by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
For some, screaming in terror and bolting down Dale Street E. is an annual tradition.
For Jennifer and Greg Walker, it’s their entertainment.
“Blood is raunchy, so we try to stay away from that. We prefer more psychological spooks,” Greg said in a Newsleader interview.
Greg, a delivery driver for FedEx and originally from Sauk Rapids, has lived in St. Joseph with his wife Jennifer, a homeless-youth-outreach worker, for more than 15 years. For 13 of those years, they’ve been making their friends and neighbors howl on Halloween. For free.
“The first couple of years we trick-or-treated in the neighborhood with [our only child] Haley, but she thought it was stupid that we tell her all year not to talk to strangers and then make her do it on Halloween,” Jennifer said.
So, they made a simple, scary path in their backyard for Haley and her friends to walk down with candy at the end. And it grew from there. One year they built a pirate ship in the backyard. Another, a castle. This Halloween they’re going with a zombie theme.
In the front yard of the Restless Souls Cemetery and Walk-Through Haunt at the Walker’s home at 905 Dale Street E. is their haunted graveyard, which always has some surprises. The walk-through portion begins beside the garage, where those who are brave enough will meet Jennifer as she ticks every person off on a clicker. They had about 250 people go through last year.
What waits inside the walk-through haunt is only for the brave-of-heart to know. But Jennifer and Greg say the little ghouls and goblins can come too though they should do so around dusk. After the sun sets, the haunt gets scarier for the bigger kids and adults. The haunt closes sometime after 9 p.m. . . . or once the screaming stops.
“It’s safe. It’s family friendly,” Jennifer said. “People will meet at the ‘haunted house’ after trick-or-treating . . . it’s like a Halloween Local Blend!”
Greg said one of his favorite things is seeing a group of friends giggle at the most scared member of their group.
“It’s about hearing the screams and the laughs,” he said.
One of Jennifer’s favorite memories was of Haley dressed up as a werewolf one year. Haley came up to her mother and said ‘I think I just made a girl pee her pants!’ Jennifer said that was one of her proudest moments. Haley is now at college at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, studying entertainment design.
“Some of these kids have been coming forever,” Greg said.
Greg recalled one young man in particular who came through with his dad. A volunteer dressed in a monster costume sprang from the bushes, which made the kid do a back flip and run back to the gate where Jennifer was, begging to be let out.
“We’ve had grown adults drop to the ground not wanting to move,” Jennifer said.
“People scare different ways,” Greg said. “What scares one won’t scare another and vice versa . . . Jennifer’s done a lot of research on how to scare people.”
The Walkers usually have five to 10 friends help them with staffing the haunt on Halloween. After a bit of reflection, the Walkers realized most of the people doing the scaring are social workers and teachers who work with kids on a daily basis.
“I’m nice to kids the rest of the year, so I get one night!” Jennifer laughed.
“We complain about the work, about weather and freezing fingers, but it’s all worthwhile,” Greg said. “When I hear the local daycare kids walk past during the day and scream ‘There’s a witch in the window!’ it just makes my day.”
The Walkers said they’ve never had a complaint, but the police usually show up to keep an eye on traffic.
“The haunt usually quiets down by 10 p.m. or so,” Greg said.
The haunt starts around dusk on Halloween and is free, though the Walkers do accept donations. For more information on the Restless Souls Cemetery and Walk-Through Haunt, head to www.facebook.com/centralmnhomehaunters.
Jennifer and Greg Walker find “home haunting” – the term for a haunted house contained in someone’s yard or home – very fulfilling, and have haunted their home for 13 years along with their daughter, Haley.
A zombie caught up in the grill of a truck greets visitors leading up to the “zombie containment wall.” There may be more surprises lurking near this fellow on the big night.
Ghosts and ghouls haunt the graveyard in front of the home at 905 Dale St. E. in St. Joseph. Plenty of surprises lie in wait between – or beneath – the gravestones.
Jennifer and Greg Walker find “home haunting” – the term for a haunted house contained in someone’s yard or home – very fulfilling, and have haunted their home for 13 years along with their daughter, Haley.
Jennifer and Greg Walker find “home haunting” – the term for a haunted house contained in someone’s yard or home – very fulfilling, and have haunted their home for 13 years along with their daughter, Haley.
