ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — At The Haunted Trail, spooky season is for everyone … even the scaredy-cats. The annual family-friendly Halloween attraction is back for its 13th season.

The Haunted Trail is a production by Asheville Plays and presented by Mellow Mushroom. The attraction will be open from 6-9 p.m., Oct. 17-19 and 23-26, at the Adventure Center of Asheville, 85 Expo Drive.

Tickets for the trail are $20 with children age 3 and under admitted for free. $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to MANNA FoodBank. Find tickets here.

What to expect at The Haunted Trail

“We are inspired by classic Halloween,” said Lauren Rivas, creative director of Asheville Plays.

Rivas is the creative mind behind the costumes, many of the sets and the scripts for The Haunted Trail, working in collaboration with the owners of Asheville Plays, Arica Haro and Hans Bonzer, and between 40 and 50 actors to bring the show to life.

(Courtesy: Lauren Rivas) Pirates and mermaids are just a few of the characters you might meet on The Haunted Trail.

The trail is geared toward kids ages 3 to 12, an age range Rivas defines as “past the pumpkin patch and just not ready for Freddy.” For the Asheville Plays team, creating their safe space for children to experience kid-friendly scares is a vital autumnal mission.

“It really is so important to us and we do believe in that mission. It is a need,” Rivas said. “Especially in today’s world that we live in. Without getting too much on a soapbox, like, real life is pretty scary enough. So, we like to stay on the silly side of our escape from reality.”

Instead of blood, guts and gore, the vignettes along The Haunted Trail are populated by mad scientists, pirates, mermaids and even a “spaghetti puppet monster.” Guests can expect to dance at an alien disco, go to the circus and meet mushroom fairies – Mellow Mushroom will have pizza for sale at the event.

(Courtesy: Elliot Schwartz) The alien disco is one attraction on The Haunted Trail.

(Courtesy: Ray Fowley) Look out for the rat at The Haunted Trail circus.

(Courtesy: Elliot Schwartz) Mushroom Fairies will appear at the event, which is sponsored by Mellow Mushroom.

During one interactive theater segment on The Haunted Trail, families meet Frankie, a “sleeping” Frankenstein’s monster prop.

“We have families where The Haunted Trail is their tradition for Halloween, and the kids come every year to give their new idea for the doctor on how to wake up Frankie, be it ‘Tickle his feet!’ or ‘Kiss him, kiss him!’ or just amazing things that kids come up with, and our poor little actors have to do it,” Rivas laughed. “So, that 70 year old Frankenstein prop gets a lot of kisses.”

While there are plenty of vignettes based on fairy tales like “Hansel and Gretel” or featuring fantasy characters like mermaids, there are still plenty of spooky scenes at The Haunted Trail, Rivas promised.

“I think all of our audiences love spooky. I always say, The Addams Family is throwing a birthday party for Scooby-Doo hosted at the Munsters’ Mansion. That’s our vibe,” Rivas said. “If you like skeletons and ghosts and you like the occasional ‘What was that?!’ We have a roaming bush man who pops up sometimes to the surprise of our entire staff as well, so, like, I’m not saying that it’s Charlie Brown, because it isn’t. But it definitely is more story based. It’s theater in the woods. It’s not blood and guts.”

For more about The Haunted Trail, visit www.hauntedtrailwnc.com.