A second look at the area’s best haunted attractions
By Bernie Ment
Contributing Writer
Last week, I covered Fright Nights at the Fair, The Last Ride and The Trail of Terror. This week, we’ll look at four more of the recurring local haunts that manage to thrill and excite every year. (Click here to read Part 1) These are virtually guaranteed to get your heart pumping and your adrenaline rushing during your visit. Have fun!
Frightmare Farms – Fulton
Number of attractions: Four
Yet another year of change and improvement for one of the premier haunted attractions in CNY. This year, major updates to all three of the main haunted trails makes for some of the scariest jump-out-of-boots experiences you’ve ever had.
The first experience, Professor Whittaker’s Museum of Fright, is the classic haunted house with some of the most detailed rooms you’re likely to see in any haunt in this area. You follow that up with the Labyrinth, a winding twisting maze filled with monsters and horror artifacts that will get your heart racing as you struggle to find your way out.
The third walk-through attraction is the Mine Trail experience which has been redubbed “The Colony” this year and features ghouls supposedly transformed by Professor Whitaker who are forever doomed to wander this trail in search of fresh victims.
The escape room is back this year as well. The time has been extended to five minutes and the girl chained to the door is gone so you must figure out the way to escape the room on your own…or else!
Pricing: One attraction is $16, or all three walk-throughs are $27. Add the Escape room for an extra $5. Group rates and party rooms are available and if you prefer to skip the line, you can get a VIP band for $41 and jump to the head of the class. Student, military and emergency services personnel can knock two dollars off of the three-trail ticket with valid ID.
Hours: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays throughout October. For more information, visit the webpage at frightmarefarms.net.
My ratings: Haunted House – 5 out of 5 bloody pumpkins, Mine Trail – 4.5 out of 5. The Labyrinth – 5 out of 5. Escape the Estate 5-Minute Quickie – 4 out of 5
The Haunted Forest – Williamstown, New York
Number of attractions: Three
The hayride is the signature attraction here and it lasts for nearly 40 minutes. Along the way, you’ll meet a number of familiar denizens, including Jason, Freddie and a crazy host of diabolical clowns. You have the choice of taking either a wagon or a hearse through it as well. I prefer the open-air wagon. In the hearse, you can barely see anything and the detailed scenery is all for naught. However, the hearse ride does take you down a short road where the wagons cannot go, so it may be worth the extra venture.
The Dark Harvest walk-through has been improved for 2017 with new constructs and new monsters to terrorize you along the way. The slaughterhouse is also back for another season and makes good use of the relatively compact space for a few minutes of good, gory fun.
Pricing: The hayride is $12 or you can take the Hearse for $13. The Dark Harvest walk-through is also $12 and the Slaughterhouse is $13. You can enjoy two attractions for $23 or pick any three for $33. You can also do the hayride, hearse and both walkthroughs for $44.
Hours: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays throughout October. For more information, visit thehauntedforestcny.com
My ratings: The Hayride – 4.5 out of 5 bloody pumpkins, Hearse Ride – 4 out of 5, Dark Harvest – 5 out of 5 pumpkins and the Slaughterhouse – 4 out of 5.
Demon Acres – Hannibal, New York
Number of attractions: Four
This is one of the better hayrides in the area. The ride lasts almost a half hour and winds through a dozen scenes of terror with monsters clawing at you throughout the attraction. There are some nicely staged theatrical vignettes too, so you will definitely be entertained by this one.
The haunted house is also a lot of fun with plenty of thrills as you wind your way through the highly detailed rooms. My favorite part is the spinning room at the end of the walk through and the final scare that gets you when everything else seems to have passed and you’re headed out of the horror zone.
The Insane Asylum is sensory deprivation at its best. You’re locked in a darkened room and a creepy tale is unleashed as you hear about foul mistreatment at a facility for the deranged. Oh, and don’t worry about getting hurt. They strap you into those wheelchairs for a reason…heh, heh, heh.
New for the 2017 season is Jailbreak, another walk through designed to disorient and chill you. You start out as a handcuffed convict being led onto a prison bus, then all heck breaks loose as you and your companions try to escape from this haunted prison.
My only disappointment were the grounds themselves. Signs prohibit smoking on the premises, yet people lit up in every queue and no supervisors were anywhere to be found to ask people to behave.
Pricing: Jailbreak is $8, the haunted house is $14 and the hayride is $12 and a combo ticket is available for all three attractions for just $25. There is a VIP pass for $45 that bumps you to the head of the line. The Insane Asylum is a separate charge of $5 per person (cash only).
Hours: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays throughout October. For more information, visit demonacres.com
My ratings: Hayride – 4.5 out of 5 bloody pumpkins, the House – 5 out of 5, Jailbreak – 4 out of 5 and Insane Asylum – 4 out of 5.
The Thirteenth Hour Rising at Chengarian’s Tree Farm – Lysander, New York.
Number of attractions: Two
This is fast becoming my favorite haunted hayride in the local area with new scenes being added each season. This year, the ride is still about 30 minutes long but it feels much shorter since the scares are packed more closely together and the individual scenes are incredibly detailed.
This year, they’ve also added a second attraction, the Passage, which is a short scare-filled winding tunnel that adds a number of horror elements to keep you jumping every few feet. It’s not a separate attraction really, but more of a value-added event that makes your visit to the Christmas Tree farm all the more worthwhile.
Bob Chengarian works hard to try to keep this event family friendly and fun. And the good news is, they always manage to succeed.
Pricing: The hayride is just $16 per person. Add the Passage for just $4 more when you buy a combo ticket.
Hours: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays throughout October. For more information, visit 13thhourrising.com.
My ratings: Hayride – 5 out of 5 bloody pumpkins, The Passage – 4.5 out of 5
Remember to use discretion when bringing children to these events. Some of the imagery can be very intense for visitors of all ages. The monsters generally do not touch visitors but can still be very intimidating, so exercise restraint before lashing out at the ghouls. And as with everything else, enjoy the attractions responsibly.
