Monsters, miners and plenty of scares await at Beban Park Fairgrounds beginning this weekend, with a six night Halloween Haunt raising money toward rebuilding the VIEx's condemned barns. (Owen Stanley)

By Alex Rawnsley

enter, if you dare

‘On the much scarier side:’ coal mine explosion scene of latest Nanaimo Halloween haunt

Oct 22, 2025 | 10:33 AM

NANAIMO — Locals keen for a scare this Halloween will get the opportunity over six nights to explore the story of the town of Ash Hollows.

For the third year in a row, Owen Stanley and his family have set up an interactive and immersive Halloween walk-through experience inside the main barn of the Beban Park Fairgrounds, but this year’s experience is expanding, beginning Friday, Oct. 24.

Stanley told NanaimoNewsNOW they’ve shifted the layout inside the barn, having people enter via a side door instead of the main front entrance to create more usable space inside.

“It helped us kind of get more of a longer layout. Our hallways are a bit shorter, our rooms are a bit bigger and smaller, and the props and decorations, they’ve grown so much over the past three years. I’ve learned so much myself, as well as my family, and it’s gotten so much better.”

The haunt will be open on Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct 25, then again Monday, Oct. 27, Tuesday, Oct. 28, Thursday, Oct. 30 and Friday, Oct. 31.

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Opening ‘scaremonies’ are at 5:55 p.m., with guests welcomed inside between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. each night.

Actors and ambience all contribute to an immersive experience. (Owen Stanley)

This year’s story revolves around Foreman Elias Crow and his Prosper Peak Mine in the fictional coal mining town of Ash Hollow.

“A rival mine in the town of Ash Hollow, it actually exploded. Elias Crow was greedy for money, so he sent every man and woman he could find in the town of Ash Hollow down into that mine shaft to keep digging and keep mining for the coal because there was such a high demand.”

Residents, motivated by greed and Crow’s orders, failed to heed warnings and stayed in the mine for so long, the installation exploded.

The incident left several people trapped, for eternity.

“As you go through the mine, you’re going to see pieces of the explosion. You’re going to see wreckage, you’re going to have the gas that has been coming out of the walls. You’re going to have all that full whole interactive, immersive experience.”

A dozen actors will provide extra scares as visitors navigate through the setup, which took roughly two and a half weeks for Stanley and his extended family to construct.

He said the show is adjustable, depending on who comes through, although Stanley recommends kids be at least five years old.

“We tend to be on the much scarier side, however, if you do decide to bring your little ones for a night, all of our actors are trained to know that if there is a younger child in the haunt they are to take it easier, and they’re not going to give them the absolute full scare experience.”

Entrance to the haunt is by donation, with a minimum request of $5 per person.

Money collected will be donated to the Vancouver Island Exhibition and their bid to reconstruct condemned barns at Beban Park.

In past years, the event has raised an average of around $5,000 to $6,000, with Stanley hopeful to exceed $10,000 this year.

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