UNION — If there's one thing Andrew Jura loves, it's a good, blood-curdling scream.

As the President of the Friends of the Union Fair Society, who spearheads the annual Trail of Terror, a haunted attraction on the Union Fairgrounds every October, he isn't just the front-facing side of things, he likes to get dressed up in a raggedy clown costume with a face only "It" could love and scare the bojangles out of the people who venture bravely through the Trail.

"I'm focused on making a profit for the organization, but I ended up scaring a lot of people, and it turned out to be a lot of fun," he said.

Alongside him is his spooky sidekick, Anthony Collins, who also gets a charge out of the whole inner workings of the Trail. As a volunteer-run event, both men pitch in as scare actors, set builders, and prop masters.

The Trail is actually two trails, the Soule Trail and Sterlingtown, set up inside a big chicken barn with 400 feet going one way and 400 feet coming back. The partitioned haunted scenes inside have all come from the labor and donations of hundreds of volunteers over the last 10 years — from a gruesome murder kitchen to a maze of giant spiders.

The real appeal to the Trail is how much the set pieces disorient the guests' senses as they walk through with eerie UV lighting, hanging burlap bags obscuring the view, the acrid odor of fog machines, and jarring images designed to instill unease. What else?

Creepy doll collection. Check

Severed mannequin heads. Check

Genuine meat hooks holding body parts. Check.

Then there are the scare actors — some 20 regular volunteers — who take great pleasure in dressing up as individual spooky characters and find just the right spot to jump out and terrify the guests walking through.

"I think their favorite thing is to be able to scare big, tough men," said Jura. "And of course, we have rules in place to keep the actors at a distance."

Jura said teenagers love the Trail the most, sometimes buying two tickets to go through twice.

Haunted Fairgrounds?

The Union Fairgrounds started in 1869. It's not just the Trail of Terror that raises gooseflesh. Jura and Collins both have experienced ghostly sounds and sights at the fairgrounds.

"At night, sometimes when it's just me here, I often hear Model Ts driving around," said Jura. "Doors closing and opening. Laughing and giggling."

"The open sky at night when it's really dark is terrifying in itself," added Collins. "Down toward the racetrack, in the distance, I swear I've seen something like lights that look like an old Ferris wheel in the sky."

In the 1800s, there was a Ferris wheel on the fairgrounds, both men confirmed.

Jura took over the Trail's operations last year. Between him and several dedicated volunteers, they've already put 400 hours into building this year's set pieces to make them even spookier and scarier.

With 1,400 guests coming through last year, the Trail of Terror raised $14,000 through the Friends of the Union Fair Society, which went back into upgrades for the Union Fair.

The Trail of Terror is always looking for donated items to fill out the scenes. While they rely on about 35 volunteers each year, they are always looking for more year-round. Scare actors are highly encouraged; just show up at 5:30 p.m. the night of the event, sign a waiver, and they'll provide you with a costume, makeup, and even a free meal.

Another area of the fairgrounds that Jura has purposely made free to the public this year is the sitting area next to the restaurant with a bandstand.

"We want people to enjoy coming here and having something to eat and listen to a band on the Trail of Terror Nights," said Jura.

On Saturday, October 25, local singer-songwriter Aidan Kaczynski will be performing for free. 

The final weekend of the Trail of Terror at the Union Fair will take place Friday and Saturday night (25 & 26) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Trail organizers will stay until the last guest is through. The cost is $15 per person. Suggested for 13 and older.  Tickets and Details

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com