The Ringgold Haunted Depot held its opening weekend. The Ringgold Haunted Depot is a haunted house designed and run by Ringgold City staff and volunteers, along with a hayride, bonfire, and a ghost tour that travels through downtown.
"We've been getting a lot of great comments about the improvements we've made this year," explained City Manager Dan Wright. "Everyone is telling us that for the price, it tops the list of professional halloween events in our area, so that's a good sign." Mr.
Wright coordinates teams in the construction and maintenance of the attraction while a large cast of volunteers, mostly local high school and college students, perform the task of frightening the customers.
On the first Saturday night alone, over 1,200 visitors bought tickets to the different attractions. "Even with all the home games going on, and the weather, that's a great start for this year's event and it grows every weekend," explained Mr. Wright.
Construction of the haunted depot interior requires over two weeks of building beginning in late September. After a dress-rehearsal everything is tested and adjusted to accommodate hundreds of visitors passing through in near complete darkness. "Over the years we've collected a lot of props, masks, and other surprises for people that we're always finding a new use for," explained Parks and Recreation Director Steve Middlebrooks, who heads up the construction process. "It's a lot of fun and people love a good scare." Volunteer actors and actresses take on the roles of monsters and ghosts to frighten patrons as they pass through dark hallways and into terrifying rooms reminiscent of many famous horror films.
Even with all the fun and excitement, the purpose of the Haunted Depot event is a fundraiser for the City's Downtown Development Authority (DDA), which runs a variety of programs to improve building facades, open new parking in the downtown commercial blocks, and develop properties for commercial use. "After expenses, the money is used to help support our Facade Grant program so we see this as a big way of helping our business owners and getting a lot more interest in being active in downtown," explained Joseph Brellenthin, the director of the DDA. "We get sponsorship support from First Volunteer Bank and we work with Graham Dental to promote it, but ultimately it is about getting people excited to come downtown and for the business owners to see real improvements being made," explained Brellenthin.
For more information, call
706/935-3061. The Haunted Depot is on Friday and
Saturday nights from
7-11 p.m. at the Ringgold Depot. Tickets are $8 for the Haunted Depot, $7 for a Ghost Tour of downtown Ringgold, and $3 for a child friendly hayride and bonfire.