Haunted Rail event opens Saturday

Dwayne Woodson's hobby for many years has been death.

As a teenager, Woodson witnessed a fatal accident. On White Street, a motorist drove into a moving freight train. The motorist was killed. Since then Woodson has been fascinated with death.

Woodson said that it is safe to say he has one of the largest collections of hearses and caskets in the area. He admits he has collected a bunch of 'strange stuff,” which happens to come in very handy during the Halloween season as part of the annual Midwest Haunted Rails event.

'The railroad themselves does the inside of the building and they begin after Old Threshers,” Woodson said, as he was adjusting some of the displays he had set up outside the building. 'I come out here during the week before and get my stuff set up outside. It is a lot of work.”

As part of the display, Woodson has a running and fully functioning 1962 Cadillac hearse sitting right next to the building on the Old Threshers grounds. He recalls buying the hearse at a yard sale in Ottumwa about 20 years ago for $1,500. His 1987 Cadillac hearse was also displayed.

Woodson said people need to attend the event to get into the Halloween spirit. While admitting he is a 'Christmas person” he said the event will provide thrills and chills for the kids and offer a good time.

The Ghost Train of No Return and the Ghostly Trolley will be offering rides for the next two weekends.

Across the grounds, with about an hour left until the opening this year, Bruce Brown of Sole Expressions Dance Studio was setting up a sound system outside the Thrashers House of Terror. Many of his students were waiting in cars due to the cold snap that had entered the area, dressed in their best zombie outfits.

'We are going to do the original choreography, just the original dance part, from the video ‘Thriller,'” Brown explained. 'We are going to do it every half-hour. They are going to do the same stuff Michael Jackson did.”

He said this is the first year for the dance team to perform. Brown had volunteered to have his dancers perform at the event in conjunction with the annual haunted house.

Grant Davidson, public relations director with Old Threshers, said the house of terror would also be opened every weekend in October for ages 14 and older.

'This is one of Iowa's best haunted houses in southeast Iowa,” he said. 'We have about 20 different rooms of experiences and we are here to scare you.”