Haunted on Halloween
Scarers Derrick Knigge and Ciera Hart, middle and right respectively, pose in the Living Nightmare Haunted Attraction maze
REBECCA PETTINGILL/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Maze attendees had fun as Tristan Jones, in a mask, would stare to creep them out.
One of the first rooms of the maze had a palm reader, played by Yana Sturdivant.
LAKEVIEW - The Living Nightmare Haunted Attraction celebrated its 14th year of scaring with a haunted maze in Lakeview on Halloween.
“We strive to be as family-friendly as possible,” said owner and organizer Tristan Jones. “We’re just trying to give back to the community and show these younger kids the importance of giving back.”
This year Living Nightmare Haunted Attraction was a maze held in Lakeview at Jone’s home but the attraction is usually held at a property off Road 10.8 just outside of Ephrata. It has been held in Lakeview for the last few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has also been held on Stratford Road once in the past as well.
“For me, it was just a love of the holiday,” Jones said on why he wanted to start Living Nightmare Haunted Attraction.
He also said that he wanted to provide a place for members of the community to go around Halloween and encourage them to find ways to give back to their community.
“It started out small and then we just kind of slowly grew over the years,” said Jones.
Jones said for most of the 14 years they have had the attraction, they have made the admission free with a suggested pet supply donation that they would give to a local pet charity in the area.
This year’s charity was Hands N’ Paws but the attraction has donated to other charities such as Grant County Animal Outreach and Pets For Vets.
“We figured, might as well do it for a good cause,” Jones said.
This year's maze was held from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Halloween only but the attraction is also normally held for two to three weekends leading up to Halloween. About a dozen scarers came out to bring the maze to life.
“Next year is going to be bigger and better,” said Jones.
Jones also produces a podcast called Fearful Thoughts with his nephew Ethan Beddow that talks about everything horror, Halloween and spooky themes, from books to movies to real life.
Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.
