By Adam Brazeau
CORNWALL, Ontario – You know it’s Halloween season when a chainsaw-wielding maniac chases you through a maze of corn rows. For those who dare enter, Fright Nights is waiting to test your limits.
Lamoureux Park will be haunted by witchcraft and stalked by zombies as the Grim Reaper leads you from the Clock Tower to a sinister labyrinth of madness.
“Come and enjoy a night of fear and terror in a park made for the community,” said Paul St. Onge, event organizer and Mocktails Patio owner.
St. Onge was dressed in a menacing bright orange costume with a mesh hood covering his entire face. His enthusiasm wasn’t for the sake of horror or shock value. He wanted to give the city and local youth an event that makes great use of the park.
He invites other businesses to take part in Fright Nights next year and setup their own individual ‘fright sites’ in the park to enhance the event.
“I almost had a heart attack,” said Amelia Whelan, 13. “I would definitely come back.”
Whelan went with a group of her friends who screamed their way through the entire corn maze multiple times.
For volunteer Arthur Montpetit, a horror fanatic, hearing the shrieks and screams from all ages being chased through a bloody set of obstacles full of corpses, spiders and ungodly creatures was the sound of success.
“This is a dream come true,” said Montpetit, who along with his wife, Norma, and eight other volunteers have put in 1,000 hours to give Cornwall a scaretacular event.
Since 2007 Montpetit has turned his family’s home into a haunted house, removing most of the furniture and devoting days to a non-stop horrofest including a movie marathon and a gruesome feast full of gory-inspired dishes. He has wanted to start a Gorefest/Horrofest in Cornwall for years and Fright Nights delivered his vision for amping up the local Halloween scene.
4,000 stocks of corn, that were donated, and a lot of blood-soaked props transformed the patio at Mocktails into a nightmarish scene.
St. Onge said the event received a lot of support and direction from Lucie Hart, Halloween event organizer at the Cornwall Historic Jail.
To get a real dose of evil spectators can start at the Halloween Haunted Historic Jail (11 Water Street West) and then head across the street to the park to get a second helping of terror.
Mobile GamerZ, a high-tech gaming trailer, will also be at the event to scare up some extra screams.
Cost for admission is a non-perishable food item for the Agape Centre or a $2 donation.
For more information, click here.
