On a Sunday morning, the road leading up to a Chillicothe park is pretty dead. But soon, the street will creep to life as spectators line the sides and participants race decorated caskets down the middle.
“This is the highlight normally every year of the Halloween festival,” organizer Dean O’Brien said.
This is the Chillicothe Halloween Festival’s 9th annual Coffin Races: a morbid-sounding tradition that’s actually just the south-central Ohio community’s spin on a soap box derby. Participants build a “coffin” out of wood or plastic and affix wheels. One teammate sits inside, while four strong pushers – or pallbearers – escort the casket to the finish line as fast as possible…