Haunted Hollows Scream Park set to scare people this Halloween

#YorkCOVIDween: 'Scaring people definitely gets me excited'

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 27, 2020
Simon Martin

Scott Atherton’s Halloween obsession started innocently enough. Born and raised in Newmarket, Atherton started decorating his front lawn on Arthur Street.

“It got a quite elaborate over the years with pneumatics and animatronics,” he said. “People started to know about it over the years and it got busier and busier.”

But Atherton’s problem was that his Halloween display had gotten too big for Arthur Street. “I wanted to do something for the whole community.”

So when he found an old mini-putt for lease on Yonge Street just north of Green Lane in East Gwillimbury last year, he decided it was time to branch out. “I fell in love with the location and got my heart set on it,” he said.

Last year was the first year for the Haunted Hollows Scream Park and Atherton got rave reviews. He’s building on that success this year, even as uncertainty around COVID-19 and Halloween swirls around.

Atherton said the scream park is quite a COVID-friendly Halloween activity, being outdoors and given his ability to control flow of patrons for social distancing purposes.

“It seems like COVID-19 is affecting our lives in every way possible. I did do a considerable amount of renovation creating a separate entrance and exit and a sanitization station,” he said.

Masks are also mandatory for individuals at the scream park as well as timing groups so they are not near each other in the lengthy labyrinth of scariness.

The sheer amount of props Atherton has collected over the years is impressive as the park winds for nearly a kilometre. Clowns, spiders, skeletons, an asylum, a morgue and butcher shop; Atherton leaves no tombstone unturned in attempts to scare the pants off his patrons.

“Scaring people definitely gets me excited,” he said. “Usually they can’t believe how good it is. They went in with low expectations and I knocked it out of the park,” he said.

The park has gotten so big Atherton said all his displays would now take up the whole block on Arthur Street if he went back. “Unfortunately I do have a day job,” Atherton said. “This is just where I spend my free time.”

For more information about the park visit hauntedhollows.ca. Tickets are $20. The park is open Oct. 29, 30 and 31 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

York Region spokesperson Patrick Casey said the provincial recommendation for residents in the hot-spot areas like York Region, Toronto, Peel and Ottawa to not participate in traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating is not an enforceable regulation bylaw.

However, gathering limits of 10 people indoors or 25 people outdoors (which cannot be combined) and maintaining physical distancing applies in any scenario. Exceeding these limits could result in fines starting at $10,000 for the organizer and $750 for each guest, Casey said.

If you choose to hand out treats despite recommendations, public health advices to wear a face mask or covering and do not leave treats in a bowl for kids to grab. Instead, use hand tongs to hand them out.

If you do go opt for trick-or-treating, only go if you are free of COVID-19 symptoms, only travel with members of your direct household, stick to your own neighbourhood and line up at least two metres apart at doorsteps, incorporate face masks into your costume, use hand sanitizer between houses and use tongs to hand out treats.

Before speaking to Aurora and Newmarket business owners and politicians during an event Oct. 15, Liberal leader Steven Del criticized Premier Doug Ford for dragging his feet in giving parents and kids guidelines for Halloween.

“I think the challenge around Halloween is actually part of a much bigger concern. The lack of coherent, clear, consistent messaging from Doug Ford, from other public health leaders and politicians has been really troubling throughout the pandemic,” he said.