Wednesday, October 29, 1997
Fright Night is a fearful family tradition
By Ken Ellsworth / Abilene Reporter-News
HAWLEY -- BOO!
I get to say that because it is that time of year.
The Cadle family of Hawley gets to say "BOO!" too,
or worse, because every year at this time, or at least for the
past five years, they have gone into the business of scaring people
out of their wits with their family-produced haunted house. You
might say they are a family which has become expert at producing
fear.
Is fear a profitable business for them, like it has been for
the movie industry?
No, not by a long shot. The Cadles are lucky to break even.
Is it profitable, though, in terms of enjoyment to produce
fright?
Well, for the Cadle family and the four generations of them
that participate, it sure is.
"It's just fun to see their faces. They're just freaked
out most of the time. They don't know where to go or what to do.
It's just funny watching them," said Gary Cadle, 28, whose
love of haunted houses inspired him five years ago to create his
own haunted house in his house, even at the cost of having to
move the furniture out.
Gary Cadle's grandfather, Mac McDonald, gets a kick out of
it too.
"We've got one guy who comes through every year. Why he's
just a big old fraidy cat. He hides behind people. He even hides
behind his wife!" McDonald, 69, said as he laughed hard.
Friday night during the haunted house's Fright Night he will
play an undertaker called the Grave Master in one of the nine
skits that the family will produce.
"Can we have your business?" McDonald said Tuesday.
He said it smoothly and eerily in his Grave Master voice, but
with a twinkle in his eye.
Standing next to him was his son, Steve Cadle, the father of
Gary.
"He really gets into it," Steve Cadle said of his
father.
Steve Cadle was working hard to get his former flea market
building ready for Halloween. He was surrounded by speakers, wiring,
black sheets of plastic, strobe lights, home made caskets, papier-mache
mummies, and his tools.
He said the whole thing was a family operation. About fifteen
family members take part and, maybe, a half a dozen friends.
"When we started out it was just a little thing for trick-or-treaters.
But it just kept getting bigger and bigger," Steve Cadle
said. "And we found out how much hard work it was and how
hard it was to think of new ideas for skits every year."
He said he and son Gary had been inspired by the old horror
movies.
"Well, I guess that was a big thing when I was young,
going to all those Saturday movies. Today, there's too much gore.
But I used to like the suspense. And I guess Gary got that from
me."
Accordingly, Steve Cadle said, their haunted house was based
on suspense, not gore.
"We don't reach out and grab anyone. You won't see any
fake blood, we don't have a chainsaw," he said.
Still, he said, it has been a pretty scary place for some.
"Some of the adults won't even come through," he
said. "But when adults do come through, it is usually them
that take off running, not the kids. I've had 'em run clean over
me. We just try to confine them so they won't get hurt."
"We just try to scare 'em, not petrify them," McDonald
said.
The Cadle haunted house features nine two-minute skits. You
can request the adult tour or the toned down children's tour.
Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for children.
The location of the haunted house is six miles north of Hawley
on U.S. Highway 277 in the parking lot of Roundup Used Cars, which
is right across the highway from the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church,
the church famous for its bright "Jesus Saves" neon
sign. Fright Night begins at 7:30 p.m. and ends 11:30 p.m.
If you are very brave, ask the Cadle's to see the mysterious
dead body. I, though, am not that brave.
This column covers the cities and communities of this part
of West Texas. To contact Ken Ellsworth, call (800) 588-6397 or
(915) 676-6777, or write to P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604.
Send a Letter to the Editor about This
Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
|
