With dusty antiques and floors with creaks, museums can be scary at the best of times.
Add a band of costumed volunteers and it will lead to screams, gasps and giggles like those rising from the Maidstone Museum Sunday.
The museum was transformed with cobwebs and ghosts, strobe lights and even a graveyard to raise frights. The afternoon offered stories, games and crafts for younger guests while volunteers during the evening session showed their creepier sides.
Guests were able to take a look at the museum in a different light in a time when it is usually closed up tight for the winter season.
Dozens of volunteers from the high school joined members of the museum board and other volunteers from the community and beyond to offer something new in Maidstone.
Guests wandered the streets of the pioneer village taking time to peek into the various buildings letting their imaginations dance with theshadows.
There were treats and warm drinks and time for parents to visit as their own little ghouls and goblins chased each other through the grounds. There was even a maze of terrors set up on the station platform complete with actors to raise the fear factor.
The event meant an extra day of Halloween fun for the children and a chance to get a little more wear out of their costumes while experiencing old-fashioned community fun in a friendly and familiar setting.