Are you brave enough to walk in the woods alone?

That is the question Falcons are faced with at www.thefrightnight.com. But, what exactly is Fright Night?

Imagine a boy walking along an ominous path in the middle of a dense wood with nothing but total darkness surrounding him. The innocent high schooler is slowly creeping his way along while his heart beat is accelerating at every turn. He begins to panic when he hears a crunching noise, like the sound of a person stomping on leaves. Then he becomes aware of something in the shadows. Holding up the dim light of his cell phone, he sees a faint black outline of something or someone.

It was a man.

The man takes a step, then, another step, but he begins to pick up speed. The man is running now directly toward the boy. The boy screams so hard he can barely breathe and the fear consumes him. The boy is sprinting across the path now, but he trips on a jagged rock. Suddenly the man is right above him and he shrieks at the top of his lungs.

For many, this terrifying experience is not only fun, but thrilling.

Fright Night is the Ashburn, Virginia version of a haunted house, except it is on an eerie trail instead of the traditional house. The ticket price ranges from $20.00 to $30.00 and this buys you 30 minutes on a spooky trail with all sorts of monsters and ghouls lunging at you. You are not actually in any real danger considering these “monsters” are simply regular people with a knack for terrifying high schoolers.

The Fright Night was established by the Fire Escape Student Ministry of the Community Church in Ashburn. This group is made up of over 100 students from ten high schools in the area. The proceeds from the event go to the Ashburn Community Church Youth Center.

“I like haunted things. I like being scared without being in danger. It gives you a thrill,” said Elise Readen, a sophomore.

While some enjoy the “Fright” part of Fright Night, others simply enjoy being out.
Ceci Sturman, a sophomore, who attended Fright Night last year, said “It was a nice time to re-kindle old friendships and be scared together.”