Family Hosts Haunted Maze In Shrewsbury Again, And It's Awesome

SHREWSBURY, MA—Each year for the past several years, Sean McNamara and his family have been building a Halloween maze in their side yard for the neighborhood kids and Trick or Treaters.

"Last year, because the scope of the maze had grown quite a bit, I thought it would be cool to extend an invitation to the rest of our community to join in the fun, and I'm keeping the tradition going in 2018," said McNamara, who told Patch that even with three days off from work to work on it exclusively, he has only completed a portion of it as of Sept. 20.

The maze is open to anyone from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout October with the exception of Oct. 13 (which is an annual party).

Parental supervision and considerate use of the maze are requested and expected, and no excessive running is allowed. Kids, he said, can touch the ghosts and skeletons gently, but parents should make sure they don't try to move anything; "most of the decorations are wired in place, and we want to be sure that everyone has a safe, happy visit."

"With digital technologies and social media eating up so much of our time nowadays," McNamara told Patch, "it feels really great to see the community come together to share a common experience and make long-lasting family memories. Also, I like Halloween.

The maze is approximately 120' x 80', and has several "rooms" (graveyards) that can be discovered.

"The design is pretty challenging this year!" said McNamara. "If you need a hint, we'll do our best to be outside to help out when needed."

McNamara said that decorations are all reasonably appropriate for all ages; nothing jumps at you (though there are some animated props this year) and there is no blood, gore, or weapons. The maze is well-lit, and filled with ghosts, skeletons, witches, spiders, scarecrows, and jack o' lanterns just hanging out and looking creepy.

"We're looking to help folks make Halloween memories together, not create nightmares for the kids!" he said.
There is no admission charge for the maze, but we will be accepting donations for Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services, Inc. (SYFS) this year, and McNamara's eight-year-old daughter will have a table setup with seasonal snacks and drinks for sale.

The maze is at 48 Hillando Drive in Shrewsbury; just a few minutes south of Dean Park, off of Walnut Street .

The entrance to the maze is near the end of the driveway, and the exit is near the garage.

Enter through the archway near the big tree with the swirling green light and see if your kids can find all of the "rooms" in the maze: the scarecrow room, the witch hut, the spider's lair, the skeleton graveyard, the pet cemetery, and the ghost graveyard! If you want to play a joke on them, ask them to count how many skulls they can find, suggests McNamara.

Photos via Sean McNamara, used with permission