Haunted Trail frightens redbirds this Halloween

The Town of Normal’s annual Haunted Trail returned this past weekend, offering visitors a Halloween experience featuring spooky displays, costumed characters, sound effects and lighting effects along Constitution Trail. 

William Claver, a senior at Illinois State University currently student teaching as an English education, attended the event with his girlfriend.  

“I wanted to see more of what Bloomington and Normal had to offer, and my girlfriend thought this would be a really fun activity for us to do,” Claver said. 

It was their first time attending the event, and Claver said they enjoyed the experience. 

 “I thought it was a lot of fun. I am a big fan of haunted houses. I’m a big fan of scary trails, and especially the group I was with, we had a lot of jumpy people, and it made for a really fun experience,” Claver said.  

Claver rated the trails scare level a 6 out of 10, noting that visitors know the actors cannot touch them. 

“At the end of the day, you do know that they can’t touch you. You know you’re essentially immune to everything, but it is really fun, especially if you like jump scares, especially if you like bright lights or loud noises,” Claver said. 

While some visitors experienced the trail as guests, others helped make the event possible. 

Angela Polli, a sophomore majoring in psychology, volunteered at the event for a second year. 

“This is my second year, doing it. And I’ve been just really enjoying it. I learned, so I go to ISU, and I learned from doing, like, this quad thing,” Polli said. 

Polli said she enjoys the small-town atmosphere and the opportunity to talk with people who attend the event. 

“I love doing this, ’cause it’s just so fun talking to people here, and I’m not from here, so it’s, like, very small-town kind of stuff, and it’s so cute,” Polli said. 

Although Polli has never experienced the trail as a visitor, she said she would like to go through it someday, despite being easily frightened. 

“I have not. I just hear stories about it. I’d love to go through the trail, but I’m also like, I get scared easy; so maybe not this night, maybe another night. It just really fun,” Polli said. 

She also praised the people who organize the event, describing volunteering as an enjoyable and relaxing Halloween activity. 

“The people that run this are so unbelievably nice, and it’s just really like easy and relaxing, and it’s just like, it’s a fun Halloween activity too,” Polli said. 

Rishabh Narendranath, member of the Future Business Leaders of America at North Community High School, also volunteered at the Haunted Trail for the second year. 

“This is my second year doing on a trail, and both years I’ve done it through MCHS’s FBLA,” Narendranath said.  

Narendranath said volunteering allows him to see firsthand how the event brings joy to visitors, particularly after they finish the trail. 

“Volunteering here is just like, it’s just really fun. getting to see people’s faces light up, particularly like, for example, here at the hot chocolate station, seeing people just light up when they see it after, you know, going through that scary trail. It’s just like a good feeling,” Narendranath said. 

Whether helping visitors recover with hot chocolate or contributing to the scares along the trail, Narendranath said volunteering gives him the opportunity to be part of the Halloween experience. 

“And in general, even helping out with the trail itself is just a great feeling, you know, to see people get scared, but at the same time, it’s like fun for them and just really seeing that like Halloween spirit shine is just something that I really enjoy,” Narendranath said.