The Norfolk County Agricultural High School (NCAHS) hosted their 34th annual Haunted Hayride this October. The Haunted Hayride is a student run event that NCAHS holds every year to support their academic programs and bring Halloween spirit to the community. Guests are taken through the school’s campus and woods aboard a tractor that goes through many creepy and eerie sights throughout the ride.
NCAHS is a vocational high school where students gain unique and specialized skills for majors that normal high school programs don’t offer. Some of these skills include environmental science, agricultural mechanics and animal and marine science. All of the donations and money made from this event are used to support the programs and students at NCAHS. The performers are all student volunteers and staff. The creepy sets seen during the ride are also mainly student made.
The Hayride is loved by many people in Walpole, and by other surrounding towns. The theme for this year’s hayride was “Will You Face The Beast?” Before the ride, there are many activities available to everyone, including face painting, games, concession stands and NCAHS merchandise. Actors walk around frightening visitors while people are waiting in line.
“I enjoy the hayride because it brings me so much childhood nostalgia from all the years I’ve been going to it and I like watching how creative the NCAHS students can get each year,” Walpole High School student Leyla Antonetti said.
Scenes included each year vary based on ideas that the students and staff come up with. Fan favorites, like the chainsaws, train and alien scenes often reoccur year after year. After the ride, there is a QR code that guests can scan to vote for their favorite sights from the year that they would like to see again the next year.
“My favorite sights from the last few years have been the jail break, woodshop, angry farmers and the witches,” Antonetti said.
The event ran on the Friday and Saturday nights of Oct. 17-18 and 24-25. Tickets were $13 per person for a 25 minute ride. Each night, the event ran from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“I like going to the hayride when it is darker out because it creates a more spooky feel. I don’t see any of the actors on the side during the ride so it makes it more fun,” Antonetti said.
NCAHS has wrapped another successful year filled with fun and excitement at the annual haunted hayride. Both Walpole residents and the school look forward to next year’s Hayride, which will be filled with more fun and scares to raise money for their programs and support the students who have put a lot of their time and effort into giving residents something to do during the Halloween season.
