FORTY FORT — Bernie Trudnak has been engineering spooky attractions for about a decade. The landscape designer at Edward’s Garden Center said, after his boss, Ed Kopec, expressed interest in a haunted display, the two brought the center its first Halloween themed showcase.
Edward’s Halloween Walk of Ghouls, at 525 River St., opens when it gets dark. Customers must be in line no later than 10 p.m. for the walk through. Fridays and Saturdays, and Edward’s Kiddie Land Corn Maze at the same location opens from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, throughout the month of October.
“I used to bring everything down to a campsite in Lancaster, and set up an attraction there, but Ed’s wanted to do something for about six years now, so he bought all my stuff,” Trudnak said. “You have to go into something like this slow or you have to go all out, and that’s what he did.”
The Walk of Ghouls, Trudnak said, is a 450 foot stroll through a haunted trail, complete with live actors, animatronics, lasers, strobe lights and fog machines. The monster fest is suggested for adults and older children.
“We’re saying children 12 and up, although we have had younger kids come through,” Trudnak said.
For $8, thrill seekers can take the chilling walk, but for $3, younger children and their parents can enter the Kiddie Land Corn Maze, which features a straw fort with sliding boards.
“We also have food trucks in the staging area, and when people come for the adult attraction, we have snippets of scary movies for them to watch while they’re waiting to get in,” Trudnak said.
For more information, visit the Edward’s Garden Center website at edwardsgardencenter.com or call 570-287-4329.
