The walk will be open to the public on various dates throughout October.
Seneca High School junior Luke Harris has found a unique way to spook the community with his homemade haunted walk.
The Trail of Terror has been haunting all who walk through it since its start in 2013, after inspiration struck Harris while participating in a Halloween walk at Indian Acres Farm in Medford.
The then-sixth grader worked together with his father to construct a walk through in his own backyard. At its inception, the walk would take approximately three minutes to fully complete, and it has grown greatly over the years.
Now, the walk takes up about an acre of land, and this year’s walk is estimated to take 10 minutes.
Those 10 minutes are filled with jump-scares from real people, animatronics, skeleton and alien props, flashing lights and more.
A new addition to this year’s walk through will feature the incorporation of Harris’ shed, where participants will enter through one door, and face some scares on their way out.
Due to the expansion of the project, Harris stated it takes about three to four weeks to fully build and prepare the walk for the Halloween season.
“I like building everything with my dad and seeing the reactions from people when I jump out and scare them,” Harris said.
Over the past years, the community has responded well to the haunted walk. Harris said it averages more than 50 visitors per night.
His mother, Louise Harris, is a fourth-grade teacher at Tabernacle Elementary School and invites her students every year, while also telling other teachers and hanging up fliers.
“I just love seeing all the kids, especially kids I’ve had in previous classes, coming through the walk,” Louise said.
She stated she enjoys seeing all local kids hanging out, and that they set up a bonfire for visitors to roast marshmallows at afterward.
Louise noted Luke plans to pursue a profession in film in the future, and his love for scary movies and creating horror films with his friends has been a motivator throughout this process.
“I like it because he isn’t doing this for service hours, he isn’t getting anything from it — he just does it because he loves doing it.”
When Luke goes off to college in the upcoming years, Louise expressed hope that her daughter (who is currently in sixth grade) will carry on the tradition.
The walk through is free to attend, however, the Harrises ask that you bring a food donation for the nearby Tabernacle United Methodist Church.
The trail will be open on Oct. 14, 20, 21, 24, 28 and 29, and visitors are welcome to stop by from 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The Harris’ address is 60 Red Oak Drive in Tabernacle.
