PELAHATCHIE — As autumn nights stretch long and shadows thicken in the Mississippi woods, Jellystone Park in Pelahatchie is once again unleashing its annual Trail of Terror — a haunted walk designed to stir both chills and chuckles.
(Watch the video below)
Your Hometown Country US 96.3’s Kim Allen and I got a sneak peek, and let’s just say the practice run left us jumpy and wondering if our throats need physical therapy after all that screaming.
In spite of all the things I’ve done in my career that most people would think are scary, the jump scare factor on this event is elite.
Because it was a practice, it was only half-staffed, but somehow still managed to feel like we’d stumbled onto the set of a horror movie starring scary clowns, growling werewolves and at least one witch who looked suspiciously like she was ready to critique our fashion choices. At one particularly creepy moment outside what seemed to be an abandoned jail, we were sure we saw something with long ears.
“Is that… an evil rabbit?” I asked Kim.
If it was, we knew it wasn’t the Easter Bunny. But it turned out to be something much more sinister. No spoilers, but we also ran across some creepy clowns I’ll see in my nightmares for years to come.
The event, featured as part of Jellystone’s Halloween weekends, runs every Saturday night from 7:30 to 10:00 p.m. through the season.
Stephanie Goss, general manager at Jellystone, said the haunted trail takes weeks of prep.
“We start usually the first part of September,” she said, adding that they began even earlier this year, clearing and trimming. The crew mows, weed-eats and blows debris until the trail is ready for unsuspecting victims… of course we meant guests.
Overnight campers get trail tickets included in their stay, while day visitors can pay $25 for full-day access to the park and trail. For anyone just wanting the haunted walk, tickets go on sale at 6 p.m. for $10 each.
Goss said her favorite part is watching guests come out of the trail “laughing—or at least not crying.” She warns, though, that the uneven terrain makes the trail tricky for wheelchairs and potentially overwhelming for small children. Parents can bring them, but some visitors have turned back when their small children were too afraid.
The Trail of Terror has been a Halloween staple at Jellystone since around 2009, when it first crept into existence. And every year, management reminds guests: be prepared. A recent Facebook video warned that conditions are terrifying. (Translation: If you faint at the sight of regular everyday clowns with balloon animals as opposed to the kind that chase you, you may want to stick with a pumpkin patch.)
Beyond the haunted woods, Jellystone’s fall festivities span five weekends with costume contests, themed trails for younger guests, pumpkin patches and more. But the haunted trail remains the star attraction, for anyone brave enough to wander where witches cackle, werewolves howl and seriously… are those clowns still following us?
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