(light classical music) - We have about 160 characters dressed up.

There's characters everywhere.

There's 30 something scenes.

Around every corner, they don't know what to expect.

That's planned into the rollercoaster ride that I call it.

(patrons screaming) And it's a wild ride for an hour, not a three minute rollercoaster, but it's almost an hour to go through.

(light classical music continues) There's a little bit of anticipation, there's a little bit of humor.

And then they put you on a wild ride.

(clown screaming) (light classical music continues) (patrons screaming) So it's a little bit of ups and downs and turns and twists and everything else.

And a couple of loop-de-loops around there too.

So we try to do that.

(ominous music) (saw whirring) (gentle music) My wife and I and her little brother started it in our yard.

It wasn't the Trail of Terror yet, but then we had a lot of people attend that Halloween night.

And then we just said, Let's do something a little bit bigger.

Let's do it for a charity.

So a friend of mine had a piece of land and three of us got together and we came up with the Trail of Terror.

And it started out just being fun with a bunch of people.

And then it just started to grow and grow.

And it just got to be amazingly crazy (laughs).

(gentle music continues) Back in the very beginning when we first started, we decided to do it for a charity.

And we couldn't find a charity to give the money to.

So I was making phone calls and I would say, "This is what we're doing.

We would like to donate to your charity," and blah, blah, blah.

A lot of 'em never got back to me.

So it was very frustrating.

So I'm walking through right before we opened and the fire marshal was walking through with us 'cause I knew him at the time.

He told us, he goes, "Why don't you go see the Red Cross?

Andrea from the Red Cross?"

And I said, "Okay."

- So I went up to her, I went to her office, talked to her, introduced myself, and she just said, "Yeah, we'll do it.

It'd be great."

(drill clicking) (saw whirring) When I was young, kindergarten, I had a really good friend, Jim.

And he and I used to make haunted houses in our house and drive our parents and families crazy (laughs).

So we would just make these really cheesy things and make them go through it and crawl under things or whatever.

And that was at kindergarten.

So through the years, I always had that interest.

Halloween is always fun.

The fall in New England is just amazing.

And so it's just a great time of year.

And it was funny 'cause when we started the Trail, I didn't talk to Jim for years.

And I called him, I said, "Hey, you still into Halloween?"

And he goes, "Yeah!"

So it was just great to rekindle that relationship.

And they're here all the time.

They're helping us every year still.

His wife is there, his kids are there.

And they're one of the families that they kind of grew up with the Trail, so.

It's been fun to do.

It's been fun to create and connect everything together.

- [Employee] I told him when season starts, we have to put gravel down.

(rocks rustling) - This will be my eighth year volunteering.

I started back in junior year of high school and now I'm just stuck here (laughs).

I love how we create a family.

You can be a first year, tenth year, thirteenth, eighth, whatever you name it, and this is just like a family.

You become friends with everybody.

Everyone's like your brother, your sister, kind of like a mother or father figure to you here.

And we all just come together, help each other with their scenes, help each other when it comes to acting, whether it's inside or outside the Trail.

So it's a great, great community.

- He put the boards on, painted them in nice and clean colors.

So my job is to make 'em all look filthy (chuckles).

Like an abandoned place.

So I've been doing the water drips, I did the smudges.

He has a product called Brutal Rust, which gives it a really nice rusts look.

I mean, I can paint it on it too.

I know how to do that, that's burnt orange.

Drips are supposed look like the water damage to the place.

You know, if you ever gone to a abandoned place, you can see where the water comes down the broken pipes, or even underpasses and such.

You'll see like where water stains are.

It's a place for people like me and others that don't really fit in, you know, society areas.

A place for us to go to.

It's like a form of community, a bunch of friends and stuff, family.

Which we know a lot of...

Some of us don't really have or other places.

I never really fit in any groups.

I was a loner in high school, and not so much better in college.

So these are my people.

These are my people I relate to.

And you know, we're all macabre down here.

We all have that sense of humor or like to scare, a lot like Halloween.

So we all have these little things that connect us all together, even though you come from very different, come from very different areas.

- Gimme a hug.

- Alright.

- We've known each other long enough, bro.

- [Jonathan] Alright, okay.

- Because when the Trail first started, it was something for fun, and then it started to grow.

And then there used to be what I found out, the glue of the Trail is not, you know, it's not even scaring people, it's the camaraderie of a family atmosphere.

Something that maybe people might not have anywhere else.

But during that time, the biggest decision that we made and the reason why we made it was because of the family atmosphere.

'Cause if we don't do this anymore, what would happen?

And that's been, pretty much the last 20 years.

has been, you know, what would these people do if we did not do the Trail?

(corn stalks rustling) - That was it, okay.

Alright, well that could work.

That looks good.

Good job, guys.

I love how close I've gotten with everyone here.

I started when I was like 11 or 12.

So I was young, I was a baby.

And I knew absolutely no one here.

I volunteered like two or three times during the season and I absolutely loved it.

So I came back next year and then I eventually became a makeup artist doing airbrush.

I had the opportunity to become a clown in the clown scene.

And I created a character named Bucko the Clown, which has gotten very popular.

Everyone knows and loves him.

So I just fell in love, made family here, and it's pretty awesome.

- It's becoming harder and harder.

Every year we try to improve, so we never go back.

So we change the Trail a lot every year.

And it's, you know, there's just not enough time in the day to do what we do.

30 years is a long time.

I'm hoping I have 10 years left in me.

That's the goal.

If things don't change in the near future, it might be less, but we'll see.

We'll see what happens.

'Cause physically I can't.

I mean, I go, go, go and I dunno how long that's gonna last.

- I'm at Trail of Terror for the very first time.

I very excited.

This is not my first rodeo.

I've haunted a little bit before, but never here.

I love horror.

I love acting.

And it's just like a combination of the two.

It's the best.

- [Wayne] This is Mike Alfano.

Been with us for a couple years.

- [Mike] Couple years.

Since 2009.

- 2009.

So a while.

(group chuckles) So he's one of your area supervisors.

All these guys that I'm gonna introduce to you now are area supervisors.

They'll be in charge of you guys and keeping an eye on you guys depending on what area you're in, so.

Nick.

- Started in 2008.

This is my 17th year.

I was... - He was three.

- (chuckles) I was 13 when I started.

- 13?

- Yeah.

- Oh, I missed a one.

- Yeah, missed a one?

(Nick and Wayne chuckling) - You were in the vortex last year.

Wanna be in the scene after that?

- In the morgue?

- Alright, come with me!

You're gonna get your costumes here.

- Okay?

- From here, you're gonna go to the next step.

If you're gonna get makeup done for victims, they're gonna ask you what you want.

- Okay.

- Then from there, you're gonna go to the next step wherever they tell you.

- Okay.

- Alright?

So if you're gonna get makeup, blood, and all that, they'll tell you either going into the bus, or you're gonna go over here to this one, or you're gonna go to somebody in there.

- Gotcha.

- Okay?

And then from that point, you just go and sit in the back once you're done.

What's gonna happen is when you guys are all set, you're gonna hear me out back.

And if you're new, you're gonna come to me and I'll find your supervisor.

- Alright, thank you.

- But you're in Silence of the Lambs?

- Yep.

- Yes.

- I'll most likely I'll be back and I'll get you your supervisor, alright?

- Alright, thank you.

- Thank you.

- No problem.

(ominous music) - At night is when things come to life here.

The dolls, us, everything changes.

Soon as that sun goes down, this is your last safe space you're gonna be.

- The scary end of it for me is I have to make sure we're at 100% or at least close to it.

We've had people, they get to the... Before they even go in the haunt, they're in the line area and they said, "I've had enough."

We have a bunch of different soundtracks going on at once.

So you hear a lot of noises and screams from the customers being in there and they say, "I'm not going in there."

(ominous music continues) (patrons screaming) (clown laughing maniacally) (clown screams) (patron screams) (patrons screaming) (ominous music continues) (patrons screaming) (ominous music continues) - Anybody real?

Anybody real over here?

(screaming) Oh (beep)!

You (beep)!

(patron screaming) What the (beep)?

(patron laughing) Why you looking at me like that?

You're scaring me.

You scare... You're scaring me.