Mississippi Mills, Ont. family brings Halloween fun to locals

MISSISSIPPI MILLS, ONT. -

When Brianna and Mathieu LaRose opened their farm field in Mississippi Mills, Ont. to local families, they never thought it would become so popular.

Now Rosehill Ranch is bringing in hundreds of people a night at times.

The family was frustrated there weren't many local activities on offer in the stretch between Arnprior and Pakenham, so with two young children and hundreds of acres of space, they created their own family-friendly attraction just in time for Halloween.

"We really wanted to start something up in our area that was a little more family oriented, just to have another option for families to go out and play," says Brianna LaRose. "I would say family is what drove this, more than any specific season or holiday."

On offer at the ranch are horse-drawn wagon rides, hay slides, a bouncy castle, petting zoo, and pumpkin patch. However, their main attraction has been their haunted corn maze, which becomes filled with spooks and thrills every Friday and Saturday night.

On nights when ghosts and ghouls fill the maze, as many as 300 people have been on site at the ranch, getting their fill of the spooky season. LaRose says their success wouldn't be possible without the overwhelming help and support from their community.

"All the people haunting the maze are people who are there because they want to be and because they wanted to help us out as friends and neighbours."

One of those lurking behind the corn on Friday and Saturday night is Andrew Walter.

"There's not too many areas around here that do it quite like this and it's their first year and it turned out really good," says the friend and neighbour of the LaRose's. "So I think it's only going to grow from there each year."

Walter says he is personally responsible for many scares and screams, and credits his ghostly disguise and good timing.

"Oh I just put a little bit of face paint on and then the full moon helped," laughs Walter. "Running through the maze and hiding in the corn stalks, and just running out and scaring people."

For those not interested in a fright, LaRose says the ranch is open until 10 p.m., with lights making all the other attractions available. Now that their haunting setup has garnered so much success, the family is already planning for next season.

"Maybe Christmas, but we're wanting to do something throughout the winter as well," says Mathieu LaRose. "Maybe an outdoor skating rink and horse-drawn sleigh rides."