‘It’s a lot of fun’: New Brunswick family goes all out with spooky Halloween display

One family in St. Martins, N.B., has turned their passion for Halloween into something the entire greater community can enjoy.

Three years ago Chelsey Taylor and her husband had an idea. Why not make use of their rural property in St. Martins, N.B., to celebrate one of their favourite holidays in a way the entire community can enjoy?

“We really love Halloween,” says Taylor. “We went to a couple of haunted places in Saint John, and we just got inspired and decided to make our own.”

In what is now its third year, second being open to the public, Haunted Chapel Flats is a Halloween display the family has erected across multiple acres of the property. The spooky and at times frightening set up features hundreds of decorations, animatronics, lighting effects, a spooky trail, and various themed displays.

The set-up work for Taylor, her husband, and their four daughters begins in the summer.

“They don’t enjoy so much the building part of it, but they do enjoy it,” Taylor jokes. “When the kids come in, they’re little tour guides and they get to show everyone around and that’s their favourite part.”

The four daughters, named Remi, Raelyn, Paisley, and Ellie, even sometimes play the role of scare actors along with their friends.

• In Pictures: Haunted Chapel Flats

“It’s a lot of fun,” says Raelyn, who adds her favourite part of the display is the backyard which features a skeleton saloon and witches lair.

Taylor says the various props have been collected over the years, and many of the displays are built by her husband. That includes a small chapel, which was the inaugural piece of the now wide-ranging set up.

Outside of the family’s love of Halloween, Taylor says a big part of the motivation behind the efforts is the reaction of others.

“The biggest reason that we do it really is just to see the smiles on the kids faces, and even adults,” Taylor says. “We have grown adults who come through without children that love it and it makes you feel like a kid again.”

As for future years, Taylor says they have three additional acres of property they may expand onto in the future with the addition of an extended haunted trail.

While there is no admission price to walk through the nearly two acres of stretching spooky trails, Taylor asks those who are able to bring a non-perishable food item in support of Lakewood Headstart.

To cap off the scary season, Haunted Chapel Flats is hosting a Kids Spooky Dance Party on Oct. 25.

Haunted Chapel Flats is open Friday and Saturday nights from around 6 to 9 p.m. weather depending. Halloween hits will be spun by DJ Skellix and includes prizes for the best costume.

“The amount of people that have shown up, it’s really cool to see,” Taylor admits. “The people that return, they were here last year, and they couldn’t wait to see what we did new this year. I just say, ‘Well, we still have more for next year.’”

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