Haunted Hayrides

Tonight we will talk about some Hayride history among what our favorite Hayrides are that we have been to.

Haunted Hayrides go back about until the late 1970s early 1980s but really have only come into their own in the last 10 years. Hayrides took a lot of time to turn into what we now have which are amazing, expensive spectacles year after year. When we first started this site, we were lucky to sit down with the owners of Field of Screams and talk about what life was like when the Hayrides started opening on farms or attractions that owned land. How a lot of the scenes were really just plywood cut outs and people just dressed in black hiding in shadows to yell "boo".

As you can see from some of your favorite Haunted Hayrides, we have come a very long way from plywood. Especially at Field of Screams, every year this place blows my mind with everything going on in their Hayride. From giant explosions to crazy scenes. From being trapped in sheds without knowing what is happening next to crazy animatronics that look and feel so real. Hayrides have now become the best part of the night at Haunts that participate in them. We are very lucky to have quite a few attractions close by that offer amazing Hayrides year in and year out.

From cutouts to giant animatronic monsters trying to destroy you. You can say Haunted Hayrides have grown out of control in the last few decades. I know it is something i start looking forward to in December. Sitting in the dark, hearing the faint screaming, as you go down a dark road with a bunch of strangers not knowing what you are about to witness. I guess there is a psychological fear alone with just that, then you add in explosions, madness and great acting. It makes for one hell of a ride every year.

Some of our favorite Hayrides that we have been to.

4. Bloodshed Farms- Columbus, NJ. Bloodshed is a growing Haunt that excels standards every year. It will move up this ladder as they continue to build yearly. It is a different take to a hayride which we can appreciate. It is set up like you are on the way to your burial and you see what you see when you die. very different but very entertaining.

3. Bates Motel and Hayride- Glen Mills, PA. Bates is another Hayride like Field of Screams that has been going at it for 25 plus years. Very long and extremely detailed. They do an amazing job year after year and always try to push the bar. But, for Bates Motel, the actual motel is hands down the best attraction at Bates Motel and Hayride.

2. Frightland-Middletown, Delaware. Frightland is always an epic night out. We haven not left this place before 1 am ever. This Haunted Attraction will fill your entire night and you will have the best time doing it. among the 8 attractions at Frightland is the Haunted Hayride. Number two on our list because they kill it every year. We always do this first because it will take you to three other attractions after it finishes. We always enjoy this hayride. It brings a ton of fear and passion with every scene you move through.

1. Field of Screams- Mountville, PA. In our humble opinion. We do not think there is a single Hayride in this country or world that can compete with Field of Screams. There is not much more to say about it but it sets our calendar every year. This is the Haunt that starts our season off right. We start wanting to go in December so it is a very long wait until September. Easily, the best Haunted Hayride we have ever been on.

We cannot wait until the season starts and we see what our favorite Haunts have added on top of new haunts we will get to see this year. We are always shocked to find the improvements year after year. But 2019 is looking like its going to be a very special year. Also! we are still looking for Haunt Enthusiasts surrounding the United States. We are looking to break free from our area and we need your help. Please Email us at halloweenhaunts365@gmail.com if you are interested. Just click the link and tell us about your self and where your from, we seriously are looking to enter all 50 states in the upcoming years and you can get in on the ground floor. Click today!

Top Ten Haunts for Last Season from USA Today

Pic courtesy of our pals at Brighton Asylum. Amazing Haunted Attraction year after year!

Welcome back to another episode of HH365. Tonight we will take a look at last years winning Haunted Attraction from USA Today. I liked this list because they actually went out and found someone with Haunt experience. So many of these different sites and newspapers send writers in who have zero idea of what they are doing, one of the biggest reasons I created this site. But, thanks to USA Today we have what could be a decent list of actually Haunts and not the biggest supporter of advertisements. Lets take a look at the list, sadly we have not yet visited any of these great attractions yet. But, with my new travel schedule this may be a thing of the past! Lets get to the list.

10. SCREAM-A-GEDOON- Dade City, Florida. 6 different attractions and a very nice website. Looks outstanding but cannot rate.

9. The Massacre on Marshall Road- El Paso, Texas. Not buying this one because there is no website. Local Home Haunts have websites. Questionable...

8. Nashville Nightmare-Madison, Tennessee. 4 Attractions including one in a church. There are far two few Haunts with Church scenes in them! Bring me more Church scenes!

7. Netherworld Haunted House- Atlanta, Georgia. Hard to judge how many Attractions are located here, but if the website shows whats really going on in here, I really hope i am in Atlanta this season! It has won tons and tons of awards.

6. Haunted Overload- Lee, N.H. Website very outdated but it looks like it is just a giant Haunted Trail. I like haunted trails but they cannot compete with your basic haunted attractions. hmmm. We shall see.

5. Queen Mary's Dark Harbor- Long Beach, California. This one is an interesting one. It looks like there are 6 attractions aboard and around the Historic Queen Mary steam ship. Could be worth the time.

4. Kersey Valley Spooky Woods- Archdale, North Carolina. This place is chocked full of different attractions. Counted close to 15. Not sure if these are separate attractions or just different themes as you walk about.

3. Dead Acres Haunted Hoochie- Pataskala, Ohio. This is one I have seen on many lists before. It takes a new take on Haunting and leaves nothing back. From hard to handle scenes to watching 9/11 footage before you enter the door. This place takes every fear you have and plays with it. Website is not currently working but there are plenty you tube videos about it.

2. Containment Haunted House- Lithia Springs, Georgia. This looks like just one main walk through. It did win a few Georgia Haunt awards.

1. The Lewisburg Haunted Cave- Lewisburg, Ohio. This is actually a Guinness World Record Holder for longest walk through haunted house back in 2010. And actually takes place in a Cave. Would really like to see this to see how they worked out Emergency Exits and sprinklers. But, still sounds very creepy.

That is the USA Today list. Like I said earlier. I cannot judge much but I would put Field of Screams and Brighton Asylum against them any day of the week.

Until next time kids! This is HH365.com!

How Young is Too Young for Haunted Attractions?

Picture from raisingedmonton.com.

Welcome back to HH365. Tonight we will discuss at what age is a responsible age to finally scare the living hell out of your kids or brothers and sisters or whoever you have been looking forward to sharing the experience with.

A lot of Haunts today will have the ages they would like you to stay above posted on their respective websites, but some are very vague so I figured this could be a pretty decent topic to help plan the upcoming season.

When I visit a Haunt, I do notice tons of ankle biters everywhere. Some kids I see handle it very well and others you want to ask the parents what are they doing here knowing damn well they cant handle it. I think about taking my kids year after year but i still wait for them to show me that they are ready.

I really think it boils down to the kids themselves. If you take me for an example, I started watching Horror movies around 2-3 years old. Yes Yes Yes I know! But, it installed the love i have for all things scary and creepy and I turned out just fine. But, when I look at my children, I believe they are too sensitive still. They have only recently started asking about Freddy, Jason, Michael and Chucky. I am so excited to get them started on the path but at 10 and 7, I feel like it is a late start. Where as my girlfriend has had her son on Haunted Hayrides since he was three.

Its a funny balance, in one hand you want to see how the child reacts at maybe a volunteer fire company walk through. On the other hand, what if they hate it and never want to go back because it was too soon.

There is no right or wrong answer to this debate. There is no way to tell if the kiddo will enjoy it or not like it or gets terrified. Best action is to just use your judgement based on their personality. This may be the year my oldest gets to go to a walk through. Or it may not. I am leaving it 100% up to him this year, but next year he is going and we will see the reaction. Also, always follow the rules set fourth by the Haunt you plan to visit. The all have it posted on their websites what to expect. So, please do not try your kid in a Haunt and them bad comment the Haunt because your kid ran for his like three seconds in to the first house. It is their job to scare you, that is why they exist!

That is what we have for tonight. Come back tomorrow for another interesting read from HH365.com

T

History of Haunts

Welcome Back Everyone to HH365! Today we will take a dive into the History of Haunts. We found this great Smithsonian article so they receive all the credit! Lets read.

The origins of the haunted house date back to 19th-century London, when a series of illusions and attractions introduced the public to new forms of gruesome entertainment. In 1802, Marie Tussaud scandalized British audiences with an exhibition of wax sculptures of decapitated French figures, including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Marat and Robespierre. Tussaud's likenesses were remarkably accurate, and with good reason — she created death masks of the French Revolution's many guillotine victims. When she set up a permanent London exhibition, she dubbed her grotesque collection the "Chamber of Horrors" — a name that has stuck to the wax museum to this day.

At the turn of the 20th century, as Rebekah McKendry describes in Fangoria magazine, the closest relatives to modern haunted houses began experimenting with macabre themes. In Paris, the Grand Guignol theater became notorious for its on-stage depictions of graphic dismemberment; the theater's director, Max Maurey, famously boasted that he judged each performance by the number of people who passed out, shocked, in the audience. In 1915, an English fairground in Liphook debuted one of the first "ghost houses," an early type of commercial horror attraction. The public appetite for horror was picking up.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-haunted-house-180957008/#rgUJ7txoiXmvK7eY.99
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Lisa Morton, author of Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, tells Smithsonian.com that Halloween-themed haunted houses first emerged during the Great Depression as American parents schemed up ways to distract young tricksters, whose holiday pranks had escalated to property damage, vandalism and harassment of strangers. "They came in about the same time as trick-or-treat did," she says. "Cities looked for ways to buy these kids off, essentially."

Those first haunted houses were very primitive. Groups of families would decorate their basements and hold "house-to-house” parties. Kids could spook themselves by traveling from basement to basement and experiencing different scary scenes. This 1937 party pamphlet describes how parents could also design "trails of terror" to spook their children. The effects may seem familiar to anyone who has ever been disappointed by a sub-par scare:

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Within a few years, the haunted house had spread across the country. The United States Junior Chamber, also known as Jaycees, became famous for raising money through its haunted houses. (The fundraising venture was successful enough to spawn its own how-to guide.) In California, Knott's Berry Farm began hosting its own Halloween night attractions, which soon transformed into a multi-week slate of events. Every year, a man named Bob Burns attracted national media attention for his detailed recreations of classic horror movies. Evangelical Christians even made their own anti-Halloween attractions; Jerry Falwell and Liberty University introduced one of the first "hell houses" in 1972.

As Hollywood began to embrace slasher movies like Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th, the haunted house industry reaped the benefits. The horror boom fueled a demand for scary attractions, not to mention cross-promotional advertisements. "If you went to a haunted house in the 1980s and 1990s, you would've seen a lot of Freddy Krueger, Jason, Pinhead. The haunted house industry really followed the movie industry at that time," Larry Kirchner, president of Haunted House Association, a trade group for haunted house operators, tells Smithsonian.com.

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Professional haunted houses first emerged as a force in the same era, quickly outspending non-profit groups like the Jaycees. Then, tragedy struck: A fire at a haunted house in New Jersey trapped and killed eight teenagers. In the aftermath of their deaths, attractions were shut down, and politicians enacted stronger safety regulations. Volunteer organizations struggled to compete against new competition under tougher rules. Soon, many were forced out of business. It was a watershed moment for the industry, says Kirchner: "The Jaycees got pushed out because their haunted houses were fairly basic. It was based on the premise that people would volunteer, but when you have people opening big haunted houses with lots of advertising, that's hard," he says.

During the next two decades, the number of professional haunted houses erupted. Kirchner estimates that roughly 2,700 of them operated nationwide last year. A large haunted house attraction can reportedly earn $3 million during the Halloween season, and the industry is worth $300 million, according to an NBC report.

These days, haunted houses are no longer just about creepy characters and hyper-realistic horror. Instead, the industry has flocked to all sorts of new, extreme frights: zombie runs, escape games, and experiences seemingly designed to traumatize. How long will these successes last? Can the haunted house last another half-century? And if it does, what will it look like?

Kirchner doubts that the haunted house is here to stay. "If I was going to guess, I'd say no," he says. "Every business will eventually fail, so we just want to last as long as we possibly can."

A Halloween without haunted houses? Now that's a scary thought.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/history-haunted-house-180957008/#rgUJ7txoiXmvK7eY.99
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Thats the article right from the Smithsonian. I kept all credit posted. Whether you believe the last part, this was still a great insight into the History of our Passion!  

Stay tuned for more at HH365! 

HNN29 Orlando Updates and Rumors........

Welcome back to HH365.com. Today we are covering some of the announced and rumored attractions coming to HHN29 Orlando.

So far we have a few confirmed houses for HHN 29 starting in September.

1. Yeti, Terror of the Yukon. Looks pretty wild. You are chased through the Yukon by the Giant Man Like Beast.

2. Stranger Things returns to HHN as you walk through some of the craziest scenes from season 2 and season 3. So be ready for the Upside Down!

3. Nightingales:Blood Pit. You are transported back to Ancient Rome where an emperor reigns and gladiator games are the way of life. Add in some blood thirsty creatures should make for a decent attraction.

4. Universal Monsters. Yes, we have a house full of Count Dracula, The Wolfman and big ol Frankenstein's Monster plus many more!

5. Depths of Fear. You are apart of a Deep Sea mining crew that have found themselves in a bad situation. This could make for some pretty fishy characters. Ha Ha Fishy...Get it? Ha, back to the list.

Rumor Mill, If some of these are true, I really may need to hitchhike and jump a few fences because this could be the best year yet. I love the Stranger Things and Universal Monsters but this could get a lot better....

1st Rumor: Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Yes, kinda been done. But I cannot give you the juiciest gossip yet.

2nd Rumor: "Who Ya Gonna Call?". Oh yes, The Ghostbusters. We may actually get a Ghostbusters House this year. There have been a few leaks from auditions and what I am hearing and cannot prove is that one them is Ghostbusters.

3rd Rumor: This one is a little too much for me to believe can happen. But, would really fit a movie releasing in October. House of 1000 Corpses. The Rob Zombie Classic. To be able to walk through that crazy night may have me walking to Orlando if I have to. But to me, this feels like a stretch but our sources did come out with Poltergeist last season.....

A few more houses "leaked". One was the Yeti, so we are one for one on accuracy. Other Original House ideas are a Tooth Fairy House and a Graveyard House.

That is what we have heard so far for HHN 29 in Orlando. We shall see if the Information is accurate. But still fun to Dream!

Ill see all of you tomorrow, Have a Great Night. 

A Tragedy Occurred That Almost Ended It All. Lets Talk About The Six Flags Fire.

Today we will take a dive into one of the darker moments in Haunt History and one that happened in my home state. Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.com. Not mine.

Haunted Castle was a Haunted Attraction at the very popular Six Flags Great Adventure here in New Jersey built in 1979 as a test project for Great Adventure that really became one of their most popular venues in the park at that time. Little did Six Flags or the world know that their little Haunted House would become the outline for modern Haunt Fire Safety and Safety overall.

In 1979, Haunted Attractions were not what they were today. There were no defining safety measures to take. It was really a new concept. And we really learned the lesson in a hard way. We know that owners have a hard time with fire codes and safety codes and one of the biggest reasons it has become very difficult to start a new Attraction or even take over an existing one, but after you read what happened at this site, you will fully understand why.

On May 11, 1984, a fire began in the attraction, fanned by the buildings AC unit it spread rapidly due to the use of 1984 Haunt products that were highly flammable. At the time of the fire there was about 29 guests in the attraction. Fourteen people including guests and four actors managed to escape the blaze. Unfortunately, the story does not end there. A group of nine teenagers entered the attraction as a group. And only one made it out alive. The park and the world lost eight kids in this horrible accident. The lone survivor of the group was carried out by a park employee.

As interviews started, one guest inside the attraction stated that she saw flames coming from around the hunchback display, at first thinking the flames were part of the attraction was part of the shoe until their lungs filled with smoke and they went running for the exit. An exit that was too far and few. We lost 8 kids in this fire, my biggest peeve with this incident is that Six Flags really did everything to hide that it happened. 8 souls gone and there is not even a plaque or a flower or names anywhere in the park. This is classless. You could at least remember the names of the kids lost. Tasteless.

There really is still a ton of debate on how the fire actually started. also debates on whether or not there was emergency doors chained shut to stop the staff from smoking outside of the venue. there is not a lot of proof for any case today and were really not covering this for causes or the debate on causes. Either way it happened and we lost people.

This was a huge tragedy and taught the fire inspectors that Haunted Attractions needed to step their game up. Many attractions were closed due to this fire and the upcoming safety laws put into place. This event really could have ended the Haunt Industry overnight with the costly repairs and upgrades needed to every attraction. It is also the reason not everyone can go right out and start their own attraction.

The next time you are in a Haunted Attraction and notice that every so many feet there is an emergency exit, remember why. When you see all the rules listed for every attraction, read and follow them. It could mean your life or others.

Sorry for the dark post today, but the info is needed. Not sure what we will cover tomorrow but make sure you come back as I am sure it will be spooky.   

Lets have a chat about McKamey Manor.

Photo from bloodydisgusting.com. Cool Site, Check them out!

So now that were done giving photo borrowing credit, lets have a chat about a lot of things that has bothered me since getting into this a few years back. I am here to set the record straight and a lot of the real haunters will completely agree with me.

Every year, every single year. When a guest at some Haunt sees our shirt we are asked the same question multiple times a season. "Have you been to McKamey Manor?" We are 100% sure we are not the only Haunt review team that is asked this over and over again. The answer is simple. NO!

McKamey Manor is NOT a Haunted Attraction. But yet year after year we have to hear how it is the number one Haunted Attraction. It is not a show. It is not an attraction. McKamey Manor is something different, for a different set of people. And we are completely fine with what Russ does there for those kind of people who look for that level of torture. This is not to put down the efforts of McKamey Manor, it is just to shed light that this is not in the least a Haunted Attraction. But straight up torture for those kind of people that crave it.

Haunted Attractions have a story, in the least amount a theme. You walk through attractions filled with talented actors and stunning displays to get a feel of that story or theme. Haunted Attractions are like living out Horror Movies in real time. None of this happens at McKamey Manor. You sign paperwork for hours and then you are tortured to the point most people can handle.

We need the press and news stations to learn that this is not what Haunts are or should be. This place is always tied to a Haunt where something mistakenly happens. If a Haunt has an injury or someone in the group did something reckless we get to hear about McKamey Manor.

A little documentary came out on Netflix that we could not wait to watch called "Haunters, The Art of the Scare". We turned it on, watched a few Home Haunters and a couple Pro Haunters and it was really cool learning what motivated them to start what we all love, but sure enough up comes McKamey Manor. Why? The crew couldn't see that it has nothing to do Haunted Attraction Industry? If  you want to do a Documentary on McKamey Manor, go for it! I would watch it because I think its cool the level of person it takes to do it but this does not belong in the Haunt Industry.

This started because of this site going more nation-wide, I wanted to see where all the great haunts were and every count down we saw on You-Tube had McKamey Manor in it.

To finalize, McKamey Manor is Not an Haunted Attraction.

We will talk to you soon with more news coming and some cool movies coming down the pipeline.

Haunt News

Welcome back everyone. Today we have some Haunt news and as you can see, some of the website changes are already taking over. Super excited about our new logo designed by one of our new team members. A huge shout out to @backfatbettys on Instagram, go check out her stuff she sells a lot of cool and different items you cannot find in stores.

We shall start our news report with some bad news unfortunately. One of the haunts we covered a few years back has thrown in the towel. Camp Evans Base of Terror. I know we will see this time and time again but it is never a good time when a Haunt shuts its doors. Camp Evans was a small to medium Haunted Attraction built on the backs of volunteers. Unfortunately for them, there are quite a few Haunts like them in their surrounding area including bigger ones that drew from their crowds. The Haunt community will miss them and the effort they put forth every season.

Next on the agenda is some good news. Brighton Asylum is at it again. Not only did they open a whole new attraction last season, but major enhancements are in the works. The owners have reached out and told us that he is very excited on what is to come and that we will have the full coverage come August as Haunted Attractions like to take ideas for them selves. So keep close to hear what these outstanding changes will be. Brighton Asylum is always in our top 3 so i am sure any changes will be for the best.

With our goal of reaching out to new states. We Need You! If  you are interested in joining the team, just reach out to halloweenhaunts365@gmail.com. Click the link and let us know where your from and what you can bring to the table. Get in early so you can have your area covered.

Until next time everyone, changes will continue and we will find more season updates! Talk to you soon.

WE ARE BACK!

Welcome back to another great season for Halloween Haunts 365!!!!! We are looking forward to a very new and very different look to HH365 this upcoming Haunt Season. We will have many of your favorite local Haunted Attractions plus many many more. 

We also have some new members coming aboard to help us out and hit Haunts that we can not reach out too. We are still looking for people so reach out to us now and we can see if you have what it takes to join the team. We want to reach a more National fan base along with our regional groups. 

Before we start headlining what is new with some of the Haunts we cover, let us take a look at changes coming to your favorite Haunt Website. 

1. A lot more posts. This will be the last Hiatus we have at HH365.com. We want to get more active to grow the site. We will have more members to add continuous content through out the full calendar year. 

2. We will change the look of our design soon, looking for people with ideas on a logo for Halloween Haunts 365.com. I have hit a creative road block on this. So, feel free to come forward if you have ideas. 

3. Testing a podcast and more video/You tube coverage.  I am not a fan of being in front of the camera so we will see how this works out. 

4. More people, we will add what we hope will be 10 more teams. Again, if you are interested reach out to us very soon, we still have spots open! 

5. More then haunt review. We want to cover more then Haunts and Reviews. Maybe add some headlines and whats new in the horror and haunt communities. 

Now that we have a brief look into what to expect from this site, we have some news coming in from Field of Screams! 

1. We have upgrades to all four already incredible Attractions. 

2. A whole new stop on the Hayride! I know what it is but we are not telling!

3. Nocturnal Wasteland has some impressive new additions. 

4. Den of Darkness has a brand new themed room. 

5. The asylum also received some awesome tough ups. 

That is what we have for you as of right now. Come back soon for much more to come!