Mithila Iyer

iyermith@grinnell.edu

“Fright Hike”, a one-mile haunted walk around Arbor Lake hosted by the Chamber of Commerce will take place this Friday, Oct. 30. This is the second year that the walk has been organized, with anticipation running high as Halloween fast approaches. The area around the lake where the hike is located is woodland, allowing the location to serve particularly well as a frightening trail.

“There is a path around the lake that’s about a mile long, so when people arrive at the Fright Hike, we’ll have you staggered in small groups or pairs and send you out into the woods along the trail, which loops around the little lake. It takes probably 20-25 minutes on average for the groups to get all the way around. And along the way you’ll encounter all sorts of actors scaring you, creepy clowns, ghostly ghouls and many more such things,” said Emily Counts, Director of Tourism for the Chamber of Commerce.

Preparation for the hike has been underway for quite some time now, with young professionals in town taking up the responsibility. This committee, called the Grinnell Connect group, has been working on planning the event, a primary portion of which involves the crucial recruitment of volunteers. This is especially important, as last year the hike involved several props as substitutes for actors, a challenge which the committee hopes to overcome this time around.

“We’ve been trying to get actors to hide behind bushes and scare people – it’s a pretty nice volunteer opportunity … Last year was the first time we’ve done it, and we learned a lot of lessons that we look forward to putting into action and improving further this year,” Counts said.

One of the key roles that the Fright Hike plays is helping to foster a great community here in Grinnell. Including being an entertaining way to enjoy the beauty of a different part of town, it is a fun event to attend—whether one celebrates Halloween or not.

“It’s a great thing to do with a group of friends on a Friday night, as well as a cool way to get off campus. It’s also an interesting way to get to know Arbor Lake—being out there in the middle of the night and walking around a trail! We had about 400 people go through the hike last year, and we hope to see many more this year,” Counts said.

To facilitate the transportation of students, the Fright Hike organizers have arranged a free shuttle that will take students from the JRC to the lake and back every half hour during the event. Tickets for the hike are priced at 10 dollars and can be purchased online or on location. The Fright Hike will take place tonight from 8 to 11 p.m.