Haunted Kahnawake woods scaring for a cause for almost two decades
Enter James Day’s Haunted Woods at your own risk.
“It started back in 2005, right in his driveway,” said Day. “We were looking in the back there like that, and me and my cousin were like, ‘Whoa, It'd be cool to do a haunted house.’ We said, ‘Yeah, let's do a haunted house on steroids, though. Let's give them something to remember, for years to come.’”
For Day, Halloween is more than one day a year.
“I live and breathe it every day. I am Halloween,” he said.
He runs the haunted woods annually to support the local Kahnawake food bank.
“It's free, and we just ask for a non-perishable food item for a donation,” he said.
For the past nineteen years, the community has been coming back for more terrifying thrills.
“A lot of kids that come in who have kids now that come that help us and everything over the years,” said Day. “So it's a big community event and it's just fun for everybody.”
Day’s goal is to keep it fun for everybody.
“If you can't handle the haunt, we got you,” said Day. “We're going to take you out of the haunt like that and everything. I don't want to ruin Halloween for nobody.”
Day also offers an adapted experience for those who are neuro-divergent.
“They come through and it's like animatronics, nobody in there,” he said. “So they could get a visual of what's going on, everything like that, and they could feel what we feel without getting jump scared and stuff.”
For Day, “scaring is caring” and it’s a legacy he hopes will inspire future generations.
“I want you to create memories,” he said. “That's what it's all about… I did my part and I'm going to continue to do my part and others are going to follow my footsteps after that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
AI modelling predicts these foods will be hit hardest by inflation next year
The new year won’t bring a resolution to rising food costs, according to a new report that predicts prices to rise as much as five per cent in 2025.
Downtown Vancouver stabbing suspect dead after being shot by police
A suspect is dead after being shot by police in a Vancouver convenience store after two people were injured in a stabbing Wednesday morning, according to authorities.
2 Canadians confirmed dead in Poland, as consular officials gather information
Two Canadians have died following an incident in Poland, CTV News has learned.
Health Canada recalls more than 300 sexual enhancement products in four provinces
Health Canada has recalled hundreds of different sexual enhancements products from stores in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls Donald Trump 'funny guy' in Fox News interview
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called U.S. president-elect Donald Trump a 'funny guy' on Wednesday in an interview with Fox News for his comment that Canada should become the United States's 51st state.
Toddler fatally shot after his 7-year-old brother finds a gun in the family's truck
A two-year-old boy was fatally shot when his seven-year-old brother found a gun in the glovebox of the family's truck in Southern California, authorities said.
DEVELOPING As police search for suspect, disturbing video surfaces after U.S. health-care CEO gunned down in New York
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed Wednesday morning in what investigators suspect was a targeted shooting outside a Manhattan hotel where the health insurer was holding an investor conference.
Millions in Cuba remain in dark after nationwide blackout
Cuba said it was generating only enough electricity to cover about 1/6th of peak demand late on Wednesday, hours after its national grid collapsed leaving millions without power.
'Utterly absurd': Freeland rebuffs Poilievre's offer of two hours to present fall economic statement
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has rebuffed Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's offer to give up two hours of scheduled opposition time next Monday to present the awaited fall economic statement as 'utterly absurd.'