Dark corridors, echoing screams and a few brave souls clutching each other in fear — it’s Halloween season again, and the Switchyard is back to give Hattiesburg residents a fright they won’t forget.
For the second year in a row, the downtown venue has transformed its World War II–era buildings into a full-scale haunted house, filled with local actors ready to terrify anyone who dares to enter.
Switchyard owners Louis Gagnet and Marty McAfee say they are thrilled with the haunted house and are excited for what it brings.
“We are excited and our actors are excited to do this,” McAfee said, “and we’ve really upped our game with what we’ve got going on.”
The Switchyard, which was used as a military ammo storage facility throughout World War II, consists of two buildings that house the haunted trail. The tour starts at the sign up desk, where patrons can buy drinks and enjoy a concert by an animatronic skeleton band performing songs like “Spooky Scary Skeletons” and “Monster Mash.”
After exiting the main building, you enter the back building, which is where the haunting begins. Consisting of ghoulish clowns, martyred men and one guy who just wants his axe, the actors are all local citizens with a passion for scaring.
The tour then exits the building through winding bamboo trees where a few more ghouls await, as well as some creepy crawlies.
“It was fun. It was chill. It was scary and they got me a few times,” attendee Carrington Bullock said.
Gagnet and McAfee encourage people with a passion for scaring to come and apply to be a scarer for next year. From clowns and psychos to men with chainsaws and a guy who wants his axe, they say they have a place for any scary point of view out there.
The Switchyard’s Haunted House will be open from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Halloween night. The Switchyard is located at 309 Mobile Street in downtown Hattiesburg. For more information, you can view their Facebook page or their Instagram page, @Switchyard.club
