Spooky walks, haunted houses and eerie hayrides abound this October
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
When the weather turns cool and the days grow short, line up a few scarily good times for your family at these spooky venues.
The Fright Nights in Syracuse (www.thefrightnights.com, 7 p.m. to 12 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays in October) isn’t just one haunted house. It’s five: Devil’s Dungeon Slide to Hell, The Monster Movie Maintee, Burgen Manor, Lady Lamson’s Cursed Voyage and Penny’s Playhouse. USA Today included Fright Nights in its “Best 20 Haunted Attractions in the Northeast,” so it’s worth planning a trip—if you dare.
Frightmare Farms Haunted Scream Park in Fulton (www.frightmarefarmsny.com, weekends in October) includes a haunted house, creepy labyrinth, and trail. The woodsy setting makes it seem like something lurks behind each tree. Probably because something is.
13th Hour Rising Haunted Hayride in Fulton (7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays in October) was rated a “Top Attraction” for 2022 by NewYorkHauntedHouses.com. Watch out for murderous clowns, chainsaw-wielding madmen and blood-chilling screams in the night.
Casey’s Cottage in Mexico (https://mexicopointpark.com/wp/?page_id=28, by appointment) is the site of a summer dwelling of Dr. William Casey. After his passing in 1978, visitors started sensing an eerie presence on the site, hearing music and voices, along with objects moving seemingly by themselves. Some even noted the appearance of the specter of a girl near a tree near where she was buried. Will you catch a glimpse?
Demon Acres Haunted House & Hayride in Hannibal (www.demonacres.com) offers a 3,000-sq. foot haunted house with movie-style special effects and a haunted hayride on the 25-acre site. Watch out for disturbing hillbillies and ghouls in the backwoods. Demon Acres also offers two escape rooms.
Terror Field in Clyde (www.terrorfield.com, Fri.-Sat. Sept. 14-Oct. 27) is housed in a mostly derelict part of a historic Erie Canal village. Lit with only your feeble glow stick, who knows what disturbing surprises wait around each corner?
Museum of Wayne County in Lyons (http://waynehistory.ipage.com/Waynehistory/Home.html, by appointment) offers guided tours that tell about William Fee, the convicted murderer hung in the jail in 1860. Does his troubled spirit linger here?
Hose 22 Firehouse in Rochester (www.hose22.com, during business hours) was built in 1916 but closed in 1962 when the fire company moved to a modern facility. The building sat abandoned for 47 years until its restoration in 2007 by a restaurateur. Current staff report seeing figures on camera that they could not see in person, objects that have been moved in unoccupied rooms and a general sense that they’re not quite alone. After a meal at Hose 22 Firehouse Grill, take a self-guided tour of the original meeting space and bunk rooms outfitted with firefighter equipment. Does the heartbreak and suffering they witnessed still echo on the walls?
Marble Orchard Ghost Walk in Lewiston (www.artcouncil.org/events/marble-orchard-historic-walks, 7 p.m., Oct. 27-31,) offers a new ghost walk, “Sailors, Soldiers, and Saloons” to tell tales of people who were just passing through Lewiston but met an unexpected fate. It’s best to bring along a flashlight just in case.
Old Fort Niagara Lantern and Lore Tours (www.oldfortniagara.org/event/100340/lantern-and-lore-tours, Oct. Fridays and Saturdays 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.) offer a guided walk through the darkened fort complete with ghost stories. The tour is best suited for guests ages 10 and older. The Fort provides guests with a lantern each.
Want more of the macabre? Check out New York’s Haunted History Trail (https://hauntedhistorytrail.com) with more than 400 paranormal points of interest.