Thousands Survive Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County’s “Valley of the Haunted”

From The Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County:

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County successfully wrapped up their second season of Harford’s newest haunted attraction, Valley of the Haunted, located at Camp Hidden Valley, a 180 acre wooded campground in White Hall, MD. The main attraction was a haunted trail that ran Friday and Saturday nights the last three weekends in October, and also included a hay ride, live music, s’mores over a campfire, and plenty to eat & drink. On Sundays, they offered a fun, spook-free Halloween event called Little Haunts that included trick-or-treating on the trail, games, crafts, pumpkin painting, costume contests, moon bounces, a hay maze, and more.

More than 3,150 guests from Harford County, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Pennsylvania, and even as far as Washington DC and New Jersey visited the attraction. This was great news for the Harford County Office of Economic Development, which had awarded a tourism grant to Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County to put on the premier attraction. The trail was marketed from Pennsylvania all the way down to Washington DC, and promised to scare and delight haunt seekers who dared to enter the haunted campground.

All proceeds from the event benefited Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford County, an organization that serves over 6,000 local kids annually. Event Sponsors included the Harford County Office of Economic Development, Atlantic Tractor, E-Moxie, SURVICE Engineering, Suited Four, The Aegis, Kefauver Lumber Company, Jarrettsville Federal Savings & Loan, APG Federal Credit Union, Ecotone Inc., & SwagDog. Media Sponsors include Coffee News, WXCY, Smash Hits WHGM and Harford’s Heart.

Valley of the Haunted relied heavily on community volunteers to bring the attraction to life, offering volunteer options for both individuals and groups, as well as student service hours for teens who chose to be behind the screams. More than 150 volunteers in addition to 10 staff members from Boys & Girls Clubs ran the event over the course of the month, ensuring that each night had between 50-60 volunteers and that Little Haunts had at least 45 volunteers to run the many activities. Jeff Foulk, Event Chair & Boys & Girls Club Board Member, was grateful to all that had a hand, stating “it was a huge undertaking on the part of the organization, and especially the community, but we all had a blast doing it, and hope we get the chance to come back again next year, bigger and better!”