ASTATULA, Fla. – Like most people during the month of December, many take the time to decorate their house for the holidays, but Ashley Miller chose to put a spooky spin on this tradition back in 2020.
Miller transformed her garage in her Lockhart home into a Christmas haunt.
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“I decided, you know, life is a little bit too short. I want to pursue and follow my dreams,” Miller said.
Four years later, Miller and her team at Tales of Terror are ready to open the first high-intensity Christmas haunt in Central Florida in its new venue.
This marks the second professional year for the event, with its debut in 2022.
It is located at 14200 Corkwood Lane in Astatula and runs for four nights, Dec. 14,15, 20 and 21.
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“It is back woods. So, keep that in mind. There’s a long, creepy wooded pathway you have to drive down to, but to me that adds to the ambience,” Miller said.
The holiday haunt is for those 18 years and older – and it features two trails, a scare zone, photo ops, food trucks and live entertainment, Miller said.
The theme for the haunt is “Krampus’ Festival of Frights” and one of the trails even takes guests to Krampus’s home. The other trail takes those who are brave enough up close to the elf assembly line – but the workers are rioting against the jolly man.
“What makes us different is that you can go through the haunt over and over again and never experience the same interaction twice. It’s kind of like a choose your own adventure experience,” she said.
Before running a horror attraction business, Miller used to work for nonprofits, including the Coalition for the Homeless. She also runs a piercing shop, but she said she has always been interested in being creative and crafting backstories.
However, after booking a guest spot at a Polk County haunt – Sir Henry’s Haunted Trail – that ignited the passion to create her own spooky attraction.
All in all, her plan for Tales of Terror she said is to turn the venue into a year-round adult themed horror park. She said she would like to do other events such as a Valentine’s Day haunt.
“We want to be able to do all different kinds of completely unique experiences that Florida hasn’t seen before.” Miller said.
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