Dig in With Graver: Slay the Winter Blues by Signing up for Spooky Summer Camp
In August, horror fans can attend a Fright Market and all-inclusive stay at The Coffin Cabin.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE COFFIN BEAN & CO.
Although Valentine’s Day is coming up, I’m still about Halloween. For me, that’s the real holiday of true love.
This year, at least, Cupid can’t sling his arrows until he makes it through Friday the 13th.
Speaking of seeing red at a campsite, in August, horror lovers can stay at The Coffin Cabin: Nightmare on Yinz Street.
Held at Outdoor Discovery Center at Crooked Creek in Ford City, Armstrong County, the inaugural event includes a free-to-attend Fright Market filled with creepy wares, collectibles and vintage clothing on Aug. 7 and a sleepaway camp experience on Aug. 8.
The all-inclusive stay will feature fire pits, s’more-making kits, horror-themed photo ops, workshops, scary movie screenings and night hikes through the 30-acre property. The lodge sleeps 24 and is equipped with shower facilities and a full kitchen. Dinner and breakfast are included.
Although it’s an alcohol-free event, attendees must be 21 or older. Vendor applications for the market will be accepted through June 1.
Co-creator Jen Mullins, who owns The Coffin Bean & Co., a hearse-powered coffee trailer, was a vendor during last year’s Earth Day festival at the Center and thought it would be the perfect setting for a retro slasher movie celebration.
“It reminds me of McKeever,” Mullins says, referring to the now-defunct McKeever Environmental Learning Center in Mercer County.
The statement made my cold little heart melt.
During our first interview about The Coffin Bean in 2023, Mullins and I realized we grew up years apart in the same Cranberry neighborhood. We both have fond memories of visiting McKeever when we were Seneca Valley students. Hell, I still have my Earthkeepers Training Manual from my 1989 trip! I’m sure Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearin’ monster from “Friday the 13th,” would’ve liked it, too.
PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER
Mullins’ partner on this project is Charlotte Smith, a local photographer and crafter who’s also a fan of the supernatural.
“I think it’s a respect for the unknown,” she says, “so I knew when Jen approached me, I had to lean in.”
I love these people.
Mullins and Smith want The Coffin Cabin to be an annual outing, giving Halloween devotees a bloody good thrill in the middle of summer.
“Some of us,” Mullins says, “are spooky all year.”
