By Mollee Francisco

Even in the light of day, there is a certain eeriness about the Scream Town lot. Tucked back out of the view of Highway 212, amid dwarfing corn fields and thick oak forest, it is not difficult to imagine things that go bump in the night.

Co-creators Jay Easley and Matt Dunn are hoping people are going to want to do more than just imagine terrifying things this Halloween season. They are hoping people will pay to have the bejeezus scared out of them. And they’re hoping people will bring those scare dollars to Scream Town.

There they will find their fill of ominous coffin scenes, scary skeletons, creepy clowns and hillbillies toting dangerous power tools.

“It’s not just a haunted house,” said Dunn. “It’s a scream park.”

After testing the terror market in Shakopee last year (they were adjacent to Sever’s Corn Maze),

Easley and Dunn have found a permanent location for their scream park just outside of Chaska. Since June, they have been hard at work turning farm land into a haven for horror. Now, they are excited to show off the fruits of their labor.

“We have a real sickness of loving Halloween,” said Easley.

Tomorrow, they open Scream Town to the public. The park features four “haunted” attractions – Oak Blood Forest (a forest walk), Hillbilly Motel (a haunted house), Klown House (a disorienting, fenced maze) and Terror in the Corn (a corn maze).

“They are totally going to freak out,” said Dunn with a smile.

“It’s about being scared, but you’re gonna have fun,” said Easley.

Despite having loads of work to do before Friday’s big opening, the folks at Scream Town couldn’t resist any opportunity to test out their scare skills.

An innocent reporter’s tour of the Oak Blood Forest was interrupted when a loud banging erupted from behind the façade of a dilapidated cabin and again in the Hillbilly Motel when the pictures began to fall into the wall revealing a frightening face lurking behind.

The gasps, jumps and screams the actor’s antics trigger are as good as gold to the people behind Scream Town. “It’s like Monsters, Inc.,” said Easley, referring to the Pixar animated film. “These guys live on screams.”

With 45 to 50 people expected to work at Scream Town this year, they’ll need a lot of screams to survive. Easley is confident that their new location, just two miles west of the confluence of new Highway 212 and County Road 61 (old Highway 212), will be attractive to those in the immediate area and around the metro. Easley said the new highway’s completion was “key” to their decision to locate here.
“It’s so much bigger out here,” he added.

In addition to the haunted attractions, Dunn and Easley promise “a lot of atmosphere.” A tent is set up in the courtyard which will eventually house food vendors and a caricature artist. It will also provide a rest area for those needing a break from the action.

Easley said the No. 1 element to a successful haunted attraction is safety.

“The No. 1 key is safety,” he said. “Number two is scaring the hell out of you.”

Contact Mollee Francisco at mfrancisco@swpub.com.

Scream Town
Hours: Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 1, as well as Thursday, Oct. 16 & 30. Box office open 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Location: 7410 Highway 212, Chaska
Cost: Admission $13 (recommended for ages 10 and up)
More info or tickets: www.scream
town.com
Other frights of fantasy in the area include Valleyfair’s Halloween Haunt in Shakopee and the Trail of Terror (Renaissance Festival grounds) in Louisville Township.