Scaremare brings light to darkness: Students and community members gather at popular event

As the autumn breeze swept through the evening air, flannel-clad students and participants gathered in groups for Scaremare. The anticipation was palpable as stilted clowns greeted participants in entry lines. Etched with torches, the trail through the woods and a myriad of jump scares awaited the participants. 

“I’m so excited for Scaremare,” Kaia Harding, a student at Liberty University, said. “I’ve never been, and I’m with my friends. We’ve never been scared like this before. We’re really excited.” 

Liberty student volunteers flocked by the hundreds, ready for the opportunity to share the gospel and earn their CSER hours. Adorned in scary Victorian and animal costumes, their masks and makeup work looked nothing short of impressive. 

“This is my first year doing Scaremare, and I absolutely love it. It is the best way to get your CSER hours, and I highly recommend this experience to anyone,” Julianna Ferrari, a Scaremare volunteer, said. 

As participants meandered through the formidable woods, Scaremare awaited them. Within the house, participants navigated through dark tunnels, touring rooms that featured abandoned places, animatronics, dimmed lights and optical illusions. Frightening sounds echoed in the background as participants traversed 23 additional rooms, an improvement from Scaremare’s past haunted houses and unique component of this year’s rendition of the event. 

Amid the darkness at Scaremare, the light of the gospel shone brightly. At the end of the event, a cross stood as a symbol of Jesus’ victory over death. Outside, white tents with volunteers ready to present the gospel awaited the participants. 

Scaremare is not just a journey through fear and representation of death; it serves as a reminder to all who attend that even in the midst of darkness and sin, the light of Jesus’ salvation shines through. 

Josh Coldren, director of Scaremare and assistant professor with the School of Divinity, described Scaremare’s mission of presenting the gospel through a spooky experience, all while providing a Christian perspective on the Halloween season. 

“We want to take the harvest season — the season when many Christians say, ‘Hey, we don’t celebrate Halloween,’ which we don’t here at Scaremare — and leverage it for the good of the gospel. We try to create scenes of death, scenes of fear, and through that, be able to present the gospel,” Coldren said. 

Indeed, Coldren and his team place a great emphasis on spreading the power of the gospel through Scaremare. 

“We want to see people come to know Christ. At Scaremare, we want to see people step into the light of Jesus. That’s our prayer, and that’s our hope,” Coldren said. “Every night, we stand here as a team, every single volunteer, and that’s what we pray for. We pray that souls will be saved and that people will come to know Christ.” 

Coldren, who has been involved with Scaremare for 21 years, described the history of the tradition. From a small house on Route 460 in 1972 to its present location at an abandoned-looking warehouse off Carroll Avenue, the story of Scaremare has developed and improved over the past 51 years. Scaremare averages around 25,000 participants each year, with approximately 2,500 of them responding to the message of the gospel. 

For Coldren and his team, Scaremare represents unity, bringing students and staff together for a tradition held dearly by the Liberty and Lynchburg communities. 

“I love seeing the students coming together and working together to put on this event along with the staff that’s here. When we come together, and when we’re united around the gospel and it’s centered upon Jesus, that can be accomplished here,” Coldren said. 

Scaremare will continue to operate from Thursday, Oct. 26 to Saturday, Oct. 28 at 2300 Carroll Ave. in Lynchburg. To learn more about Scaremare, visit this website. 

Solem is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion