Eerie Acres Haunted Attraction to be open the month of October

Submitted

The idea of a haunted trail came from some longtime friends that have been doing it very successfully on their farm in Arkansas for over ten years. They have been totally supportive and willing to share a lot about their operation with us.
It started out with a private haunted hayride and party staffed by volunteers.  We had a lot of fun with it and so did the guests who attended.  We did that for a couple of years, but it was just too expensive to continue it.

We know there are a lot of people around the area like ourselves that end up driving to Orlando or Tampa to participate in some Halloween fun, so we wanted to offer an opportunity closer to home. We decided to take the plunge and create Eerie Acres Haunted Attraction.
We offer both a decorated, but not haunted, hayride and a haunted walking trail.
The concept of our haunted woods trail is based on a story that the property was once the site of a booming sawmill town that through the years was plagued by bizarre events. The characters and scenarios are pulled from the story.
We have 17 scare sites along the half mile trail, staffed by approximately 25 actors and actresses. It is designed to be scary and not recommended for kids under 13.
Most of our actors/actresses are local, but we have some from as far away as Dunnellon.  Our scares are actor based and we have an amazingly talented group of employees. Each of them brings a passion for scaring people and having fun in their roles.
We’ve had lots of support and encouragement from the community and our county officials as well.  It has taken a major effort from a lot of people to make this event happen and we want to thank all of them for their participation, especially the volunteers who came out and worked at the site.
If we are successful, we hope to expand in future years to include a maze and possibly other haunted attractions.
The abandoned piece of property locals refer to as Eerie Aces got its name from founder Jonathan Eerie, a businessman who purchased 1200 acres of timber land and started construction on Eerie Sawmill and Lumber Company in 1871. A town quickly sprang up around the sawmill and was incorporated in 1876 as Eerie Acres, Florida. Numerous bizarre and tragic occurrences took place in the town such as sawmill accidents, stories surrounding a maniacal sheriff, suicides, incest, rumors of a voodoo priestess casting spells, even a tragic circus accident.The most recent occurred in October 2009 when a little girl’s decapitated and mutilated body was found there in an old junkyard.
The Eerie Acres Haunted Attraction opens every Friday and Saturday night in October from 7-11 p.m. It is located off of Hwy. 129 at 14372 NW 50th Avenue in Chiefland. Admission is $13.00 per person. For more information, visit www.eerieacres.com