In a nondescript store front at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre, a chamber of frights awaits.
In pitch blackness or with just a hint of eerie-coloured light as a guide, those looking to raise their heart beat a touch squeeze through dark narrow corridors that wind between 13 rooms of horror: a cannibalistic butcher prepares a feast of fresh meat; a monstrous spider prepares to strike in a room festooned with webbing and victims; lost souls cry in terror in the red-tinged bowels of Hell; creatures from another world hover in green gloom, ready to drag the unwary into the their waiting space craft.
This is but a glimpse of the impressive and detailed Halloween fundraiser that is in its last week at the Hanmer mall.
It is the sixth year Scott Seguin and Carrie Baldwin-Seguin have used their own personal love of all things horrific to raise funds for the 1st Valley BPSA Scouting Troupe, of which Seguin is the scoutmaster.
Starting around mid-August and with the support of the mall ownership, Royal Courtyards Property Management, which came on as a sponsor of the event, the Seguins begin the arduous task of designing and constructing the indoor fright walk.
For the first four years, the couple hosted the event outdoors, but the unpredictability of the weather impacted how successful the fundraiser could be so the decision was made to move it indoors.
Seguin explained 1st Valley folded during the pandemic. With two children involved, the couple decided to get the troupe going again but there was no money to do so. A Halloween fundraiser seemed the right fit for this fright-loving couple.
“We both love horror movies,” Seguin said, whose top horror franchise is the long-running Friday the 13th series. He generally dresses as the series’ antagonist/protagonist, Jason Vorhees, for the affair.
And while they personally love of all things horror, Seguin said others weren’t so sure the fundraiser would be impressive enough to keep the public coming back. That is, until they see what the couple put together.
“So many people have said, ‘I thought it would suck and it’s actually amazing,” Seguin said.
The dozens upon dozens of animatronics, decorations, characters and sculptures, not to mention lighting and displays are all owned by the couple. Seguin said he needs a sea can shipping container and half a house to store it all.
The proceeds from the Halloween fundraiser have allowed 1st Valley to prosper, and the troupe now counts 13 scouts.
The struggle now, Seguin said, is attracting volunteers.
“Volunteers is what we need,” he said. “We struggle to keep volunteers.”
The lack of adults to help out means 1st Valley can’t run programming for five- to seven-year-olds, which is something Seguin said they would like to offer.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact 1st Valley through its Facebook page, which you can find here.
You still have a week to check out 1st Valley’s Halloween fundraiser.
Entry is $5, cash only with all proceeds going to support 1st Valley BPSA Scouting.
“All children under the age of 12 must be accompanied by a guardian,” the troupe said. “This rule is new this year and it is to protect us, as well as our guests. In the past unsupervised children have damaged our props and done things that could have gotten them hurt, as such we are asking that they be supervised this year.”
The 13 different themes include:
- The Butcher’s Meal
- The Eight-Legged Freaks Room
- The Blind Room of Darkness
- Frankenstein’s Lab
- The Haunted Church
- The Roswell Crash Site
- Hell
- The Haunted Circus
- The Plague Doctor’s Hospital
- The Swamp
- The Bat Cave
- The Scary Movie Room
- Jason’s Revenge
The schedule to brave the haunt is as follows. You can find the storefront across from Hart in the mall.
The schedule for the final week is as follows:
- Oct. 26-30, 5-8 p.m. everyday
- Oct. 31, Halloween Night, 3-5 p.m. with the lights on for the young trick-or-treaters who don't like the dark), and 5-8 p.m. for the regular experience
- Nov. 1, 5-8 p.m.
Mark Gentili is the editor of Sudbury.com.