Spooky Season is in full force, ya’ll!
There is so much to do around Nashville this month, and it’s been a full time job trying to keep up with the activities. But, I did find the time to ask a representative of Terror on the Ridge, an annual family-run haunted house in Joelton, TN, some questions about what it is like operating a home haunt in Middle Tennessee.
Q: Can you explain why and how you decided to create Terror on the Ridge?
A: Our home Haunt was started 10 years ago. Our neighborhood was getting older, and there were no kids on the street. I loved Halloween as a child so my family decided to make a haunt through the house with black tarp and some Spirit Halloween animatronics. We put a sign up in Clarksville that said, Hey- Free Haunted house. We got like 25 trick-or-treaters that year. I was stoked. The next year we had like 50. 10 years later, it’s a couple thousand. It is now a staple in the community, and it takes about 20 people to run and work it. We have probably over $30k in it now.
Q: When do you start preparing for the Halloween season?
A: We start prepping in August. By September 1st, we are working every weekend to build all of the buildings in the haunt.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about having a home haunt?
A: The best thing about having a home haunt is having all of our friends getting together to build it. We all eat together or grill out after we work on Saturday and Sunday. But the greatest thing is seeing the kids’ faces especially on Kids Night during the haunt.The small kids always open the haunt. There’s no jump scares, and they and their families get to go through on their own night.
Q: Do you wish to grow this into something even bigger?
A: I think this may be the last show in the neighborhood. We have got to find land and build our haunt. We have just outgrown it. It’s crazy. My neighbors have been understanding for 10 years. They love it, but at some point you have to go pro. If we find a place next year we will spend a couple years building a pro haunt, and put our first show on in 2024.
Q: I am very adamant about being home on Halloween night for trick-or-treaters, even if we don’t get that many. How important do you think trick or treating is within the Halloween “culture”?
A: In today’s environment, I am all for trick-or-treating, especially in neighborhoods. We need community more now than ever. Anything that gets kids off devices, and out walking and spending time with their family is a plus for me. The grinch said it best- “Kids these days. So desensitized“. Family time is vital no matter how you get it.
If you want to get the pants scared off ya, or if you want to take your young ones out for Kids Night at the haunt, follow Terror on the Ridge on Facebook to get more information on dates and times.
Brittany Fernandez is a Lifestyle Writer for SoBros Network. She’s a Nashville native covering events on the local scene, B-movie horror reviews, and everything in between. Her go-to karaoke song is “No Diggity.” Follow on Twitter: @brittbutspooky
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