A foster family for the Humane Society has opened their home to more than just puppies and kittens this Halloween season, volunteering their property for the second annual Humane Society Haunted Trail.

Anthropology instructor Heather Amaral, her husband, Craig Amaral, and their two sons volunteer their time as a foster family for homeless animals in the Humane Society and have helped over 650 stray animals.

“Taking care of animals is my wife’s passion, and my favorite holiday is Halloween, so we enjoy having the Haunted Trail on our property,” Craig Amaral said.

There are 20 students who volunteer to scare people from the Honor Society Tau Beta Sigma and Humane Society volunteers, Heather Amaral said.

The Humane Society of Statesboro and Bulloch County held the Haunted Trail this past Friday and Saturday and will continue to spook thrill seekers this weekend on Friday, Oct. 26 and Saturday, Oct. 27. The Haunted Trail costs $5 to enter, and all of the proceeds raised will go toward the Humane Society.

A series of dirt roads with foggy ponds leads to the Haunted Trail, which is located in a rural area on 525 Melrose Pond Rd. in Register, Ga.

“The drive up is part of the ambience— a deliverance movie experience,” Heather Amaral said.

There are three parts to the trail: the wooded area, a maze and a barn, Heather Amaral said.

The volunteers scare people, but my family built this entire trail, Craig Amaral said.

“It took about two months to make everything here. I built the cages, the underground cave in the front and the maze. Most of this I did myself, and my sons helped out,” Craig Amaral said.

The time it takes to go through the entire trail depends on how fast you’re going, Heather Amaral said.

“It took us five minutes to go through, but we were walking pretty fast. I was crying by the time we got to the end,” Leanne Thompson, Statesboro resident, said.

A machete and chainsaw are used by the actors inside of the Haunted Trail, Andrew Acs, junior nursing major and Haunted Trail butcher, said.

“We get mixed reactions. Sometimes we scare people to death, and others just kind of look at you. I don’t know if they are scared or in shock,” Acs said.

“Earlier tonight a little kid got freaked out, and his dad said to him ‘just hold my hand.’ Our clown walked up to them, in a deep voice said hold my hand,” Jordan Walker, volunteer for the humane society and clown in the Haunted Trail, said.

A girl peed on herself after going through the Haunted Trail’s maze and barn area, Heather Amaral said.

Adam Huggins, Humane Society volunteer, said, “I saw her when she went through, but I heard her when she said I just peed on myself.”