Fairmount haunted trail returns this Halloween season

Fairmount resident Eric Richards has opened his backyard haunted trail for the second year in a row.  

The trail is a 15-minute walk through the woods on a path lit up by tiki torches as volunteer scarers jump out at visitors.  

“People drive to it you know they say we really like to do it we really like to come last year I had a couple come from Warsaw Indiana every weekend, and I have a scarer that comes from Huntington every weekend just to scare. And he comes in full costume, so he drives from Huntington in full costume he’s got prosthetics and everything on his face so he’s super creepy,” Richards said.   

The trail opened last year in October. Due to the positive response, Richards said he made a few changes this year.  

“I reran the trail I ran it 2/3 of the trails all different from last year and people came through last year said it’s way creepier because I took 10 tikis out and tonight I just took two more out so that it would be a little bit darker a little bit more twists and turns but I’ve got a bus at the end now I add a new feature every year I got a new feature in the back it’s an 8 foot by 8 foot wall it’s got a door and it says free hugs so yeah every year I try to add something different so that somebody that came the year before won’t recognize,” Richards said.   

 Both years have seen good turn outs since the location of the trial is next to two universities Indiana Wesleyan University and Taylor University.  

“I thought it was really good I thought that it was really scary like the jump scares were good and they started following you after that’s what made like super scary and they didn’t touch me, but it was close it was really good and I probably would like to go again,” IWU student Jeremy Azofeifa said.  

The trail originally started as a birthday idea for one of Eric’s kids but grew into something bigger.  

“I was talking to my stepmom, and she said that it was initially just so that my brother’s friends would have the place to go and like a thing to do for his birthday and then I turned in something greater,” Lauren Richards said.  

The trail is open from 7:30 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday starting Oct 4 and ending Oct 27.