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Prepare to face your fears Friday evening during opening night of the Terror Trail in Sebring.

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published: Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Get scared out of your wits

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

SEBRING -- For those who like to be scared -- who love being free to scream with abandon while the hairs stand up on the back of their necks and their hearts pound wildly -- The Humane Society of Highlands County has a real treat in store.

Starting this Friday the fifth annual Terror Trail is open every Friday and Saturday throughout the month of October.

The event is the Society's major fundraiser. It survives on donations alone.

Make no mistake, the Terror Trails are not for young children. If they were a movie they would be rated PG-13. The evening is a scare-yourself-silly tour of entrails, hacked heads, missing limbs, zombies, vampires, ghouls, ghosts and killer clowns - an evening of gruesome entertainment.

This is why the Humane Society adds the No-Scare Sunday young children's event on Oct. 28. It will be a G-rated afternoon.

But back to the gore and fright.

"We are guaranteed to scare," said Judy Spiegel, president of the Society and organizer of the event. "Both trails are dark, and we feature 65 live and dead characters."

When the subject turned to the Humane Society itself, Spiegel sighed.

"It's been a long, tough summer," she said. "It's been crazy. We're a no-kill shelter. We're over-full, just filled to the brim, and we're getting six or eight calls a day."

Paradoxically, this is good news for families or singles who want to adopt a companion or helper.

"We have dogs of every shape and size," Spiegel said. Cats too.

There are a variety of ticket choices: $7.50 to go on one trail, $11 to tour both trails, and $15 for a Super Ticket that includes a visit to the morgue.

Everyone gets a glow stick at no charge.

There are two tours every Friday and Saturday, 7:30 and 10 p.m.

Of course, it's OK to buy a ticket, and then chicken out.

For more information, call the Humane Society at 655-1522 or Spiegel at 214-6508.