Things will get spooky when Marietta Restoration Associates hosts the annual Haunted Marietta event on Friday, Oct. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 28. It will feature a walk-through haunted house from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Union Meeting House, 80 N. Waterford Ave., Marietta. The first hour, from 6 to 7 p.m., will be a non-scary experience for younger children. Lights will be on and there will be no costumed actors in the haunted house. From 7 to 9 p.m., visitors will experience a dark haunted house full of scares and spooky characters.

"This is a free haunted house with a small parade beforehand," said Meghan Fisher, who is helping to organize the event. "It's a haunted house that is comparable to other attractions in the area."

The Union Meeting House, which was built in 1818, has been transformed into a spooky site under the supervision of creative director Willis Boyles and his family. Boyles had created a Halloween attraction in his Marietta backyard for many years, inviting the community to attend free of charge. In 2019, Marietta Restoration Associates approached Boyles about collaborating on the event and moving it to the Union Meeting House, where it could take place no matter the weather.

Boyles still handles all of the design and creativity for the haunted house, with new features added each year.

New this year, the haunted house will open after a costume parade that will begin on Market Street at 5:30 p.m. and travel to the Union Meeting House.

For the first time last year, Marietta Restoration Associates expanded the event to include food trucks, which will be on-site again this year, along with some Halloween-themed vendors.

Although Haunted Marietta is free, donations will be accepted to support Marietta Restoration Associates and its projects. The nonprofit organization's mission is to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of Marietta. Among the group's ongoing projects are restoration and upkeep of the Union Meeting House and the Old Town Hall building on Walnut Street, which houses the Marietta Museum.

For more information, search for "Haunted Marietta" on Facebook.