Creepy Nights on Calamo 2013
Where: 7104 Calamo St., Springfield, Va. 22150
When: Open Friday and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. and Halloween night from 7 to 10 p.m. Halloween Trick-or-Treat Thursday, from 7 to 10 p.m. Candy or special treats for anyone in costume that makes it to the door (via the walk). There is no charge for the haunt;
canned or nonperishable food donations (for ECHO food pantry) will be gratefully accepted but are not required.
“In May we get to travel and relax and see what others are doing to prepare for Halloween.”
But come August, the Bartrams start unloading the two 10-foot by 20-foot tents in which they keep their spooky materials and mechanized props — many designed and hand-built by Chris — in order to begin setting up the framework for the Halloween haunt.
Evolving every year since its inception in 2006, the haunt this year consists of a guided walk through the Bartrams’ property consisting of graveyards, haunted mineshafts, zombie-laden toxic dump sites, field hospitals, the office of a crazed mad physician, and a morgue. All look professional, and all have shocking surprises for guests.
The walk can average between 10 and 20 minutes, as guests wind and scream their way through the labyrinth of horror.
“We generally work 10 hour days every weekend from August up until the last week in October getting ready for this,” Chris said. “It’s truly a labor of love.”
Dubbed the “Creepy Nights on Calamo” after the street on which they live, the haunted walk has become a local destination for Fairfax County families who want to experience the true Halloween spirit that Chris Bartram says has become hard to come by in the modern age.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20131023/NEWS/131029607/get-scared-for-a-good-cause-in-springfield&template=fairfaxTimes