Weekend

One of the state’s premiere Halloween attractions will come alive this weekend when the Trail of Terror in Wallingford opens Saturday.

It has frightened crowds for about 20 years and includes a greenhouse where anything seems to grow, creepy clowns jump out from every side and visitors are met by ghouls around every turn.

“We’ve been here all the time, constantly. Every waking hour, we’re here. We’re working on it,” said Wayne Barneschi, the event’s founder and coordinator.

Planning and preparation has taken almost a year and it’s all done by around 400 volunteers.

On Wednesday, they were putting final touches on the crematorium, which is among the new frights this year.

“It’s a ton of fun. The adrenaline rush is something you can’t explain,” Tori Lycke said.

Once the attraction opens volunteers transform into actors and some come back year after year for what could be their favorite holiday.

“Halloween was the one you get to dress up as somebody else and they never know who you are,” said Jarrod Rowen.

Nearly 20,000 people from 20 states are expected to wind their way through these horrors, which are built from scratch.

For about an hour they can lose themselves in a frightening fantasy, which is all the reward needed for the cast.

“People get scared, they scream. They whatever and then next thing you know they’re laughing at themselves for doing it because they’re having such a good time,” said Barneschi.

This is also a fundraiser and has generated more than $1.3 million for charities.

A reserved ticket online costs $20.

Trail of Terror runs Oct. 1 through Oct. 30.

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