Niles Scream Park readies for the season, after record year

 

NILES, Mich. – It’s that time of year, as Niles Scream Park staff and volunteers make the finishing touches around the park—as they set to open this Friday.

Are you ready for opening night? I asked Niles Scream Park Manager Aaron Smith, who’s been with the park for eighteen years.

“I think so!” he replied.

The Scream Park has been a community staple every year since 1973, using its thrills to raise money for local charities throughout Michiana—giving back over $2 million over the past sixteen years—to groups such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

And last year was their biggest year ever.

“Normally we see forty to forty-five thousand fans come through our doors throughout the twenty-two nights that we’re open in a season,” Smith said. “And last year we saw fifty-two thousand people come through our doors and we’ve never seen that before.”

The park managed to donate $125 thousand to over fifty different non-profit organizations.

Smith believed this is part of a rise in popularity in haunted attractions, and felt this year could be just as big.

But will the park—which relies on volunteers to deliver scares—have enough staff to handle the big crowds?

“Minimally, we need about two-hundred people to operate the park on a normal night—but on a Saturday in October we need roughly two-hundred and fifty to be optimal,” said Smith. “We never not have enough, but over the season we see around five-hundred different volunteers walk through our park.”

According to him, the turnouts at the mandatory training meetings volunteers must attend every year make him optimistic.

“We’re hoping so,” he said. “These next two trainings will be the judge of how we’re looking but I think everything’s up and looking good.”

Volunteers interested in applying can find more information at the Scream Park’s website: www.haunted.org.

Smith added that the park will also feature several new attractions—including The Evil Estate and Sinister Streets of Salem haunted houses—along with new photo-op stations, a gift shop and ax throwing.

“We are introducing ax throwing this year, we’ve been talking about it for a couple years and it’ll be right here on our midway—you’ll get five throws for five tokens or five throws for one ticket,” said Smith. “There’s been a lot of changes this year that we hope people come to love and enjoy.”

The first day of the season is Friday, September 9 at 8:00pm.

Tickets can be purchased online.