(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Bear Creek Nature Center will host an event in October, just in time for Halloween, to celebrate the spooky season and educate the community on animals that perhaps get a bad reputation for being creepy.

The 4th Annual Boo at Bear Creek will be held on the evening of Friday, Oct. 20, and offers visitors a unique opportunity to travel the nature center trails after-hours. Nature Center volunteers will lead groups of 15 people at a time along the trails, encountering creepy characters that will send a shiver down the spine, then impart knowledge to the mind about creatures like bats, rats, centipedes, and snakes.

Many of nature’s creatures, while playing important roles in the ecosystem, tend to give people the “heebie jeebies,” and Boo at Bear Creek aims to help unravel and dispel some common myths about these misunderstood organisms. 

Inside the nature center, partners from Mile High Bug Club and Pikes Peak State College ‘Wild Things’ will give attendees the opportunity to get up close and personal with some live leggy and scaly creatures.

Attendees must pre-register for staggered start times that will run from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.

The Nature Center said the event is recommended for ages seven and up, due to the mild fright factor. Cost is $8 per person and all proceeds benefit Friends of El Paso County Nature Centers, a 501(c)(3) that supports the educational endeavors of El Paso County Nature Centers.

Space is limited, register ahead by visiting www.elpasocountynaturecenters.com.