When I was a kid growing up in the 1980s, one of the things we always looked forward to each fall was crossing the river to Portsmouth and visiting the Jaycee’s Haunted House. As a kid I didn’t understand the role of the Jaycees or the Chamber of Commerce. I didn’t appreciate that, by crossing that river, coming from out of state, visiting the attraction, and stopping to pick up footers and ice cream from the little dairy bar on Second Street, we were helping them achieve their mission of promoting local businesses. I might have vaguely known there was some kind of charitable fundraising involved with the haunted house itself – hosted inside an empty warehouse near the railroad tracks on Portsmouth’s east end. But I didn’t care about any of that.
What I cared about was being scared, but not looking like too much of a chicken in front of my older cousin and his much cooler friends.
What I cared about was having fun. And the Jaycees provided it.
Now, as far as I know, Portsmouth doesn’t even have a Jaycees associated with their Chamber anymore. And unless they’ve brought it back recently (and I’m just out of the loop) they definitely don’t host a haunted house.
But for those of us of a certain age, from those communities adjacent to the Ohio River, the group will forever be associated with the Halloween holiday.
Halloween is no less popular today than it was when I was a kid. Probably more so, to be honest.
Fans of the holiday, and spooky things in general, keep the Halloween spirit alive all year long.
Events like FearFest draw fans of the macabre from not just across the river, but from across the country and beyond to visit, eat, shop, and enjoy their stay in Kentucky.
It’s something that Carter Caves used to do as well, with their Haunted Trail – an institution that will probably someday evoke the same nostalgia in certain segments of Gen Z that the Jaycees Haunted House does in my Gen X cohorts today.
The closure of the Haunted Trail, coinciding as it did with the covid-19 pandemic and tightening requirements on social distancing, was understandable. Combine the pandemic restrictions with the work that goes into organizing such an event, even in a good year, and keeping the whole thing fresh and compelling season after season, and I could see how it might even have been a relief to organizers to finally let it go and take a break.
But the community lost more than just a fun activity with the suspension of the haunted attraction
Carter Caves lost an important opportunity to market the park, bringing folks out for the fun and frights, for sure. But then bringing them back again to enjoy the fall foliage during the day time. Or the wildflowers and greenery come the following spring.
The community also lost a great source of fundraising and food donations to combat childhood hunger.
Then there are the restaurants and gas stations and convenience stores across the county who lost resources from visitors who used to stop and purchase fuel or food or caffeinated beverages for the drive back home.
I’m not sure of the exact numbers (though I am sure that Carter County Tourism has the figures available somewhere), but if I recollect properly the number of visitors the Haunted Trail drew from communities outside Carter County wasn’t insignificant.
By every possible measure, the Haunted Trail was a positive event for the county’s people and its business community – the kind of thing people looked forward to all year long.
If it truly is gone, never to return to Carter Caves, we understand. It’s a lot of work, and a lot to ask anyone to take on.
But we also can’t help but cross our fingers and hope that, if Carter Caves is out of the haunted attraction business, perhaps some other organization can step into the void, organize an amazing fundraiser, and bring visitors back to Carter County; to build the kind of Fall holiday memories that will last today’s children for a lifetime too.
