KIMBERLY —Zombies and ghosts aren’t supposed to have beating hearts, much less giving ones.

Yet once the screams quiet and the fog lifts from the haunted woods on Kimberly’s Floral Drive, the community will have received far more than goose bumps and a good adrenaline rush.

This year, the Tessen family hopes to raise $4,000 for charity from those lining up for a fright-filled walk through their backyard at 17 Floral Drive. Their fun idea of 11 years ago slowly became much more.

“We never expected to do anything quite like this,” Vicki Tessen said. “It just picked up and grew and grew.”

While haunted fun has long been part of the holiday tradition, Fox Valley homes are more often getting into the holiday spirit with their own attractions. Several neighborhoods are hosting haunts, and among them, many give to charity once the calendar flips to November.

The Tessens have raised thousands of dollars since dedicating their autumn hobby to charity about six or seven years ago. This year, they hope to benefit two needy families with ties to Kimberly and Combined Locks. They also plan to donate to a suicide awareness and prevention program at Kimberly High School.

In Neenah, Sarah Christenson will turn her garage into a fright fest to benefit her non-profit Helping Paws Pet Pantry. She’s accepting cash donations and pet items.

The inspiration for her first haunted garage four years ago came from a look at the budget and her family of six. Haunted houses are expensive.

“We just decided to do it on our own,” she said.

The opportunity to help animals while creating some fun has been an awesome, if not addictive experience.

“Everything’s homemade and we get new ideas,” she said. “It gets bigger and better every year.”

There wouldn’t be charity without the fun.

Before recently setting foot inside Kimberly's Haunted Woods, 5-year-old Connor Odle tried to convince himself there was nothing to fear along the half-acre of trails.

“I am not scared. I am not scared,” he chanted, trying to ignore the creepy cobwebs, deranged dummies and spooky signs he saw while walking through the winding path with his mother, Judy Odle of Appleton.

After making his way out of the maze, Connor emerged with a big smile on his face. The red flashlight his mom carried during their hike through the woods helped put the spooks to sleep.

“I was a little scared of the guy that was chained up,” he said, quickly adding that he wanted to take another tour soon.

About 4,000 children and adults are expected to visit by the time the Tessens shut down for the season.

Vicki Tessen hopes they can make an impact. The importance of suicide prevention efforts has become tragically clear.

“It’s very sad how today’s youth are treated like mini adults … and yet they are not adults and don’t possess an adult’s understanding or coping skills,” she said of the recent string of teen suicides in the Fox Valley.

While the goal is to support local families and youth, Tessen and her family — husband, Doug, and children Kayla, 17; Raechel, 10; and Jared, 7 — also enjoy thinking up ways to scare unsuspecting souls.

“The best spooks are those that know how to be quiet and move very little,” said Tessen, who has about 20 large bins and 25 dummies stored in her attic as well as a shed full of Halloween treasures.

The family begins working on the haunted path every September after school starts.
The attraction usually takes about 1,000 hours to set up. About 25 adults and children — mostly fifth- and sixth-graders from Mapleview Intermediate School — serve as tour guides and spooks.

Tessen, who started the attraction at the request of her daughter Kayla, said she enjoys planning new scares every year.

“I have fun doing it,” she said. “Trying to make it different every year is our biggest challenge. We’re a little insane.”

This year’s attraction petrified 12-year-old Lindsey Vanderloop of Kaukauna, who was shaking after emerging from the haunted woods with her friends.

“I don’t like scary things. I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” she said.

Sharon Hanuszczak-Froberg: 920-729-6622, ext. 27, or shanuszc@postcrescent.com; Jim Collar: 920-993-1000, ext. 216, or jcollar@postcrescent.com