Haunted house in Irishtown, N.B., puts a welcoming twist on this year's festivities

IRISHTOWN, N.B. -

It’s a holiday known for its spook and scare with dim lights, jumping objects and all things haunted, but the Irishtown Community Centre in Irishtown, N.B., is proving that Halloween doesn’t always have to follow the norm.

To kick off their annual festivities, the centre is offering an accessible and sensory friendly night on Wednesday ahead of its traditional haunted house and haunted trail that runs from Thursday to Sunday.

“Some people cannot go in because of the strobe lights, fog machine,” said program co-ordinator Marc Gagnon.

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“It’s wheelchair accessible, fully lit haunted house, no scaring, so everyone can enjoy it.”

Visitors on Wednesday will get to experience the thrill of Halloween without the fear that typically accommodates this holiday.

Every light in the community centre will be on and the noise, jump-scares, flashy lights and fog machines will be turned off.

“I think in the past there was a lot of events and a lot of stuff going on that they could never attend because not having wheelchair accessibility or a lot of young people and even older people with anxiety issues, so large crowds kept them away. So, they weren’t able to enjoy,” said NEMO vice-president Kathy Silva.

“So, I think it’s very important that we can engage everybody and set aside a special night.”

While there’s only one designated accessible and sensory friendly night, there are three other Trick or Treat events that will happen within the Haunted House that won’t include any scaring.

The hope is to provide a chance for absolutely everyone to join in before the event wraps up on Sunday.

“We want everybody involved and hopefully next year, get more people involved,” said Gagnon.

The hall has been transformed into all things Halloween for seven or eight years now and it’s something that the community looks forward to each season.

“It gets busier and busier. Last year we had almost 1,000 people come in,” said Gagnon.

He says they’ve had people asking all month for the details and with more options that take everyone into consideration this year, the hope is to share the love of Halloween with even more people.

“It’s really important to grow because as humans we get tired of the same thing over and over and over again. It gets boring, so the more we grow, the more participants and guests will grow and we are getting on the map, so that’s the main thing,” said Silvea.

Also new this year, Maple Hills is offering a pumpkin carving contest to help involve two local schools, Mountain View and Magnetic Hill in Lutes Mountain, N.B., with the winning pumpkin winning a pizza party for the entire class.

Additionally, students from both NBCC and L'Odyssée School helped with set up and tear down making it a community event from the very start to the very end.

The haunted house is open:

• Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: accessible and sensory friendly night
• Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.: trick or treat
• Friday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.: enter if you dare
• Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: trick or treat and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.: enter if you dare
• Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: trick or treat and 6 p.m. 8 p.m.: enter if you dare

The haunted trail is open:

• Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: teens and adults
• Saturday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.: children (no scary actors) and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: teens and adults

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.