Shelby Kester

Staff Writer

     The Evil Community of Talon Falls Haunted Scream Park is back and better than ever this October. The rebuilding of the park after its electrical fire earlier this year  proved to be a blessing in disguise for owner Todd Ferren.

     The main attraction, Talon Falls, is all-new and having a ground breaking year. The new, interactive theme for this October is “Cell Block D - The Prison.” The all-original cast of over 100 live volunteer actors work hard every weekend to entertain and terrify customers for 40+ minutes. There are 7 different and unique mazes including the Cemetery, the Vampire Crypt, the Asylum, Slaughter House, the all new 3-D Killer Clown maze, and the Voodoo Lagoon. Carson Oakley (11), a volunteer for the past 3 years, is very pleased with the new additions, “Things are a lot better this year. The new additions have attracted a lot more people. We had a record breaking attendance on the weekend of the 16th. ”

     After visiting the four best hayrides in the country (The Headless Horseman, Spookywoods, Bates Motel and Creepy Worlds Tombstone), Ferren was inspired to create a unique hayride of his own - The Blood Creek Hayride. This attraction is a 15-20 minute journey through intricate sets that will supply patrons with their money’s worth of screams and squeals. The Dead End haunted house also has a brand new theme as a doll factory with the main attraction being the terrifying character “Dollface.”

     The Scream Team consists of approximately 150 actors who are canvases for 2 airbrush artists and 4 make up artists who work with prosthetics and their own artistic talents to create amazingly realistic special effects. The volunteers are all offered photography credit with Todd Ferren Photography which can be used for family portraits, senior pictures, or modeling portfolios. A portion of the profits from the park are donated to Child Watch, Red Cross, and Crime Stoppers. As of 2011, Talon Falls has raised over $80,000 for these charities.

     Several LOHS student volunteers spend their weekends working hard to give the community their money’s worth of scares including Carson Oakley (11), Jordyn Peifer (11), Victoria Sikes (11), Erika Edwards (11), Tori Gessel (12), and Josh Kent (12). The park has had a record breaking year so far and were featured on the National Weather Channel on October 17 for being one of the top twenty haunted houses in the United States.

     However, success isn’t slowing down Todd Ferren and the Scream Team. They are looking ahead and already planning renovations and additions for next year’s scream park.