Bryan-College Station offers plenty of events for students and families in celebration of Halloween.
Students can walk the Wicked Woods trail in College Station from Oct. 27 to 31, visit Fright Nights Haunted House in Bryan on Oct. 30 and 31 or attend Halloweentown in Downtown Bryan on Oct. 30. Prices range from free admission to $10 per person.
For those looking to be frightened, Kappa Sigma Fraternity’s Wicked Woods may be the Halloween event to attend. Ecological restoration junior and philanthropy chair Zach Mansour said Wicked Woods differs from a traditional haunted house.
“It’s usually a seven to 10-minute event,” Mansour said. “We’re walking you in and out of these scenes that we basically made in the woods, so it’s like a haunted house, but it’s all strung out along the trail.”
All proceeds go to the local Brazos Valley Food Bank. Mansour said there are precautionary measures in place to protect guests, which include face coverings being required at all times on the property and a designated sanitation crew that will frequently clean high-contact surfaces along the trail.
Another spooky destination, the Fright Nights Haunted House, is run by Stagecenter Community Theatre. Board president Cindy Burr said the haunted house started 10 years ago but has changed locations for 2020.
“This year we wanted a bigger location because of COVID-19,” Burr said. “We were lucky enough to find a bigger location, so our rooms are bigger and we can social distance.”
Along with social distancing, Burr said Fright Nights is taking other precautions such as limiting the number of guests in a group to six and requiring masks to be worn by both guests and the haunted house actors. Tickets can be purchased at the door for $10, and the proceeds support more than just Stagecenter.
“We’re also teaming with Trinity Oaks and Starkids, another wonderful 501c-3 that COVID-19 has also affected,” Burr said. “They take children of fallen heroes and police officers — and also people that are terminally ill — that would like to go on a fishing trip and a hunting trip.”
Halloweentown in Downtown Bryan will allow members of the community to have a safe trick-or-treating event. Public relations and communications manager of Destination Bryan Abigail Noel said Candy 95, a radio station, usually hosts the event at the George Bush Library, but had to change locations this year.
“They reached out to us a couple months ago and wanted to bring the Halloween event to downtown,” Noel said. “[Halloweentown] will be outside on the streets of downtown Bryan, so we’ll have the streets closed off. We’ll have booth spaces set up in parking spaces that will be six to eight feet apart.”
Masks are required at the event, and booth attendees will place candy on their tables for guests to pick up without any contact. Noel said there will be more than 15 booths at the event.
“I know Halloween is looking so different this year for everyone and especially for families with little kids,” Noel said. “We’re just wanting to provide a very safe, outdoor event that’s free for the community to come and enjoy.”
More information about these events can be found on the Wicked Woods Facebook page, Fright Nights Downtown Facebook page and Downtown Bryan’s website.