No annual Halloween event this year

MT. PLEASANT - The Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers Association along with the Midwest Central Railroad will not be moving forward with their annual Halloween events.

In a statement released Thursday, the association noted the Haunted Rails and Thrashers House of Terror 'are faced with guidelines for 6-foot social distancing, protocols for sanitizing, and cleaning, which creates difficult means for producing this event.”

'We all wish that we could have provided another great Halloween season for all of us this year. The safety of all our volunteers and visitors still is a top priority. We will all get the chance to scare you again in the 2021 Halloween season,” the statement continues.

Each year, several thousand people from Iowa and neighboring states attend the events. Terry McWilliams, CEO of Midwest Old Threshers, said about 9,500 rode the Haunted Rails in 2019 and 6,900 people went through the House of Terror. The haunted house, started in 2007, is Old Threshers second largest event following the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion. Each night of the event requires the contribution of about 100 volunteers.

McWilliams said the decision was made to keep visitors and volunteers safe.

'Some nights, we have 1,000 people going through the haunted house, and some nights we have 2,000 people riding on the trains. We can't make that many people fit with social distancing and staying spread apart,” he said.

McWilliams added the loss of the event will have a financial impact on both Old Threshers and Midwest Central Rails, but an exact dollar amount is hard to determine.

'All the Halloween stuff is driven by nature. A year ago, we had snow in October,” he said. 'It's hard to say what a total dollar amount would be.”

Even though the regular events will not be moving forward, Old Threshers announced they will be hosting a new Halloween activity - escape rooms. Dates and tickets for the rooms will be available Sept. 28. Groups of four to eight are encouraged to sign up for the event.

McWilliams confirmed the organization will be moving forward with its Christmas event, the Festival of Lights.