T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Remix Dance Academy Co-director Angie Torres, “dance mom” Kara Wildman and Co-director Dani Gavagan show their “butcher” display created for the Nightmare Trail. More than 50 volunteers have dedicated time and effort to create a haunted event as a fundraiser for Remix.

The frights are coming to life outside of Remix Dance Academy.

Co-directors Angie Torres and Dani Gavagan and “dance mom” Kara Wildman, along with roughly 50 community volunteers, are bringing the Nightmare Trail to Marshalltown. Actually, it’s a maze outside of the studio, which leads brave travelers to storage units with horrific scenes located in the studio building.

Torres said the Nightmare Trail is a fundraiser, and this is the first time it is being held. They are already making plans for next year. According to Wildman, she has wanted to “build” a haunted attraction for years, but has not had the correct space. She is also the owner of Happy Tails, which is sponsoring the haunted event.

“I have costumes, masks, wigs, decorations, ideas and [Remix] has a good cause,” Wildman said. “The reason for the season is the Rising Stars program.”

Remix is a nonprofit organization and Rising Stars is the newest class which focuses on youth with special needs.

“If you want to dance, you can come here and dance,” Torres said. “If you don’t have the funds to pay for your costume, lessons or fees, you are still welcome. The doors are open for you.”

Wildman said she is grateful her child can be involved with Remix.

“The money raised from the haunted trail is going to go toward expanding the existing Superstars and supporting the new Rising Stars,” she said.

Wildman added Remix needs a better, more accommodating space for their dancers, which is not easy to accomplish without funds. Since the Nightmare Trail is brand new, there is no set financial goal.

“Marshalltown needs things like this,” she said. “We need to bring things to town that get the downtown community involved, and this is right here on First Avenue, within walking distance of thousands of homes. And it’s cheap. It’s $20 for a good date. You can come here, spend time with community members because everybody involved is local, and all the money stays local.”

Torres said volunteers hail from a variety of Marshalltown groups – dancers, Emerson , Mechdyne and Lennox employees, just to name a few.

“We have lots of people in the mix,” she said. “Lots of people who are on every end of abilities and disabilities. Everybody wants to be here. It’s fun.”

An artist has designed the tombstones, a professional makeup artist will do the gore for the actors and some dance dads have built a mausoleum. Since Remix is a nonprofit, Torres added they are providing Silver Cord hours for Marshalltown High School students, so there are a lot of teenage volunteers.

“It gives the kids a place to be gross and creepy,” she said. “It definitely brought them out and it’s fun.”

There is no specific theme for the Nightmare Trail, other than “good scares.” Torres said the maze, which was built by Wildman’s husband Isaac Wildman, will have jump scares, and the storage units contain horror scenes, such as a “crazy, psycho butcher.”

“There are scenes from very familiar horror movies,” she said, such as “The Ring” and “Seven.”.

Familiar slasher horror villains, such as Freddy Krueger, Jason and Michael Meyers, will not cut their way into the trail. Torres and Wildman said they already have a lot of scares going on, but Jigsaw from the “Saw” franchise will make an appearance.

The Nightmare Trail fliers they have distributed say people should enter at their own risk. There will be loud noises, fog, strobe lights, uneven terrain and intense special effects. Actors may startle people, but will not touch them. Running and pushing will not be permitted. The trail is not recommended for young children, anyone with heart conditions or epilepsy or women who are pregnant. Those who walk through the trail assume all risks associated with participating.

“It’s going to be a good time and a good scare,” Torres said. “Kara interviewed people who have been going to haunted houses all their lives and found the things we need to hone in on. It’s going to be chilly, but it’s going to be fun.”

EVENT INFORMATION:

Name: Nightmare Trail

Where: Remix Dance Academy

Address: 103 E. Linn St.

Dates: Friday, Saturday, Oct. 31

Times: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Tickets: $20

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.