In 2009, Robyn and Mike Kelly lost Mike’s beloved sister to breast cancer. In the raw ache of that grief, they did something only love can do: they built something beautiful out of the broken pieces.
What started as a single haunted trail in the woods behind their home—lit by a few flickering lanterns and fueled by nothing more than a desperate wish to keep her memory alive—has become Lake Joy Trails of Terror, a nonprofit that wraps its arms around hurting families every single October.
We call our mission Haunters with a Heart and Trails of Hope, because every blood-curdling scream that echoes through the pines is immediately transformed into hope. Every ticket you buy, every terrified laugh you let out, becomes gas money for a weary mom driving her bald, brave little boy to chemo… becomes a night in a hotel so a family doesn’t have to sleep in their car between treatments… becomes a soft blanket, a favorite toy, or a grocery gift card that says, “You are not alone.”
Through our partnership with Jay’s HOPE Foundation and countless other quiet acts of kindness, we’ve watched cancer families look up through tears and whisper, “Someone sees us.” That moment—when fear turns into relief—is the real magic we’re chasing in the dark.
And it doesn’t stop when the fog machines shut off. Lake Joy has sent kids on mission trips who never thought they’d leave the state. We’ve put instruments in the hands of band students, supported FFA projects that teach responsibility and heart, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Lake Joy Elementary to build a playground where every child, no matter their abilities, can laugh and swing and just be a kid.
Sixteen years of mud, makeup, and midnight rehearsals have all been for this: to prove that even in our darkest seasons, love is louder than loss.
So when you step onto the trail and feel your heart race, know this—that pounding in your chest is joining thousands of others, beating for families who are fighting battles bigger than any monster we could ever create.
At Lake Joy Trails of Terror, we scare because we care.
We haunt because we heal.
And we will keep doing it, one frightened heartbeat—and one restored hope—at a time.
Thank you for screaming with us.
You’re helping us change lives, and we appreciate every time you do.
