Prepare to scare
Liberty will host annual Scaremare event to reach community
Scaremare is slinking back into action Thursday, Oct. 9 and will continue to run every Thursday through Saturday, Oct. 9-25.
Message — Scaremare enlists student volunteers every October to create a haunted trail and house in order to present the gospel. Photo credit: Ruth Bibby
Scaremare takes attendees on a journey, passing through creepy trails, dark woods and eventually entering the houses. According to Scaremare’s official website, the event is a way for Liberty to creatively present death scenes and ask the question, “What happens after I die?”
In the last two years, Scaremare has seen major changes to the event. This year, attendees can expect to see some changes to the wooded areas as well as some thematic differences in the second building, according to Steve Vandergriff, Scaremare director.
“The … other building is going to be a little more thematic, and what we mean by that is it’s going to be a little more message than fright,” Vandergriff said.
According to Vandergriff, there will not be a high amount of drama as in some Christian haunted houses. Rather, the thematic elements will be more realistic.
“We’re finding out that we need to … settle the students down so that when they get into our preaching area, they’re more receptive … after being scared to death,” Vandergriff said.
Last year, Scaremare had just under 25,000 visitors, and the year before that, 25,000-plus people were in attendance. According to Vandergriff, the number in attendance is largely determined by the weather.
“We don’t care about the temperature, but if we have dry weather, we’ll be good,” Vandergriff said. “But if it’s wet, it will impact our attendance dramatically.”
Scaremare attracts a wide variety of visitors every year, some of them from out of state.
“(B)esides Virginia, I would say North Carolina is definitely a high attendance state, but I’ve seen them from Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” Vandergriff said. “One year, we had a group — this was their destination — from Florida.”
Scaremare is run mostly by Liberty student volunteers.
“We think we’re (using) 120 to 150 (students) each night,” Vandergriff said.
Once attendees have reached their journey’s end, they are brought into tents where the message of the gospel is presented by Liberty students. This year, Scaremare is partnering with a ministry called I Am Second in order to carry the discussion of the gospel further after attendees have left the preaching tents.
“(The I Am Second) website … I think is extremely relevant for teenagers and students,” Vandergriff said. “Our intent is to present faith in Christ at the end, but when (attendees) leave, … hopefully we’ll drive students to that website.”
According to Vandergriff, partnering with I Am Second is a way to improve follow-up with the gospel message, which sometimes proves to be logistically difficult on site at Scaremare.
“We’re thinking if we get kids going to a website that’s just crystal clear on the message, that would be a huge step in the right direction,” Vandergriff said.
All attendees will receive an I Am Second wrist band, which is designed to drive students to the website, according to Vandergriff.
While many changes have been made to Scaremare over the years, the purpose of the event remains the same.
“(T)his is my 14th year doing it and the purpose is evangelism and outreach,” Vandergriff said. “I think a part of my goal is that I want whoever comes through here to have a good time. I want to make sure they’re getting the value for the price of the ticket, and then that it will give us the opportunity to talk
about Christ.”
Tickets for Scaremare are $8, but college students and military personnel with a valid ID can attend for $3 every Thursday night.
For more information on Scaremare, visit liberty.edu/scaremare.
BUNNER is a feature reporter.