At one time, Oct. 31 was a day when youngsters would dress up in costume, scary or otherwise, and head into the neighborhood with their trick-or-treat bags hoping to return home with a bag full of goodies.
However, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the number of generations embracing the spooky season has expanded.
“What we’re seeing this year, in particular, is it’s not necessarily just those college-age students, younger consumers who are getting out there. A lot of this is being driven by millennials and older millennials who are planning parties, getting dressed up in costume and really seizing onto this holiday,” said Katherine Cullen, the foundation’s vice president of industry and consumer insights.
Consumers will spend an unprecedented $108.24 per person, and a record 73% of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 69% last year. And it’s not just spending on costumes, candy and decorations for the home, but on entertainment, such as the many haunted houses, ghost tours, festivals, and other special holiday events that have made Halloween a fun time for both young and old beginning as much as a month before the big day.
If it’s a good haunting that you are looking for, there are several attractions in the area offering the scare of a lifetime, beginning with DementedFX Haunted House in Holyoke.
DementedFX follows the story of an immoral medical laboratory, Bio Med Corp., out of its Holyoke building. (Photo submitted by DementedFX)
“What makes our DementedFX Haunted House different from others is people looking for a good scare like the idea that our haunted attraction is based on a single storyline, one horror universe focused on Bio Med Corp that is tied into every room,” said Al Liptak, officially referred to as the “severed head of marketing.”
“We have reviews that say our haunted house is as good as Disney or Universal. We put all of our energy into making this a unique, high-quality experience for our guests and we don’t cut corners,” he added.
The storyline focuses on an immoral medical laboratory, Bio Med Corp., ravaged by its own experiments, that has let loose a virus that is turning the world into monsters and ghouls. Visitors need to break into the lab and rescue the scientist who has the cure to save all humanity.
New this year, in addition to a variety of other beers and wines available at the attraction’s two bars, is a special Demented Bone Crusher Blueberry created exclusively for DementedFX by White Lion Brewing Company.
“The beer is named after our Bone Crusher character, a Mad Max-style villain, who will be entertaining visitors inside our lobby where the story begins as part of their immersive, cinematic theater experience,” Liptak said.
The attraction will be open Oct. 26 to Oct. 29, with varied entrance times beginning at 7 p.m. and on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. General admission is $35. Tickets are available at the door or online, but because of limited availability, it is advised to check their website and consider online ordering. VIP tickets, only available online at $60, include up to one hour of access to their VIP Lounge and bars, plus your first beverage and no waiting in the general admission line.
Located at 530 Main St. in Holyoke, DementedFX provides a unique cinematic experience for adults. However, they don’t encourage children to step into their haunted mansion.
At Six Flags New England in Agawam, their popular Fright Fest returns once again where, as their promotional copy reads, there will be “family-friendly thrills by day and scary frights by night.”
The kid-friendly Boo Fest experience includes pumpkin decorating, trick or treating for goodies in Looney Tunes Movie Town, hay and pallet mazes, scavenger hunt, pedal car track, lawn games, witch crafts, and more, including the new Boo Express in Passholder Plaza filled with friendly monsters and skeletons. There is also the Spooktacular Street Party where ghoulish grooves can be heard alongside dancing and the chance to meet and greet your favorite Looney Tunes characters.
As the sun sets, ghouls and other assorted nefarious and creepy characters come out of hiding for a heart-pounding experience recommended for guests 13 and over. There are chilling Halloween-themed shows, haunted houses galore from Midnight Mansion to The Aftermath: Zombie’s Revenge, multiple haunt zones including the new Necropolis, Wasteland and Soul Harvest, themed rides in the darkness, and roaming entertainers waiting to scare the goosebumps out of brave visitors.
A warning for the wary on the Six Flags website: No costumes for guests over age 12.
Fright Fest runs Oct. 27 beginning at 6 p.m., and at noon on Oct. 28 and 29. The scares continue after Halloween for one last weekend Nov. 3-5.
For more information, including ticket options and additional charges, visit Six Flags’ website.
The Monster Mash Scream Park at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley. (Chris Marion / The Republican)(Chris Marion / The Republican)
It all began with a not so simple scary hayride referred early on as Fear on the Farm, only to grow from that first year in 1991 into Monster Mash Scream Park at McCray’s Farm in South Hadley.
While it started with the haunted hayride, Monster Mash Scream Park today includes two walk-through haunts not for the faint of heart, such as the popular DON (Diagnostic, Operations, Nexus) Genetic Research Facility and Massacre Manor. The haunted hayride and two walk-throughs provide an hour’s worth of entertainment.
And, there’s always something new and sinister awaiting faithful returning patrons, noted Briget Reilly, general manager of the popular attraction.
“The trail for our haunted hayride has been 50 percent redone with six digital video projections, including a zombie containment center, ghost kids on a swing, and a portal to the other side. Also, our haunted houses are outfitted with 30 percent of new scenes and a working maze in one of them. And we totally redid one of our biggest animation to include a hallway reminiscent of the Pennywise sewer from Stephen King’s ‘IT’ movie,” Reilly said.
It takes a staff of 85 people, including characters ranging from ghouls, goblins and other monsters, to bring Fear on the Farm to life.
“We have a core group of people who really love Halloween and who have a passion for entertaining others looking for a good scare. We are a great place to come and get entertained and suspend reality for a while,” Reilly said.
Monster Mash Scream Park, located on 55 Alvord St., operates on Oct. 28, 29 and 30, and is open from 7 p.m. until “the last rider runs screaming,” according to its website. A recent post on their Facebook page notes they have extended the season to Nov. 3 and 4 “to accommodate those who have yet to get their scare on due to the rainy weather.”
Thrill seekers beware, the attraction’s website notes patrons will experience “intense lighting and audio effects, strobes, fog, low visibility, and a physically demanding environment. Do not attend if you are pregnant, claustrophobic, asthmatic, prone to seizures, and have respiratory or heart issues.”
Participants 21 years of age and older can enjoy a beer or wine at an outside trailer along with cider donuts and assorted pastries. McCray’s Country Creamery will also be open serving ice cream, snacks and beverages.
Tickets are available online or onsite and are $30 general admission. A $50 fast pass to skip to the front of the line is available online only.
For more information, visit Fear on the Farm online or call their “deadline” at 413-437-0769.
The newest entry into the haunted housing market is 13th World Fright Park in Palmer, which entered the fray last year.
Three terrifying attractions await haunt-goers including traversing the haunted trail of Moonlight Mayhem, and new for this year, Hellfire House, where welcomed guests will get lost in a twisted maze of darkness, fog and fire as they try to escape the house. Also, in Alone, you will go through a terrifying haunted experience “alone” to face you own fears with no one else to protect you.
Also, new for this year, the park has added Brimstone Tavern, where you can comfort your fears with a variety of unique drinks and cocktails.
Located at 1701 Park St., the attraction is open Oct. 26-30 beginning at 6 p.m. There will also be a “Blackout” on Nov. 4-5, when visitors experience their fears in the most terrifying form – complete darkness.
Tickets, available online, range in price from $30 to $50 with additional options such as Touch of Fear Pass, Fast Pass and a combination of both. The Touch of Fear Pass, available only for those 18 and older, offers an enhancement to the scare experience by allowing their monsters to touch you. Participants will receive a special necklace that identifies them as an “extreme lover of fear,” but if it becomes too intense, they can simply take off the necklace.
Historic villages such as Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge and Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield with their many original buildings from days gone by are ripe for hauntings.
“Haunted Hancock is an after-dark guided tour at our historic village, honoring the legacy of the Shakers. This religious group, which inhabited the site from about 1790 until 1959, believed in the ability to connect to another plane, as demonstrated by their leader Mother Ann’s visions and healing powers and by their interest in spiritualism. On the tour, visitors learn more about this fascinating group by exploring several historic buildings in the dark, hearing ghost stories from the past and the present, and occasionally experiencing their own brush with another world. Every now and then the village cat Pepper makes an appearance, too,” said Michael Crotty, director of Marketing and Communications.
Haunted Hancock is held Oct. 26-28 at 7 p.m. with a special Haunted Hancock for kids on Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
Visitors to Old Sturbridge Village on Oct. 27-29 from 4:30 to 9 p.m. can explore its haunted mysteries as part of Phantoms by Firelight. Participants will learn about the history of Halloween traditions, play games, find edible treats, and listen to ghost stories by the bonfire. Visitors will also be entertained by breathtaking performances of fire breathing and more, as well as acrobats flying high over the village with their vampire-like ways.
Nature lovers can enjoy the season outdoors at Naumkeag, a public garden and historic home at 5 Prospect Hill Road in Stockbridge, which is holding its Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show minus the scares on Oct. 26-29. Visitors can explore their famous gardens as they transform Naumkeag into a celebration of autumn with over 1,500 jack-o-lanterns, hundreds of mums, pumpkins and countless gourds – most of which were grown at Naumkeag. Hot cider and fall treats will be available for sale on-site. For ticket information and hours, visit the Trustees’ website.
Honeycrisp apples for sale at The Apple Place in East Longmeadow, which is hosting a family-friendly Hometown Carnival. (Don Treeger / The Republican)
Other “natural” experiences that have been increasingly popular as tourist attractions for the fall and Halloween time are corn mazes found on many farms today like at The Apple Place in East Longmeadow on 540 Somers Road.
“We refer to our corn maze as our Hometown Carnival with no scares for Halloween. It’s more of a fall attraction and we have all kinds of game to do as you go throughout the winding maze, including pig races, shooting hoops, some 8-10 games in all,” said owner Neal Normandin about the six-acre maze.
“We are very busy right now selling our apples, cider, cider donuts and other treats from our bakery. Our creamery will also be open serving ice cream,” he added.
The Hometown Carnival at The Apple Place runs Oct. 28 and 29 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $15 for ages 10 and older, $10 for ages 5-9 and free for those 4 and under.
There are many other corn mazes to discover throughout the area including Mike’s Maze in Sunderland which was voted “Best Corn Maze in the U.S.” by Yahoo News. It is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Nov. 5. Hicks Family Farm in Charlemont has two days left to its Haunted Nights and corn maze on Oct. 27 and 28 from 7-9 p.m. Admission is $10.
If you want to save some money, you can just hop in the car and drive with the kids through your neighborhood and beyond, especially at night, to view the many outdoor Halloween decorations just like at Christmas.
Westfield on Weekends is offering it’s annual Drive-By Haunted Houses tour through Halloween night. Residences will be shown and listed on an interactive map on the WOW website and on WOW’s Facebook page.
For those who don’t mind driving a little further for some good chills, Salem is synonymous with Halloween because of the Salem Witch Trials. Today, Salem Haunted Happenings is considered by many to be the largest celebration of Halloween in the world for more than a half-million visitors with its parades, parties, vendor fairs, walking tours, special events and museums such as the popular Salem Witch Museum. Visit hauntedhappenings.org for more information.
Additional haunts worth the drive include the SK Pierce Haunted Victorian Mansion, known for its true paranormal activity in Gardner, as well as Connecticut’s Forsaken Lands Outdoor Haunted Attraction in Goshen and the Trail of Terror in Wallingford.
