Movie horror provides Scarewalk thrills

Take a walk after dark in White Oaks Park Saturday and there's a good chance you'll encounter Freddy Krueger, fictional serial killer from the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies.

Or maybe you'll bump into Carrie, the vengeful teen conjured up by writer Stephen King's imagination, whose story has been told several times on the big screen.

Scenes from the best of the last 50 years of movie-manufactured horror will be on display Saturday, Oct. 21, when the Wood Dale Park District presents its annual Scarewalk, a popular Halloween season event.

"It's our (park district's) 50th anniversary, so we decided to make Scarewalk bigger and better this year," said Wendy Bondi, the district's marketing and public relations manager. "It's going to be something for everyone."

"Each year we try and switch it up," said Kristina Sromek, recreation program manager. "Because it's our 50th anniversary, we thought we'd do something different."

Visitors will travel a milelong path through the forest where they'll witness scary scenes from movies such as "The Ring," "Halloween," and "The Blair Witch Project."

"They will go from vignette to vignette through the nature trail," said Bondi.

"There will be a guide to take them through," said Sromek. All visitors will grab onto a rope that will be strung along the path to keep them with the group, she said.

Sromek said the recreation staff selected 16 of the most bone-chilling scenes from the past 50 years of movies, going back to 1967, the year the park district was established.

For that year, they picked "Rosemary's Baby," a shocking tale about a young couple's experiences among strange neighbors.

For the last few years, she said, clowns have been a popular fright theme that will be carried out this year with a scene from "It," a Stephen King creation that recently hit theaters in the form of a remake.

"The whole experience takes about 20 minutes to walk through," Sromek said. "It is actually through a forested area. It adds to the creepiness factor."

For younger children, a milder, less scary Scarewalk will be presented from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

"It's family friendly, the volunteers won't be as scary," she said.

From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., a more unsettling experience is promised, appropriate for ages 10 and older, she said.

Sromek said young volunteers transform into costumed characters for the event.

"We get about 100 volunteers for this event, mostly from Fenton High School. We also get some Girl Scouts and some seventh- and eighth-graders from Holy Ghost School," she said.

"The volunteers have such a blast. They really make the scenes. We give them descriptions of the scene and then they take it and make it their own."

Bondi said Cupcakes for Courage, a bakery food truck, will be on hand. Bondi said a portion of the Elmhurst-based business's sales will benefit cancer research.

If you go

What: Wood Dale Park District's 2017 Scarewalk - 50 Years of Screams

When: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21

Where: White Oaks Cabin Nature Center, 111 S. Wood Dale Road, Wood Dale

Admission: $6 per person

Info: wdparks.org