​From Home Haunt to Playland Park: Inside 25 Years of Scared By the Sound

by Tara Adams 

RYE, N.Y. — The Ferris wheel stands silent against the October night. The rides at Playland Park are dark, but the amusement park has a different kind of attraction drawing visitors through its gates.

Opened in 1928, Rye Playland is a Westchester County landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a National Historic Landmark. The park has also appeared in several well-known productions. In "Big," Tom Hanks' character returns to the Zoltar fortune-telling machine at Playland in hopes of reversing his wish and becoming a child again. The park's Dragon Coaster also appeared in "Fatal Attraction" and Mariah Carey's “Fantasy” music video.

On Halloween nights, though, Playland takes on a different role.

Scared By the Sound is celebrating its 25th season, bringing another round of haunted-house scares to the edge of Long Island Sound. Waves crash along the shore as spooky music drifts across the entrance and screams carry through the darkness.

“The park itself sets the tone,” says Connor Costello, one of the haunt’s owners and operators.

Costello runs the attraction with his family, but the idea began with his father, Pat, who built a haunted house at home every year. Eventually, he decided to try something bigger.

That was 25 seasons ago. The family is still building, dismantling and rebuilding the attraction each year, driven by a love of Halloween and the pleasure of giving visitors a good scare.

The work begins well before the first guests arrive. Scared By the Sound covers more than 12,000 square feet, and the crew has just four weeks to construct it. Roughly 500 wall panels go up before the space is transformed into a series of elaborate scenes. When the season ends, the process runs in reverse. Every wall, prop and bolt comes down and is hauled away.

“We put it up every year, and we take it down completely,” Costello said. “When we're out of here in November, it is completely empty.”

Much of Scared By the Sound depends on creative, detailed handmade sets; custom props and actors who know how to work a room. Animatronics have their place, but the scares often depend on timing and the people delivering them.

The attraction has about 60 to 70 actors each season. Costello credits their dedication as one of the reasons the family has kept the haunt going for so long.

“Our actors are definitely trained to not just stand there and say 'boo,'” Costello said.

And he's thankful for the haunt's many loyal customers, who come back each year for more of the scary fun.

“We've been very blessed and fortunate to be doing this for so long,” Costello added.

There are new characters and scenes this season, including the Wolves Den, His Masters Quarters and Cell Block C-D, a jail where visitors find themselves on the wrong side of the law, according to the haunt's website.

“Welcome to our cell block,” a prison official tells a visitor. “You're not going to be able to get away from this. You did the crime, you're in here.”

After guiding the visitor inside, the officer raises his voice.

“Yo, boys. We have one for death row!”

It's the kind of encounter that depends on more than a startling noise or something jumping out of the shadows. The actor establishes the scene, draws the visitor in and delivers the scare through the performance.

That approach carries through the rest of the haunt, where the rooms are built around details that can make visitors briefly forget they're walking through an attraction.

In the library, tall shelves lined with actual old books fill the room. The aging paper gives the space a smell that is difficult to reproduce with a prop or a sound effect.

“There's not going to be any unnecessary screaming in the library, is there?” an actor asks while ushering visitors inside.

At the center of the room, a librarian strikes up a conversation with guests about their reading preferences. While their attention is on her, something else is happening overhead. The ceiling opens with a mechanical groan, and a ghoul drops down.

The wine cellar offers a different kind of detail: more than 3,000 bottles arranged across wooden shelves. The bottles are secured in place, preventing them from shattering as visitors move through the room and the scares unfold.

In the asylum, an actor stationed at a heavy entrance door lays out the rules for touring the facility. His final instruction is simple: “Make sure you don't look behind you.”

He points, and visitors instinctively turn around. The distraction gives the haunt an opening to deliver a scare from the opposite direction.

Outside, the breeze comes off Long Island Sound. The Ferris wheel remains dark, and another group makes its way toward the entrance, ready to see what awaits inside.

For the Costello family, the work will soon come full circle. When the Halloween season ends, the walls will come down, the props will be packed away and the rooms will disappear. By November, the space will be empty again.

But they'll leave the memories of the laughs and scares with visitors, until it’s time to do it again next year.

For more information on Scared By The Sound's final haunt weekend of 2026, visit their website here. 

 

When the Headless Horseman Rides: Halloween in Tarrytown

 

by Tara Adams

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – Stepping off the train into Tarrytown on a chilly October morning means more than just visiting a Hudson Valley village. 

It means stepping into the scene that inspired Washington Irving and helped make “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” famous.

Published in 1820, Irving's short story immortalized the hills, trails and shadows along the Hudson River through the tale of the Headless Horseman.

More than 200 years later, the story remains part of the area's identity.

Here, history extends beyond museum walls. It's part of the landscape, from the Old Croton Aqueduct to the fog that settles over the Hudson on autumn mornings.

Given Irving's legacy, it's no surprise that Tarrytown goes all out for Halloween.

​When I visited the village for the Tarrytown Halloween Parade on October 24, it was my first time experiencing it firsthand. I quickly understood why Halloween is such a big deal here.

Officials estimated before the event that about 20,000 people would pack the streets, which were already buzzing when I arrived.

Scarecrows were tied to utility poles, shop windows sported Halloween decorations, and costumed dogs trotted past their equally festive owners. Children waited excitedly for the parade to begin.

Marchers danced, played instruments, tossed candy and high-fived kids along the route.

The Wildey Street Neighborhood, its members wearing black robes and hoods, hauled a float carrying an animated skeleton making groaning, ghastly sounds. 

“Here lies British Spy Major John Andre, justly executed on October 2, 1780,” a large tombstone on the float stated.

Andre, mentioned in Irving's short story, was a British Army officer during the American Revolutionary War who conspired with Benedict Arnold and was hanged on George Washington's orders.

Other marchers included Pac-Man running after and trying to eat life-size ghosts, Ghostbusters reenactment groups, a cosplayer dressed as Ms. Frizzle from “The Magic School Bus” reminding children to wear their seat belts, and energetic high school bands. 

Students from the Tarrytown Music Hall Academy performed several theatrical acts, including a horror production of “Carrie” along the parade route.

“Help me! Help me!” a student pleaded, before Carrie, wearing a crown and a bloody gown, struck another student down with telekinesis.

Then came the star of the parade.

In Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, the Headless Horseman is a rockstar. The crowd roared whenever he came into view, but the biggest reaction came when he and his horse broke away at a full gallop down Main Street.

Four or five rows deep, spectators whistled and clapped as the legendary Hessian soldier thundered through modern-day Tarrytown. For a moment, Irving's 200-year-old tale seemed to step right off the page.

Maybe that's why Halloween works so well here. People come for the costumes, the parade and the Headless Horseman, but they also come to be part of the legend.

For one October afternoon, Irving's story isn't confined to the page. It's alive on the streets of Tarrytown, with a crowd waiting for the next thunder of hoofbeats.

​Ghosts of the Speakeasy: Horror Hall Unearths New Frights in West Nanticoke

by Tara Adams
Writer, Haunt Hunters App

WEST NANTICOKE, Pa. — In the shadowy basement of a former 1920s Mafia speakeasy, a grainy video casts an eerie glow over a group of curious visitors.

The video shows paranormal investigators entering the speakeasy to capture evidence, and the guests follow their steps through the investigation.

​This is "Underground," the new attraction at Horror Hall’s 2026 season. And for those who step inside, the boundary between the investigation and lingering speakeasy spirits blurs very quickly.

Visitors slip through a hidden entrance into the old bootlegger speakeasy. One of their stops along the way includes a psychic, who sets a chilling scene by sharing a message from the spirit world.

​“There's a spirit here with us,” the psychic warns the huddled group. “Let's see what she wants.”

The guests are guided to place their hands on a Ouija board. The planchette slides across the board, spelling out a single word: Die.

​“Die. It wants you to die,” the psychic gasps just as a sudden jump scare shatters the silence. 

“Go! They're coming!” the psychic shouts.

​It is high-octane theater, and by the time visitors emerge from the final, high-intensity scene, the adrenaline is noticeable.

​“That was cool,” one thrill-seeker remarked as the excited group hurried off toward the next phase of the haunt, which is the walk-through that's been open for more than four decades.

​Justin Davis, Horror Hall casting director, explained that the new attraction relies heavily on atmosphere and narrative. 

“You'll see lots of high-tech things and evidence left behind by ghost hunters,” Davis said. “There's moments of entertainment and storyline and scares, and you'll see all of that.”

​To pull off the nightly mayhem, Davis said there is a crew of 30 to 35 actors among both attractions, and three makeup artists, who begin preparing for the show hours before doors open. Many of the performers are haunt veterans who return year after year.

​“They’re not new people,” Tilbury Community Center Director John Rinehimer said. “They've been here many years.”

​For more than 40 years, Horror Hall has been a cornerstone of northeastern Pennsylvania’s Halloween culture. 

The attraction celebrated its milestone 40th season in 2024, cementing its status as one of the region's most enduring traditions. It's also known as the longest-running indoor haunted attraction in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The frights have filled the halls of the former Harter High School on East Poplar Street since the 1980s, a multi-floor brick building that now operates as the Tilbury Community Center.

​According to Rinehimer, Horror Hall’s longevity comes down to basic survival. 

Decades ago, the Tilbury Volunteer Fire Company held an annual bazaar to raise funds, but the event sometimes struggled to turn a profit. After acquiring the former school in the early 1980s, the fire company pivoted to running the haunted house as its major yearly fundraiser. It proved to be a turning point, transforming the seasonal spookhouse into a beloved community staple.

​While the fire company is no longer active, the mission behind the haunt remains fundamentally the same. Proceeds go toward maintaining the community center, with the remaining dollars donated to charities like the Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors.

​“If we don't do this, we don't have an organization,” Rinehimer said. “Same as the fire company. If they didn't run the haunted house, they wouldn't have existed.”

​Though the production is volunteer-driven, the organization takes care of its own. At the end of every operating night, the cast and crew are treated to a hot meal. The volunteers are also celebrated at an annual awards party every November, reinforcing the sense of kinship that runs deep through the operation.

​That close-knit atmosphere is a big reason why people stick around for decades. 

Diane Knoll, a longtime fixture of the haunt who played Vampira, is still active with the attraction. While she no longer performs, she greets patrons from the ticket booth. 

Older fans of Horror Hall might remember Knoll's iconic local performance. Guests, who were seated in the former school's auditorium while waiting to enter the haunt, would be caught off guard by a flash, before Dracula and Vampira materialized on stage through billowing clouds of smoke.

The pair of traditional vampires would go over the haunt's rules of conduct, before serving as tour guides for a lucky group of haunt-goers. 

Fittingly, Knoll is also the mother of Horror Hall’s scenic designer, Zak Knoll.

Vintage Horror Hall poster of Knoll as Vampira

​Reflecting on the decades they have spent at the haunt, Rinehimer remembers teasing Diane back when they were both much younger. 

“Hey, you think we'll be coming here when we're using canes and in wheelchairs?” he asked her.

​More than 40 years later, they are still there.

​For thrill-seekers looking for an extra jolt, Horror Hall also offers a special adults-only event, Horror Hall After Dark, held on a single night at the close of the regular season. Unlike the standard, family-friendly tour, the late-season adult night takes the frights to an entirely different tier.

​“They touch,” Rinehimer. “It's adult entertainment. The language is a lot different. They push it to the limits.”

​During the event, guests who prefer not to be touched can wear a glow-in-the-dark necklace as a safeguard, though Rinehimer notes that most people who buy a ticket actively want the physical interaction. 

The evening also features unique audience participation elements, including a roving spotlight inside the auditorium.

​“When they go in the auditorium, every now and again, there's a big light that starts swirling around. If it stops on you, they drag you out of there,” Rinehimer explained, adding that pulled guests are eventually reunited with their parties, though perhaps a bit worse for wear.

This year’s Horror Hall After Dark is on Halloween night.

​Whether it's a high-tech ghost hunt in a 1920s speakeasy basement or an intense adult-only night at the end of October, Horror Hall continues to thrive on East Poplar Street, fueled by spooky fun, haunt comradery, and a community refusing to let a tradition die.

“For as long as I've been doing this, it's always felt like home,” Diane Knoll said.

For more information about tickets and Horror Hall’s attraction, visit their website here. 

Deep in the New York Woods, Slaughterland Screampark Mixes Terror With Laughs

 

by Tara Adams
Writer, Haunt Hunters App

​BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- If you drive down Barrier Road in Binghamton after dark, you might stumble onto an address that feels almost too fitting for what waits at the end of it: 666.

​For seven years, Slaughterland Screampark has carved out its own slice of nighttime terror in an isolated, wooded pocket of New York's central Southern Tier. 

While some haunted attractions lean on relentless dread, Co-owner Nikki Steyer and her crew are aiming for something a little different. They want you to scream, yes, but they also want you to laugh a little while you do it.

​"There are so many jump scares, of course, everybody gets a startled reaction," Steyer said. "I appreciate that a lot of them kind of put a comedy spin on it, almost where you can be scared but also laughing. There's many different things that make scaring as a whole standout."

​Building a Nightmare in the Woods

​Running a massive seasonal haunt is no small feat. Steyer and her team pour nine to 10 months of planning and manual labor into the park every year. Rather than tearing everything down and starting from scratch, the focus is on constant evolution.

​"We try to not so much change, but add on and make it better," Steyer explains. "Safety-wise, prop-wise, design-wise, but we try to, every year, add more and more to it."

​That relentless tinkering means late nights and sudden strokes of inspiration. Steyer admits she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night with wild design ideas and tries to figure out how to build them. That hands-on obsession with detail by the entire team, from the props to the set design to the acting, is what she believes keeps the park sharp.

​"The little things to us are just as important," she said. "The more detail, the more realistic ... it's worth doing all that."

​Improv, Clowns, and Interrogation

​Bringing all of that to life takes an army. Slaughterland relies on a cast of 100 to 110 actors who handle the heavy lifting of terrorizing the crowds. Steyer said their commitment is what really sells the experience.

"I'm so proud of them,” she said.

That commitment goes beyond simple jump scares. The actors are quick-witted with improvisations, commenting on guests' reactions to scares or striking up dialogue to match what visitors, and even journalists, tell them on the fly.

​Just inside Cirque De Mort, guests are met by "Freakshow" clowns, one of whom is capable of burping at will.

​"Oh, excuse me. I just ate somebody," she said amid the burps.

​But the playful banter and her voice quickly turn a bit more demented. "I'm going to be the last thing you see at night when you go to sleep!" she warns. "I never forget a face, so you better watch out!"

​Moments later, a writer covering the attraction was stopped by a punk-rock clown sitting high atop the set walls.

​"Whatcha got in your hands? Oh, you're here to record things and take pictures and whatnot? Are you a fed?" he asked.

​"No, I'm not," she responded.

​"Yeah, yeah, are you sure?" the clown pressed.

​"She's wearing a wire! Check her!" he yelled out to another clown nearby.

​Five Attractions and a Trail

​Slaughterland houses five main attractions branching off a sprawling, immersive walking trail that snakes straight through the dark woods. The screampark's website describes them as:

​The Bloodshed: A brutal fusion of a working sawmill and a slaughterhouse running on the pulse of pure horror.

​Dark Magic: A disorienting plunge into a voodoo village built around a pitch-black maze where the supernatural lingers in the dark.

​Wendigo Woods: A shadowy forest trail where ancient myths take physical form among the trees.

​Frightmares 3D: A neon-drenched labyrinth navigated with chromadepth 3D glasses, where UV-reactive walls bring otherworldly visions to life.

​Cirque De Mort: A chaotic carnival tent where regular funhouse tricks twist straight into nightmares.

​Inspiration and What’s Next

​Where do the ideas come from? A steady diet of horror films, visits to other haunts, and whatever happens to pop into their heads when lightning strikes.

​Working out in the pitch-black woods night after night might not be for everyone, but Steyer finds charm in the madness. 

"Yeah, being up here and working at night in the woods, it's very crazy," she laughs.

​Beyond the main gates, visitors can decompress by the bonfire, grab a bite from food vendors, check out live music, or stop by the Bloodstreet Brewery.

Looking ahead, Streyer hints that next season will bring something entirely unprecedented to the grounds, an attraction she said other haunts around here don't yet have. 

​As for this season, Steyer said she hopes those looking for a fun night of thrills will give Slaughterland Screampark a shot.

​"Come see us," Steyer said. "We've been here 7 years, and I still realize there's so many people that have never even heard of us before. We would love everyone to come check us out. Give us a chance.”

Slaughterland Screampark is open on weekends though October 31st. For the complete schedule and ticket information, check out the attraction’s website here.

The Bloodshed at Slaughterland Screampark 

​Retro Thrills and a Vintage Funhouse: Inside Pennsylvania's Massacre Mansion

 

by Tara Adams

Writer, Haunt Hunters App 

SIMPSON, Pa. – Massacre Mansion thrives on something much simpler than high-tech, multi-million dollar scares: pitch-black corners, heavy shadows, old-school setups, and live actors who love to breathe down your neck.

Off a quiet stretch near Carbondale, Pa., this three-attraction fright zone, anchored by a vintage 1960s Funni-Frite funhouse converted into a haunted house, prefers a hands-on approach to terror.

​Inside the mazes, the actors don't say much, but they don't really need to. They lurk in the dark, catch guests off guard, and follow people closely to build a steady sense of unease.

​As visitors round one of the tight corners in the mansion, a chilling audio recording plays out overhead.

​"From the office of the governor, all pleas for clemency are hereby denied," guests hear. A creature strapped into an electric chair is then jolted with simulated volts, plunging the room into sudden darkness right before an effective jump scare hits.

​For more than a decade, the haunt has carved out a throwback niche in an industry obsessed with high-tech upgrades. People travel serious distances for it, too. 

Owner Josh Rodney noted that one dedicated fan traveled from Wisconsin on opening weekend just to experience the haunted funhouse.

​This season, the family-friendly spot features three main attractions: Pumpkins Wrath, a blacklight-reactive maze called Blacklight, and the mansion itself. The haunt's hayride is on hiatus for 2026, but Rodney said the crew plans to expand it and bring it back for 2027.

​"We try to make changes every year," he said.

​To make the attraction more enjoyable for younger guests before the more intense scares kick in, the team added dozens of massive inflatables to the corn maze, some towering right over the walking paths. 

But once dusk settles and the real scares begin, visitors face narrow labyrinth hallways, quick startles, and committed actors who love to stalk guests.

On a recent Friday night, one of the characters, a twisted clown, waited in the corners of Blacklight for unsuspecting guests, timing jump scares as they navigated the dark twists and turns of the maze. 

The same clown also followed guests down hallways with arms outstretched and hands scraping the walls as he moved, adding to the sense of unease. 

​The crown jewel of the whole operation, Massacre Mansion, waits at the very end, and surviving examples are practically museum pieces.

​Decades ago, companies like Funni-Frite built portable wooden-and-canvas funhouses, hand-painted artwork, and mechanical gags designed to be hauled on flatbed trailers from town to town. 

Because those mid-century structures faced brutal weather, constant teardowns, and eventual demolition as modern corporate theme parks took over, finding an intact, operating 1960s funhouse today is rare. Most of them have been lost forever.

​Rodney managed to track down a surviving 1960s Funni-Frite structure online, made the trip to the Pittsburgh area, and hauled it back to northeastern Pennsylvania. After refurbishing it and welding on three extra trailers to stretch out the walk-through, he ran it as a fundraiser in Scranton before moving the whole operation to its current home on an old sawmill site.

​Inside that vintage funhouse, visitors find the keyhole doorways, hand-painted walls, and classic gag doors, among other surprises. It is the last thing people see before heading home, and for good reason.

​"We save that for last, because that's our favorite, too," Rodney said in a previous interview with Haunt Hunters App. "That's where it started. I would say that's our strong point."

For more information about Massacre Mansion and its schedule, check out its Facebook page here. 

A peek inside converted Funni-Frite funhouse, Massacre Mansion 

A look at some inflatables in Pumpkins Wrath 

​Mourners Beware: Funeral Horrors Await Inside Reaper's Revenge's Newest Haunt

 

Last Rites Funeral Parlor, the newest attraction at Reaper's Revenge near Scranton, Pa.

by Tara Adams

Writer, Haunt Hunters App

SCRANTON, Pa. — An eerie, two-story Victorian house stands along a dark mountain path in Lackawanna County, its grey, weathered clapboard siding and towering mansard roof masking what lies behind the front doors. 

Inside, the scent of fresh wood mixes with damp air as owner Paul Kotran opens Last Rites Funeral Parlor, the newest addition to the Reaper’s Revenge complex. It's the sixth haunt at the nationally-recognized haunted attraction.

  

​The detailed set design boosts Last Rites’ twisted theme. 

A once elegant dining room features skeletal remains seated at a fully dressed, decaying table. 

Wall chalking in a pitch-black corridor reads, "I think I'm gunna die in this house," alongside tally marks scratched into the wood. 

Down another hallway, a funeral scene displays a clear glass-topped casket flanked by mourners clad in black while praying and holding rosaries. 

Elsewhere, a human-crow hybrid figure framed by dark feathers stands guarded by twin pillars of artificial skulls.

"When you open a new attraction … this is number 6, you hope to get 70 percent of your vision year one," Kotran said. "I'm going to say out of the gate this is 85. We'll dial this in a little more next year."

​The physical structure was constructed in 2022 and originally teased for a 2023 debut, but the project required extra time and preparation.

​"Our eyes were bigger than our bellies," Kotran said. "We had to save our money. We had to clean some things up, but in the process of doing that, knowing we were going to do a funeral parlor, we were saving and hoarding and going to the flea markets, and we were gathering stuff for three years. So as the rooms got built, we had so much stuff to just drop on and make it really nice."

​Kotran and his team partnered with outside industry experts to bring the interior spaces together.

​"We subbed out five of our rooms to 13th Floor Entertainment, some of the best people in the business," Kotran said. "Our team did the other 12 rooms."

​Work on the house picked up immediately following the close of the previous haunt season.

“We had 10 days-two weeks to tear down,” Kotran said. “We started immediately in November framing it out. This was a workshop, and it looked like an airport hanger. It had the cement and that's it. For the first time in 18 years, we plowed the roads. We came up here for two-three days every week. Got it all framed out. In April, we were able to start putting up walls, set design, lighting, fire emergency stuff."

​Public anticipation built constantly during the delay.

​"What became a PR nightmare, ‘When's that haunted house going to open?’ is now, hopefully, a windfall for us, so we're really pushing that narrative, ‘It’s here,’" Kotran said. 

He said people often approached him to ask when the new haunt would open.

"I can go anywhere in the middle of nowhere … and somebody would go, ‘Oh, you're with Reaper's. When's the haunted house opening?’ So, we had no choice. We had to open it,” Kotran joked.

The new addition pushed the entire Reaper's attraction from 90 minutes to 105 minutes and increased staff from 280 people to 310, Kotran said. 

​The haunt's storyline centers on Last Rites Funeral Parlor, a once-respected funeral home until Samuel “Little Sam” Moon, Jr. returned from embalming school with an obsession with the occult. Following his father's death, Little Sam conducted occult experiments and reanimation attempts inside the building before vanishing.

“Now, after decades of silence, the doors of Last Rites have reopened … and those who enter must confront the darkness that was never truly laid to rest,” according to the Reaper's Revenge website. 

​Haunt-goers are met at the front steps of the funeral parlor by a woman in a dark Victorian dress with a pale face, carrying a rosary and what appears to be a Bible. 

​"Good evening, dearest family and friends," she tells attendees. "On behalf of the Moon family, I would like to extend my sincerest condolences on the passing of your loved one. For the deceased, the agony and suffering of this world are over. For you, your misery is just beginning,” she warns. 

“Only the purest of souls will pass peacefully into the light,” she said. “For others, their place may not be so peaceful. Come, let us protect and console each other, as we mourn our sister."

​Guests then enter the house and have an encounter with the funeral director.

​"Peace be with you," the director calmly tells guests. "Just down the stairs, the viewing will begin shortly."

​Attendees enter in small groups to the viewing parlor, where they begin their journey through the nightmarish house. 

"Sorry for your loss. So sorry for your loss," the funeral director tells guests, as the door closes behind them. 

It doesn't take long for guests to notice that something has gone horribly wrong. 

Actors in masks, makeup, and blood-soaked costuming operate within tight wall cutouts, popping out from narrow spaces to catch visitors off-guard.

Props inside range from a grotesque adult head on a baby's body resting inside a vintage carriage, an overhead creature suspended from a dark ceiling, stretching its limbs over the pathway below, to a towering antique pipe organ running from floor to ceiling. 

Custom wall treatments include inverted crucifixes covered in heavy cobwebs.

 

​"It takes two years to get a feel for a new attraction to decide what's working, what's not," Kotran said. "So, we've got a few nights in on this one. We've already been making adjustments as we go. And then, like, next year we'll do some of the finishing touches. And then it'll become part of our attractions that get a little love every year, which is what we do.”

​Last Rites joins Sector 13, Pitch Black, Lost Carnival, Delirium, and the signature Haunted Hayride on the approximately 66-acre property. 

Reaper's Revenge is open Friday through Sunday nights through November 1, 2026. Tickets, specific dates, and gate times are available on the Reaper's Revenge website.

​From Screen to Scream: Waldorf Estate Of Fear Combines 'Hell House LLC' Anniversary with 2026 Haunt Kickoff

 

Photo: Haunt Hunters App 

by Tara Adams
Writer, Haunt Hunters App

LEHIGHTON, Pa. — For horror fans, stepping onto the grounds of the Waldorf Estate of Fear isn’t just a trip to a local haunt. It’s walking onto a real-life movie set.

​This Saturday, Sept. 26, the Lehighton attraction kicks off its 2026 season with Hell House Fear Fest, a daylong convention celebrating the supernatural and the cult-favorite found-footage film Hell House LLC, which was filmed on the property.

​The event lands at a big moment for the franchise: 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the original movie's release. To celebrate a decade of scares, the film is heading back to the big screen for a special nationwide theatrical run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1.  

​Waldorf Owner Angie Moyer said the film’s grip on the horror community hasn't faded over the past ten years.

​“It's creepy and realistic,” Moyer said. “It's a real haunted house.”

​Running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fear Fest serves as a joint venture between Waldorf Entertainment and Third Eye Productions, building on the success of their previous ParaCon event. Rain or shine, attendees will have access to a slate of horror icons and paranormal personalities. Cast members from the Hell House franchise will host a live Q&A session at 4 p.m., while stars from House of 1000 Corpses, Terrifier 2, The Walking Dead, and History’s Mountain Monsters will be on-site for photos and autographs.

​Beyond celebrity meet-and-greets, the day features vendors, food trucks, and behind-the-scenes set tours, including the interactive "Return to Hell House" experience. The immersive attraction sends visitors deep inside the infamous Abaddon Hotel, forcing them to navigate live characters, shadowy halls, and unpredictable encounters where reality blurs and the hotel itself controls the outcome.

​The event also offers set tours for the upcoming streaming series 24 Hours in Hell: A Paranormal Journey Through Hell House, which was filmed on location in 2024 and acquired by Terror Films for a September 2026 release.

​Once dusk falls, the convention wraps up and the haunt season officially begins.

​Waldorf Estate of Fear features four primary attractions: the Waldorf Hotel, Terror in the Corn, Infection, and Grimville Slaughterhouse. 

According to Moyer, every attraction on the property were upgraded for the 2026 season.

​While not giving away details, Moyer revealed that long-time visitors will notice changes at the flagship Waldorf Hotel the second they arrive.

​“There's a completely different way to get in the hotel, and there's a completely new character who will greet you,” she said.

​In years past, guests entered through a side door and immediately encountered the Bellhop, a fan-favorite known for making visitors feel deeply uncomfortable.

Haunt goers shouldn't expect to escape him this year, though.

In fact, the Bellhop got a promotion.

​“Oh, you'll see him,” Moyer laughed. “He runs the place now.”

​The updates extend across the entire attraction. Terror in the Corn features a redesigned layout and a brand-new queue line, the zombie-infested Infection has expanded its undead horde, and Grimville Slaughterhouse has amped up the gore and chaotic energy.

​"There are more serial killers and more crazy brothers,” Moyer teased.

​For Moyer, combining the convention with opening night was an easy decision.

​“What better way to kick off haunt season than at the set of a horror movie that turns into a haunted house?”

​Hell House Fear Fest runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, followed by the opening night of the haunted attractions. Paranormal fans can also stay for after-hours investigations of the estate. For tickets and full event details, visit waldorfestateoffear.com. Hell House Fear Fest lineup information may be found at Waldorf Estate of Fear's Facebook page.