The Wild West has arrived in North Florida.
While the spooks of the Restless Slumber Cemetery still haunt Denmark Acres, 823 SW Wester Drive in Lake City, the old west town of Raven’s Hollow has now sprung up around the cemetery for all to enjoy.
Starting Friday, Todd and Tammy Denmark — and family and friends — will open up Denmark Acres for fall fun through Oct. 29 from 6-10 p.m. on Fridays and 5-10 p.m. on Saturdays. Tickets are $15 (plus tax) for 13 and older and $10 (plus tax) for children, ages 3-12. Those 2 and younger are free. Denmark Acres provides a 10% military discount for active and retired veterans with a military ID.
“We wanted to expand on it and, honestly, make it it more family friendly,” Todd Denmark said of the Raven’s Hollow town that has sprung up on old family farm land off of State Road 47 just south of the Interstate 75 interchange.
Last year, the Denmarks launched a drive-through haunted experience around the Restless Slumber Cemetery.
It was a success, Todd Denmark said, drawing a host of visitors from South Georgia as well as the Florida Panhandle.
But the drive-through event didn’t allow for visitors to really immerse themselves in the experience or enjoy the hand-crafted details of some of the haunts that await in the cemetery.
Also, despite warnings that Restless Slumber was not for younger children, many still accompanied their families, which helped spark the decision to build on.
“People were bringing kids out, 5-6 years old, and that broke my heart,” Todd Denmark said. “I don’t like scaring little kids.”
So, Raven’s Hollow will provide an assortment of family friendly fun and games during the early evenings on Fridays and Saturdays for the next six weeks.
There will be a pioneer playground area for children to enjoy a music wall, a corn table and other activities. The C.M. Mining Company in Raven’s Hollow will provide children the chance to dig through sand and potentially find gems or stones, if they purchase a bag of sand at the Jail — or gift shop.
In addition to the sand bags, other toys and items are just waiting to be bailed out of the Jail, including wooden toys, sheriff’s hats, bows and arrows, toy guns and more.
The general store next door will have baked goods and other hand-made items.
Food trucks will be on site every night and there will be live music on hand as well.
“It’s going to be fun,” Denmark said.
Adventurous souls can also enter the corn maze, which Denmark estimated will take around 45 minutes to fully work through, or take a quick peek in the cemetery.
“if the kids want to run out there and play, there’s nothing that’s going to scare them,” he added. “It’s all pretty tame stuff when you look at it. It’s not freaking them out kind of scary.
“I don’t want to put a kid into therapy man.”
But, once the sun sets, other residents of Raven’s Hollow tend to get a bit restless.
“What’s neat is the nighttime, the ambience completely changes. It completely changes the whole mood,” he said. “That’s when the live creatures come out.”
Still, Denmark said there are limitations. There will be no touching visitors or chasing them. Scaring, though, there may be plenty of that.
Some creatures in the cemetery are inanimate objects, resting peacefully. Others, the restless ones, are articulate machines that can move. Plus, you never know when a real, life creature is lurking.
“I dabbled in anthropology quite a bit,” Denmark said. “What makes Homo sapiens scared? What are we afraid of? The unexpected, the diversions.”