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Inaugural Zombie Walk brings out Halloween fans

On the evening of Friday the 13th, a selection of local “zombies” assembled in Manchester’s Fred Deadman Park for the inaugural Manchester Zombie Walk.

Event organizer Cliff Allen said he and his wife Kayla were members of a Zombie Club while living in Sacramento, California.

“We were part of a group there called the Zombie Club and this guy Tom Presler, he started it there and so I helped him out with that and then he did another one in Lodi, California and it started getting big too,” Allen said. “He passed away a few years ago but with the Zombie Club’s permission, I asked them if I could start one over here and then call it Zombie Club and do a Zombie Walk on the east coast, kind of in his honor.”

Allen said the community has been supportive of the event, which brought out not only people in zombie costumes but Halloween fans of all ages.

“You are just coming and celebrating Halloween, people can dress up as zombies or whatever character they want to,” he said. “It is a family friendly event. Every single one of our vendors has candy at their booth to give out so the kids can trick-or-treat.”

One “zombie” on the scene was Natalie Thompson portraying Billy Butcherson, a character from the 1993 Disney film Hocus Pocus.

“I just heard about it and I am kind of new to the area,” Thompson said about the Zombie Walk. “It seemed exciting and I love to dress up and do costume things.”

Thompson said Hocus Pocus is a favorite when it comes to Halloween movies.

“Most definitely, I watch it with my family every year,” she said. “It is just a good feeling, a spooky feeling…”

Melody and Travis King of Murfreesboro joined in on the fun as one of the vendors set up in Rotary Park for the event.

“We love craft shows and we have fun dressing up,” Melody King said. “We love Halloween.”

King said it was the first time the pair had been to a Zombie Walk.

Allen said plans are for the Manchester Zombie Walk to become an annual event in the community.

“We are already locked in for Oct. 19 next year,” he said. “We are going to be the third weekend of every October after that.”

The event also included live music by Mercury Red and Deface the Dream.

Allen said event sponsors included Coffee County Bank Mark Messick of Exit Reality and Marcrom’s Pharmacy.