Community invited to Haunted Walkway, just say 'Trick or Treat'

Halloween, a time of costumes and candy, is a fun holiday for the entire family, and for some people a great time to give back to the community. Community members Perry and Jennifer Atchison have taken the traditional door-to-door trick or treating a step further, making it a large event for the whole community.

“It just brings people together to have fun,” Perry Atchison said.

The Atchison’s have been hosting an annual “Haunted Walkway” event for the past 12 years, starting in 2007, shortly after purchasing their home, he said. He added that they started it because they wanted to give back to the community.

He said he and his wife enjoy dressing up in costumes and they have a large yard which gives them the opportunity to have a number of different decorations and things for people to enjoy.

The community supports a number of organizations and fundraisers, Atchison said, such as Montana Actors’ Theatre and the Jaycees.

“There is so much support in this community, it’s not even funny,” he said. “Mine is more giving back to the community. The community has given so much — it’s just to give back.”

So, every Oct. 31 starting at 6 p.m. the Atchisons open up their property at 604 12th St. for the community to enjoy, he said. Headded that the entrance will be on the west side of his property and will remain open until 10 p.m. or when the candy runs out.

“Just say ‘Trick or treat,’” he said.

“We welcome ghouls and goblins of all ages,” he added. “Remember, say the words or there will be no candy.”

He said that he and his wife love Halloween and enjoy scaring people. He added that his entire neighborhood enjoys the holiday and the Haunted Walkway is a great way to get more people in the neighborhood treat or treating.

The Haunted Walkway has gone through a number of changes over the years, having to fine tune the event to assure everyone is having fun and is as safe as possible, he said.

“We don’t want people running out in the streets,” he said. “… It’s always a concern about safety because we want people to enjoy themselves.”

He added that the event is fun for the whole family, regardless of age, and although they enjoy scaring people they make sure everyone is also having fun. He said that over the years he has had people as young as 2 years old come to trick or treat. Like many other haunted houses, he said, he and the other actors cannot touch the audience members.

The Atchison’s yard is filled with several different Halloween decorations and animatronics, he said, and over the years they have tried out a number of themes. Such as one year, Atchison and his wife did a “Silent Hill” themed Haunted Walkway, where his wife and her friends dressed up in bloody nursing uniforms. This year has no theme, he said.

“The need to try new things for a more thrilling experience led to various decorations and building materials coming together to provide a memorable path up to the ‘Butcher Shop,’” he said.

The “Butcher Shop” is where they give out the candy to their visitors, with the candy mostly a mixture of gummies and chocolate items, he said.

For many of the years they have held the Haunted Walkway they have also had a maze for people to pass through, he said.

He added that weather is unpredictable, and some years setting up is easier than others.

The event has grown in popularity over the years, Atchison said, spanning anywhere from 300 to 600 people every year. He said that because of the event growing they have also enlisted a number of their friends to help with the project.

“We’re just there to have fun, and, I mean, for most people it seems like a large undertaking, but it’s like we’re just here to give out candy,” he said.

They also held a “Scare Away Hunger” event in 2017, where they collected non-perishable food items for the Havre Food Bank, he said. They were able to collect more than 90 pounds of non-perishable food items but, unfortunately, because of illness and busy work schedules, they have not been able to do another collection since then. He said that in the future they hope to hold more food drives for the community, possibly expanding the donations to local businesses in the area.

Atchison said he and his wife hope to be able to do this event for the community in the years to come and enjoy having the ability to bring people joy, and a little fright, during the holiday. He added that it is a lot of fun to see people get scared and then laugh it off, or tease their friends and family because they got scared.

“It just brings people together to have fun,” he said. “… We are just there to have fun.”