Shelia Durflinger of Bruning organizes the event, having taken over for a family
member in 2019 after being a participant for a few years. She works with other
families to create a haunted walk through the woods on a trail connecting two
sections of the park's west campground. There, visitors might find their heart skip
a beat when someone jumps out of a bush or from behind a tree, be begged for
help from someone strapped in a guillotine or grossed out by the body parts on the
butcher's table.
"It's just a lot of fun," Durflinger said. "We've been doing it since our kids were
little. They really get into it and like helping, and they liked trick-or-treating. Now
they like being the scarers.
"I live in the country, so no one comes to my house trick-or-treating and no one
gets to see my decorations, so I take them to Alex for a weekend and let everybody
see them."
Whether you enjoy watching smiles on the faces of your children as they roam
the campgrounds in costume, or like passing out candy to those smiling faces in
front of your camper, Alexandria SRA is a bloody good place to be on a Saturday
night in late October.
N
Daniel Durflinger and Brent and Layne Wolfe man their butcher's table along the haunted
walk through the woods.
October 2026 • Nebraskaland 31
