“Growing up, I just always really enjoyed Halloween and making people scared. And I think that comes from the theater kid aspect of me. And the creativity—Halloween is a good outlet for my creativity.” Colton Bagley, a junior at Nokomis, is the creator/director of his own haunted trail in Saint Albans, Maine. Hell’s Door Haunted Farm is a local hotspot of the Halloween season. This eerie experience is one for the entire family.
Open in the final weekends of October, Bagley begins planning this elaborate attraction in March. Following the establishment of the concept is clearing new trails, designing the sets, creating characters and their costumes, and casting. October consists of technical work such as lighting. “I obviously have to sort through costumes and make sure every character is costumed in a way that tells a story. Because telling a story is a big thing for me.” When asked why having a coherent theme throughout the haunted trail is so important to Bagley, he stressed, “So, I’ve been through haunted houses before that, it’s like, one minute you’re in a butcher shop and then you’re in a swamp. It’s not good for the flow… You can connect with a character and the set and the place. And you can feel like you’re really trapped in a story.”
Bagley’s form of storytelling is in his blood. He gets many of his props and masks from a relative who ran a haunted trail for many years. The majority of his other set pieces and props he creates himself. Whether he gets materials from his backyard or thrift stores, Bagley finds importance in creating authentic pieces. In a world where it is easy for creators to just go to a Halloween store and spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on mechanical props and decor, Bagley finds that to be unnecessary. “I’m very big on making a quality haunt without spending a lot of money. Because I know you can. It’s not a hard thing to do. You just have to put that time in to commit towards it.” When you go to Hell’s Door Haunted Trail, you can be sure that it is original and unlike any haunted house you’ve experienced before.
One of the many set pieces created by Bagley
Detailed and intricate set design is important to Bagley, as is pictured in the “slaughterhouse” section of this year’s trail
Those who help create such an effective narrative for the customers are solely members of the community. Bagley praises his mother for “keeping him balanced,” his father for helping him with landscaping, and his 40+ actors. Not only were all of his actors from the community, but the majority of them are students or alumni of Nokomis. “I have three very important people this year who have been keeping me sane: Allie Grozik (Senior), Katelynn Lessner (alumni), and Hannah Lessner (Junior). They’ve kind of been keeping my mind so it doesn’t explode, which is very important—finding a good cast that keeps you balanced.” I asked Bagley what the amount of Nokomis volunteers says about the warrior community. He answered, “It just really goes to show that there are a lot of really amazing people who want to be involved. And I think that involvement is what keeps our community moving, and brings people together. It creates another sense of community (within itself) because this is like family here. Everyone works together… And I think that’s amazing because everyone is just so willing to work together.”
Hannah Lessner, Junior, one of Bagley’s greatest assets
(Left) Allie Grozik, senior, also accredited by Bagley
(Right) Cayley Bowman, senior
A factor that greatly impacted the functioning of Hell’s Door Haunted Farm was the COVID-19 pandemic. Bagley took precautions to ensure safety of the trail. Groups entering the haunted trail were spaced 6 feet apart while waiting in line. Actors wore masks. Some wore them under the Halloween masks they already had on, and maintained as much distance from the customers as possible. The haunted house section of the trail was removed, as Bagley knew they wouldn’t be able to maintain distance from the customers. Despite the coronavirus, Bagley reflects, “This has been the busiest year I’ve seen for us. I know we’ve only been doing it for two years, so that’s not hard to beat. But I was blown away with the crowds we got. I think that’s in part to people needing something to do. They’ve been pent up for so long, not a lot is going on. So this is a really good outlet for people to come get scared and do something fun.”
With the great success of the trail this year, Bagley is being very charitable with his profit. “The proceeds this year are benefiting the junior class, so we can pay for prom.” As the secretary of the class of 2022 Student Council, Bagley recognizes that it has been nearly impossible to fundraise since March of 2020. With this being a crucial time for his class to fundraise for things such as prom and the senior class trip, Bagley reflects the true selflessness of a warrior with his donation.