BUCKLAND — The West County Senior Services District is holding its inaugural West County Haunted House, offering residents an evening of scares the week before Halloween.
The haunted house will run from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, at Buckland Public Hall. There’s no price for admission, though donations will be accepted. All proceeds will go to the Buckland Public Hall Committee to support its efforts to add an accessibility ramp at the 15 Upper St. building.
“I was with the Buckland Council on Aging, and [Vice President] Joanne Soroka, my major consultant for this, used to do haunted houses in New York City,” said Juli Moreno, executive director of the West County Senior Services District. “She was telling us stories and we were fascinated. … That was about a year ago. There are four or five of us that actually had the vision, and then we found the Buckland Public Hall.”
While the event is advertised as a haunted house for those ages 18 years or older, Moreno said it’s completely up to the discretion of parents or guardians of younger children if they want to allow kids under 18 to experience the haunted house. Describing the scariness level as an eight out of 10, Moreno said there aren’t many parts of the display that “will make you yelp,” but that every turn has a new scare.
While not giving much away, Moreno said Franklin County’s interim Sheriff Lori Streeter and her wife will play a role in the haunted house.
“I think it’s more of the surprise factor,” Moreno said. “There’s nothing really gory. … There’s some scary aspects, but hopefully it’s also silly. … The Sheriff’s Department is doing Pennywise, which is scary in itself. … How we have it spread out, as you walk through the corridors, there’s going to be something around every corner.”
Moreno said this event acts as a way to show that members of the West County Senior Services District can be active members of the community. That community, Moreno said, came together and helped transform Buckland Public Hall into the haunted house.
“Between the Sheriff’s Office and the libraries, we’ve had help,” Moreno said. “We have a Facebook page for the Senior Center, and I put [the flyer] on there, and people have now reached out.”
Moreno noted that some inspiration came from the ghost stories and the eerie atmosphere of the hilltowns and Massachusetts as a whole, but at the end of the day, this event is more about connecting the region’s senior citizens to the wider general public.
“Our average age at the center is 75, but we also have younger people,” Moreno said. “There’s this identity with generations that lately, I’ve noticed people are starting to label. We didn’t before, but I actually like it. … At the same time, it’s an identity of our culture. Going forward, the Senior Center is going to be doing more. People, especially [baby] boomers, are active and want to be doing more.”
For more information, contact the Senior Center at director@westcountysenior.org or call 413-625-2502.
