FORT EUSTIS, Va. –
Beyond the curtains, the annals of the Army's transportation history fall into darkness. Cobwebs, skeletons, and eerie lights wash the museum's exhibits in frightening livery, and unsuspecting toddlers ambling through the twists and turns of the halls have no idea what to expect around each terrifying turn.
Suddenly, a statue of a Soldier near a jeep starts to move. Children and their parents jump and shriek, not knowing what will happen next.
What happened could only be described in one word: candy!
This scene repeated itself time after time at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum on Halloween evening, as the museum hosted its third annual "Night at the Transportation Museum" event Oct. 31.
The event transformed the museum's galleries into a haunted house, decorated with colored lighting and cobwebs. The exhibits' Soldier mannequins were accompanied by skeletal battle buddies in uniforms, and volunteers handed out candy to young trick-or-treaters navigating through the museum.
After winding through the creepy maze, children could participate in a variety of crafts and activities, including Halloween coloring books.
Best of all, the event was free of charge to Fort Eustis families.
David Hanselman, the museum director, said the Transportation Museum provided the perfect stage for a spooky Halloween event.
"I had wanted to do a Halloween event here for several years, but we never had the opportunity to pull it off until three years ago," he explained. "The concept was an easy one to imagine. Just walking through the museum late at night with a flashlight showed us how easily the museum could be transformed into a fun and spooky experience.
"We decided to try it out three years ago with no idea how it would be received. The response was overwhelming and it has only grown with each year," he added.
With more than 500 guests visiting in 2010 and nearly 700 in 2011, Hanselman and his staff aimed for even more visitors this year.
However, their optimism began to sank as Hurricane Sandy approached the coast, dropping heavy rain and bring floodwater s to the area.
For safety's sake, the museum made the decision to postpone the event to Halloween, having been previously been scheduled a few days prior as not to compete with community trick-or-treating.
Despite the postponement, attendance increased yet again this year, with 811 people visiting the museum during the three-hour event. The museum doled out candy to 550 children. Hanselman said the event fielded 4.5 people per minute.
"We were very happy that the local community still came out and had a great time here. I believe the highlight for all of us is right before we opened the doors, you could see a line of kids in costume and their parents anxiously waiting to be entertained," he said. "We put a ton of work over several days into this event and it is over in three hours, but when you see the smiles and excitement on the faces of so many kids and you know you are providing a safe, fun and non-scary event for the parents, it is all totally worth it."
Post resident Sara Perez couldn't agree more with Hanselman, bring her young son Benjamin, 3, out for his first time trick-or-treating.
"We really like what they did here for families. We're still going to to door-to-door, but this was a nice option especially for younger kids," Perez said, patiently holding her son's Spider-Man mask as he snacked on candy. "Plus, if the weather isn't good or it's too cold and you don't want to walk really young kids around out there, this is perfect."
Hanselman said the success of the event would not be possible without his dedicated team of foundation members and volunteers who put the time and effort into transforming the museum into a virtual haunted house, and for enthusiastically working to entertain the crowds.
"The best thing I heard from a volunteer was late at night as they were leaving. I thanked them again for helping out and they turned to me and said, 'No, thank you for letting us be a part of this,'" Hanselman said. "That is when you know that you have something good."
Just ask Army Staff Sgt. Josh Ricketts, a Fort Campbell (Ky.)-based Soldier attending professional military education at Fort Eustis. Ricketts donned a throwback Army uniform to hand out treats to young guests at the event.
"As part of our PME, [noncommissioned officers] must volunteer in the community to satisfy graduation requirements, so I signed up to do this," he said. "It was more fun than I expected. Seeing the kids enjoy it made me enjoy it even more."