Cheryl Moore Shireman understands that the world has overflowed with too much real fear in the past few months amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
So she figures everyone needs a great escape — one that she can provide via an outdoor, spread out, fright-night-style Halloween experience known as The Haunting at the nonprofit Shireman Homestead in Columbus. She has attracted more than 3,000 people in a month’s time in the past to the family-oriented fun, and ideally would like to double that this year.
This year, the attraction at 7060 W. County Road 200N, opens Friday. After that, it’s open each Friday and Saturday through Oct. 30 before one final night on Halloween.
“I have a feeling we’ll be popular this year since there isn’t as much going on,” Shireman said.
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The socially distanced and mask-required event includes more than a ghost of a chance for seasonal chills. It features a makeshift mine shaft elevator that gives visitors the feeling of descending quickly into the earth; the farm’s live animals dressed as Halloween-style characters from witches to elephants — all in Shireman’s handmade outfits; a spooky Western town, including one farmhouse with a weird, upside-down interior; a spooky slaughterhouse; and of course, a headless horseman peering from the darkness and shooting sparks from his fingertips.
“It’s great for friends and family,” Shireman said. “And it’s also a great date night.”
Here’s the arrangement: from 4 to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays are child-friendly activities for $5 apiece; and 8 to 11 p.m. will be what she calls scare time for $15.
In the past, she has dispatched her headless horseman into nearby areas, including downtown Columbus to clippity-clop around residents to shed light on the fright that could await them on the farm. This year, she has added attractions such as trick horse performer David Davis on Oct. 17, and the Kentucky Cowboys, a Western shootout re-enactment group Oct. 24 to highlight a few shots in the dark.
Plus, a medieval group will visit Oct. 29-31 for sword fights and more.
Shireman uses proceeds from her entertainment to do something she would be afraid to skip — visits to area nursing homes with some of the animals from her farm. Those cuddly critters include a duck, a rabbit, a miniature horse, a miniature donkey and an oversized, unconditional love for older people whom she figures sometimes are forgotten.
Even amid this year’s pandemic, she still has made 112 such area visits, with most of them being moved outdoors for safety. So she is happy to note that, in the past, her Haunting visitors have come from as far away as Fort Wayne for their chills and thrills.
“Every year,” she said, “we see repeat visitors who say this has become an annual family get-together.”
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What: A range of Halloween-oriented offerings, from a descending, makeshift mine shaft to a headless horseman to a variety of ghouls and goblins.
When: 4 to 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 30 and also Oct. 31 are non-scary, child-friendly activities; and 8 to 11 p.m. constitutes "scare time."
Where: The nonprofit Shireman Homestead at 7060 W. County Road 200N.
Cost: $5 for non-scary time; $15 for the scary portion.
Information: Facebook page for Shireman Homestead or shiremanhomestead.com
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