If you had asked me a year ago, I never would’ve thought that I’d be standing in an old shed every weekend in October for Halloween, dressed as a farmers housewife, covered in blood. I’ll explain that in a bit…

The Farm… About 2 years ago, my sister told me her and my brother-in-law bought a 54 acre farm with a big barn. I was shocked by this news because they had both been (and still are) working in the corporate world of cellphone towers for years! My reaction was “farming?! Huh???”. But, I was also extremely excited for them just randomly taking on this new (pretty hefty) chapter in life…

The barn is from the early 1900’s. It was an old dairy farm. It’s located in Pine Island, NY. It’s got some fascinating history! 2 of the 54 acres are Indian burial ground. This information has been confirmed by archeologists who have researched the entire acreage of the farm in the past. There was evidence of human remains of a Native American that was found, along with their location on the property. It’s all documented in these awesome archeological books that my sister has about the property. There are some sections of the farm where arrow heads can be found. There is also a swampy area which flows through portions of the fields and is noted to have been the way Native Americans had traveled in their canoes throughout the entire Warwick Valley, NY region.

With all of this rich Native American history, it only seemed appropriate for my sister and my brother-in-law to name the property “Thunderbird Farms”. Thunderbird is a powerful Native American symbol. The symbol meaning differs according to region and tribe. This legendary bird is symbolic of things like life, truth and energy. It is considered a powerful sign of destiny….

When they purchased this property, they knew the potential it had. They knew they wanted to eventually use the barn for events and to rent it out to anyone looking for a place for weddings, parties, etc… The barn itself will be getting a slight indoor makeover, like new floors and anything else it needs to “freshen up” but yet, still keeping it rustic and as original as possible.

Along with their future plans of holding events inside the barn, they also needed to get into the agricultural aspect of it all too! When they 1st purchased the property, it needed work, a lot of it… I instantly was willing to give a hand, along with some of their close friends too.

After months of ripping out tons of weeds, rolling away lots of old tires, lifting some of the worlds heaviest wooden pallets and digging up some trenches… I was almost starting to feel like I was taking weekly CrossFit classes! I actually felt fantastic! Finally, after all that clean up, then came the fun stuff. The planting and the partying!

The farm has come a long way in such a short amount of time! We even celebrate outdoor holidays there now too!

Now, moving over to the darker side of things… The fright! About 2 months ago, my sister calls and says “I’ve been approved 10 days in October by the township to be allowed to do a haunted trail through the barn for the public!”. There it was, that feeling all over again. That feeling when she 1st told me 2 years ago that she bought a farm… I was shocked! Yet again, super excited for what was yet to come! Now it was crunch time to turn this farm into a fright fest for all to enjoy!

My family has always been a fan of Halloween…

My mom had such a love of Halloween, it’s certainly why my sister and I love it so much! She’d dress up for work each year… She loved to watch all those classic slasher movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween. She would laugh at them! She was a joyful lady who just loved life and living on the edge. I miss her dearly and I know her and our sister Melly (who was also a huge fan of Halloween) are out there in that haunted trail somewhere, just cackling away at all of the scaring that’s going on!

When my sister had told me about this haunted trail that they had to create, I of course, yet again, instantly sprung into action! This project could not be more up my alley! There’s this old, oblong shaped shed that sits on the property. When they said they wanted to make the outside trail run up along the shed, I instantly knew this shed was where I belonged. I offered and said “let me deal with the shed decor!”. Of course, a bloody kitchen theme came to mind! I thought I’d dress up as a dead farmers housewife and turn this shed into a slaughterhouse!

After walking through the trail, you pass a few photo ops! Whose not looking for selfies these days??

From there, through the haunted barn you go… What happens inside that barn, stays inside that barn 👻

As you come out of the barn, you can hang and shake those nerves off with some food and a beverage!

What’s really the purpose of me posting about this place, is the way our family and friends came together as one. There were so many “what if’s” that my sister asked herself, as anyone would when opening up a business! “What if it doesn’t work? What if nobody comes by? What if? What if?” Well, it certainly has worked out! The haunted trail has been a big hit!! And, it’s only the beginning! There are so many more plans that they have in store for this place. I am so proud to be a part of it all and will be by their side every step of the way! Such fun we have too… I can’t wait to see what’s yet to come. I love my family ❤️

http://www.thunderbirdfarmsllc.com