Augusta revelers can travel for thrills, chills

Augusta residents who get their Halloween kicks from being chased by masked men wielding chain saws will have to take a road trip to scare up some fun this year.

Finding a haunted house attraction has been a challenge for many Augustans.

One haunted house in New Ellenton will be held by the Seigler family and Cherise Bowers. It's a 900-square-foot structure, with a tunnel and graveyard outside. Expect the tour to take 15-20 minutes.

Construction took about a month, and it takes 15 people to stage the scenes and run the attraction, Ms. Bowers said. It was also a financial investment in the thousands. But for Ms. Bowers and the Seiglers, who are intent on celebrating the holiday, there were few options.

"There's no haunted houses around," Ms. Bowers said.

Their work is the latest in a long line of similar attractions over the years, such as Frightmares and Plantation Blood in Augusta and Red Barn of Horrors in Aiken.

Matt Stone, of WCHZ-FM (95.1), said the radio station helped with Frightmares two years ago, because the profits went to charity. But after not being able to scare up any haunted houses this year, they're doing a promotion with Netherworld, a massive Halloween attraction in suburban Atlanta. Augusta residents are still on the hunt for haunted houses, though, he said.

Loss of manpower led to the closing of one local haunt, Templeton's Haunted Graveyard and Trail. It was staged by the Templeton family, of Louisville, Ga., until about 2006, when their children grew up and moved out.

But Halloween is thriving in Harlem, where the Brzozowski family will, for the sixth year, stage Harlem Haunts, a free walk-through trail set up on their property. Depending on how scared you are, the walk takes three to five minutes, Marilyn Brzozowski said.

"Every year, we've got it bigger and bigger," she said.

Last year, 600-800 people toured the trail.

"We just like to see the kids scream and have fun," she said.

Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.