You know its Fall Festival time when the winds of change transform from Summer to Fall. Then it’s football on Friday nights, balloons in the sky, bonfires at night and of course all the scary things that run back on the haunted trail.

For us on Cox Hill, it’s the smell of diesel coming from the tractor. There’s just something distinctive about it that is a reminder of trail time.

We have been doing this a long time for this community. To be quite frank, we have absolutely no idea how many years we have been doing this. Time has surely gotten away from us. However, there are still tons of people who have never heard of it.

I run into people all the time and they see my Cox Hill shirt that I’m wearing and ask about it. But I can tell you, once you have been, it’s something you look forward to every year, especially if you love Halloween like we do.

We have all the characters — Jason, Freddy, Michael Myers, Leather Face and a few others. And of course we have clowns. I mean, what kind of haunted trail would we be without them. Personally I don’t like clowns, but they seem to be popular these days and obviously hard to avoid.

There’s also something to do up front at the festival site while you wait for the trail ride. There are booths for kids. We have vendors that will have their own tents set up with their own products to sell. We have music by DJ Chris Robbins with DJ Foxx Productions, bonfires and of course there is food.

The concession stand has a variety of foods and drinks while you have fun at the festival site. We do not serve alcohol, and it is not permitted on the site. This is a family event and alcohol is not allowed.

We also have security to provide a safe place for you, your children and our children as well.

We bring something unique back to the people.  We care about our community and we give back to it by investing in the people. This annual event is something people see as something to do on Halloween. Well we see it as a benefit. Because that’s what it is. We give the money raised to those in need. From something as small as helping someone with a utility bill to helping pay for a funeral expense. We do what we can for the local community and then some. We can’t heal the world but this is our place to start.

This year, the 2017 event will take place the last three weekends of October. The dates are Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 31. All events will start at 7 p.m. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, we will only have three rides that night.

We had to shorten the rides on Halloween night because it is a school night and we have a lot of school kids that work the trail. We apologize for any inconveniences that this may cause.

The admission to the festival is $15 for adults and $5 for ages 12 and under. Money raised from this event will go to help several families in need. 

Please come out and be a part of this annual event. It is for a good cause and you will enjoy every minute of it. Bring a chair and come listen to DJ Foxx and friends. They will keep you entertained until closing time.

For more information, or if you would like to donate or help with the trail in any way, please contact Jody Stevens at 601-431-3162 or Cathy Warren at 601-431-7843   

P.S. Michael Myers will be giving out free kisses after each trail ride.

Crystal Warren is the co-organizer for Cox Hill Haunted Trail.