By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Pumpkinland
“Halloween Weekend” is here and there are plenty of holiday themed events running throughout the weekend.
Some are in the “not so scary” category.
“Pumpkinland” has returned to Linvilla Orchards (137 West Knowlton Road, Media, 610-876-7116, www.linvilla.com). “Pumpkinland,” which runs through November 2, features fairy tale characters from nursery rhymes along with a huge scarecrow and a really tall storybook.
Other activities include train rides, a straw bale maze, hayrides, pick-your-own apples and pony rides.
There will also be “Harvest Hayrides” and “Autumn Moon Hayrides” starting later in September along with “Straw Bale Maze,” “Train Rides,” “Corn Maze” and “Pony Rides.”
Larger-than-life figures and scarecrows illustrate the legends and lore of the harvest season, featuring local history and some of the many stories of pumpkins and apples.
Linvilla Orchards will have piles of pumpkins in all colors, shapes and sizes — more than 100 tons on display.
The Strasburg Railroad (Route 741, Strasburg, www.strasburgrailroad.com) is running its “The Phantom Line” on November 2 at 3 p.m. – a trip that is inspired by the book by Alyssa Crook.
“The Phantom Line” is a spine-tingling, immersive Halloween experience at the historic Strasburg Rail Road.
Riders will step back in time to the turn of the 20th Century and meet real-life figures from the Spiritualism movement, including Maggie Fox and Lady Conan Doyle.
As the train rolls through the dusk-ladened countryside, prepare for ghostly encounters, mysterious séances, and paranormal phenomena that will leave riders questioning what is real.
With interactive storytelling and chilling historical intrigue, this is a journey into the supernatural.
It is billed as “an unforgettable ride filled with spooky thrills, rich history, and a touch of fun.”
A pre-show will begin 15 minutes before your departure.
Ticket Inclusions are a 45-minute steam train ride through the picturesque Amish Country and exclusive and intimate events with limited seating per show featuring a c.1930s costumed professional cast of actors.
One beer, wine, or soda is included with each ticket. Additional alcoholic and/or non-alcoholic drinks may be purchased during the train ride.
This is a story about historical figures that were a part of the Spiritualist movement and does involve the simulation of communication with the dead. This is a simulation for the sake of storytelling and not an actual attempt to communicate with spirits.
Warning: Flashing lights, strobing effects, and fog will be used during this performance. These effects may not be suitable for those with photosensitive epilepsy or respiratory conditions.
It’s time to check out the corn mazes at Ramsey’s Farm (Ramsey Road, Wilmington,
Delaware, www.ramseysfarm.com).
Corn mazes, along with hayrides, a pumpkin patch and scarecrows, will be featured at Ramsey’s Farm, which is located in northern Delaware on Route 92 just south of the Pennsylvania-Delaware state line. The new season runs on weekends now through October.
Ramsey’s “Pumpkin Patch”
Ramsey’s “Pumpkin Patch” has been in operation since 1995 and the farm’s varied mazes have been delighting and baffling visitors who return each year for the popular annual event. The owners of Ramsey’s Farm raise pumpkins, gourds, ornamental corn, popcorn, feed corn and hay.
The farm’s pumpkin field stretches over 12 acres and yields approximately 20,000 pumpkins each season. Hayrides around the farm will be offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Visitors will be able to shop for pumpkins and other items at the farm store. There will also be hot food and beverages available for purchase.
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks (150 Cherry Hill Road, Ronks, 717-687-6843, www.cherrycrestfarm.com).
The farm’s popular annual “Flashlight Maze” is now underway and will continue every Friday and Saturday night through November 2.
Cherry Crest Adventure Farm has reserved several weekends during the autumn months for Flashlight Maze.
This special activity allows visitors to experience the Amazing Maize Maze in total darkness. All you need are flashlights and a few friends.
The Flashlight Maze is a nice, non-scary, Halloween alternative that has appeal for people of all ages. The Flashlight Maze, which has a $12 admission fee, is open from 6:30-10 p.m. with the last entrance into the Maze at 9 p.m.
The main attraction is Cherry Crest’s “Amazing Maize Maze,” which is billed as “the world’s most dynamic and interactive corn maze.” It is a five-acre corn maze with over two-and-one-half miles of paths, scenic bridges, and clues.
Participants can walk at their own pace as they encounter the “Kernels of Knowledge” along with a variety of clues, tunnel slides, and watering stations. They can also check out a bird’s eye view from the two bridges and watch everyone’s flags waving high above the corn.
The average time to complete the “Amazing Maize Maze” course is one hour. Ticket prices start at $19.
Chaddsford Winery (Route 1, Chadds Ford, 610-388-6221, www.chaddsford.com) is presenting its “Adult Trick or Treat” event every Saturday and Sunday through November 2 from noon-7 p.m.
Visitors will be able to “Trick or Treat” for wine and seasonal snacks at Chaddsford’s wildly popular, adults-only Halloween program as they visit a variety of Halloween-themed pairing stations located throughout the Winery grounds.
The “Pairing Menu” features Greeting Wine – Fall Sangria Spritz
Station 1 – The White Standard with Kernel Clark’s Old Bay Kettle Corn
Station 2 – Dry Rosé with Calkins Creamery Hop & Spicy Cheese Curds
Station 3 – Harbinger with Churro Cinnamon and Chocolate Cookie from Oso Sweet Bakery
Station 4 – Good Vibes Only with Éclat Chocolate Hazelnut Mondiant
Station 5 – Spiced Apple with a Pumpkin Spice Cake Pop.
Tickets are $42.
There are many venues that are open regularly with historic attractions and switch to Halloween events when the season arrives.
Now, let’s move on to the spooky side.
The Chester County History Center (225 North High Street, West Chester, mycchc.org) is presenting two Halloween flavored walking tours this weekend.
On November 1, it will be “Chilling West Chester: A Dark History Walking Tour” at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
From the horrors of the Chester County Prison to the cold-blooded killers tried at the courthouse, to explosions and other disasters that have wrought havoc in the borough, West Chester’s streets and alleys have witnessed two hundred years of spine-chilling history. The historians and educators at the Chester County History Center will share these stories–and more–with visitors on this 90-minute walking tour. These are not ghost stories; these are true tales of terror pulled from our own archives.
Tour is entirely outdoors; sidewalks and terrain may be uneven. Event is rain or shine, so please dress for the weather. Service dogs are welcome; pets are not permitted on our public walking tours.
Tickets are $18.
“Historic Oaklands Cemetery Walking Tour” is scheduled for November 2 at 1 p.m. at 1042 Pottstown Pike in West Chester.
As you walk the streets of West Chester, you’ll see names like Darlington, Butler, and Everhart. But do you know the history behind the names?
Many of West Chester’s leading citizens are buried at Oaklands Cemetery (founded 1854), but there are many stories that remain untold. Join the education staff of the Chester County History Center to learn true tales of the soldiers, statesmen, lawyers, doctors, musicians, athletes, artists and more that found their final rest at this garden cemetery outside of West Chester, Pennsylvania.
T
his walking tour will take approximately two hours and covers one mile of hilly terrain. Sturdy shoes strongly recommended–you will be walking through grass at times, so consider waterproof shoes if the grass is wet.
Once purchased, tickets are nonrefundable, and the tour will take place rain or shine.
Attendees are permitted to bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the quiet shade after the tour. There are no picnic tables so bring chairs and a blanket. Please note that there are no restrooms.
For the comfort of fellow tourgoers, please leave your pets at home. Service animals (as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act) are permitted.
This event is a partnership between Chester County History Center and Oaklands Cemetery; funds raised will support CCHC’s ongoing programming and Oakland’s Perpetual Care Fund.
Tickets are $22.
Now through November 2, Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania (100 E. Northwestern Avenue, Philadelphia, www.morrisarboretum.org) is hosting its 18th annual “Scarecrow Walk.”
Visitors will be able to make their own scarecrows, paint a pumpkin and sample different varieties of apples. Weaver’s Way Coop will be on hand with the season’s best local apple varieties.
Morris Arboretum’s Scarecrow Walk is back for another year.
Visitors will be able to wander through the Arboretum and see scarecrows in honor of beloved superhero characters, essential workers, or best friend heroes.
Throughout the month of October, more than 30 scarecrows will be on display throughout the Arboretum. Visitors will vote for their favorite scarecrow online to determine the winners. The top three scarecrows win a cash prize with a top prize of $250.
Admission to Morris Arboretum is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $10 for youth (ages 3-17).
Grim Philly’s “Dark Philly History Tour” (www.grimphilly.com) will be held every evening throughout the summer.
Participants can walk with tour guides from the grounds of America’s first White House, Congress, and Liberty Bell to homes and sites of Hamilton, Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and more than 10 other Founding-Fathers. The surprising dirt of espionage, murder, sexual license and blackmail highlight the secrets of 1776 with a ghost story or two along the way. This tour is highly researched. And your guide is a historian.
Tickets are $35.
Ghost Tour of Philadelphia (215-413-1997, www.ghosttour.com), Ghost Tour of Lancaster (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) and Ghost Tour of Strasburg (717-687-6687, www.ghosttour.com) operate throughout the winter and offer an eerily entertaining evening of true ghost stories and real haunted houses.
The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia, which is based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Philadelphia, PA.,” is a candlelight walking tour along the back streets and secret gardens of Independence Park, Society Hill, and Old City, where ghostly spirits, haunted houses, and eerie graveyards abound.
Participants can discover the ghost lore of America’s most historic and most haunted city with stories from the founding of William Penn’s colony to present-day hauntings.
The activity is open year-round – weekends, December-February; every night, March-November. Tickets are $24.
The Ghost Tour of Lancaster and the Ghost Tour of Strasburg are based on the book, “Ghost Stories of Lancaster, PA.”
Participants in the Ghost Tour of Lancaster explore the long-forgotten mysteries of one of America’s oldest cities, with haunting tales of otherworldly vigils, fatal curses, and star-crossed lovers. The tour provides the opportunity to experience 300 years of haunted history from Red Rose City’s thorny past. Tickets are $20.
The Ghost Tour of Strasburg is a candlelight walking tour of the quaint and historic town of Strasburg in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Visitors will experience an entertaining evening with a costumed tour guide spinning tales of haunted mansions, eerie graveyards, and spirits that roam the night … in a town lost in time. Tickets are $20.
For years, Eastern State Penitentiary (2124 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, www.easternstate.org) presented one of the premier Halloween attractions in Philadelphia — “Terror Behind the Walls.”
A few years ago, the venue tried something different – a new attraction called “Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary.”
The truly scary attraction, which is running through November 8, takes place at a penitentiary site that was once was an active prison and is now a National Historic Landmark.
It is a scream-inducing event featuring laser and special-effect lighting, digital sound, sinister scents, animatronic creatures and 3-D illusions.
The attractions are “Nightmares,” “Dark Tides,” “Big Top Terror,” “Machine Shop,” “Hospital Flashlight Tour,” “The Crypt,” “The Bloodline Lounge,” “The Speakeasy at Big Al’s Cell” and “Kaleidoscope Hall.”
Ticket prices start at $49.
Amusement parks also switch into Halloween mode during October.
For “Count’s Halloween Spooktacular at Sesame Place” (100 Sesame Place, Langhorne, 215-752-7070, www.sesameplace.com), which runs now through November 2, the popular amusement park has been converted into a Halloween-themed safe venue for kids with trick or treating, pumpkin decorating, hayrides and a hay maze.
Guests will enjoy trick-or-treating around the park, Halloween-themed shows, participating in our interactive Scarecrow Scavenger Hunt, and unique photo opportunities with everyone’s favorite furry friends dressed up in costume on their Halloween-themed floats!
Featured attractions, which will continue until November 6, are “Neighborhood Street Party Halloween Parade,” “Halloween Light Show,” and “The Not-Too-Spooky Howl-O-ween Radio Show.”
Admission to the park starts at $44.99.
“Halloween Haunt at Dorney Park” (3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown, 610-395-3724, www.dorneypark.com) is running now through November 2.
The event features scary creatures roaming the park and scarecrows lining line the walkways while frightening activities take place at the following attractions – “Ghost in the Machine,”
“FrightFeast,” “Port of Call,” “Necropolis,” “Roadside Stop and Chop,” “Blood on the Bayou,” “Black Out,” “Tourist Trap,” and “CarnEvil” along with a variety of mazes and “Creepy Scare Zones.” Admission prices start at $42.99.
The “33rd Annual Fright By Night” (Six Flags Great Adventure, Route 537, Jackson, NJ, 732-928-2000, www.sixflags.com), which is running now through November 2, features family-oriented activities during the day and much scarier attractions after dark for teens and adults.
The attractions include “Big Top Terror,” “Blood Shed,” “Aftermath,” “Hell Fest,” “The Manor,” “Fears,” and “Reflections of the Dead.”
Tickets start at $75.
Six Flags will also be hosting a “Kids Boo Fest” and “Oktoberfest” now through November 2.
The largest number of Halloween events features sites that are only open from mid-September through early November and are exclusively brought to life each year for the Halloween season.
The annual “Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride at Arasapha Farm” (1835 N. Middletown Road, Gradyville, 610-459-0647, www.thebatesmotel.com) will be scaring visitors through November 2.
The haunted hayride through the woods features monsters, special effects and actors. The Bates Motel has haunted rooms with special effects and computerized lighting.
One of the most popular attractions is the “Haunted Hayride.”
Another attraction is the “Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Trail.” A haunted trail is cut through a cornfield inhabited by monsters.
Another popular attraction this year is “Double Edge Axe Throwing.”
Admission prices start at $45.
Pennhurst Asylum (100 Commonwealth Drive, Spring City, 484-866-8964, www.pennhurstasylum.com), which is open through November 2, is on the site of a former mental asylum which has been shuttered for over a quarter of a century.
It has been transformed into a haunted attraction with huge sets, detailed rooms and live actors. Visitors can also explore the labyrinth of underground tunnels.
Tickets are $55 for a combo pass valid for all three Haunted Attractions at Pennhurst: Pennhurst Asylum, The Morgue & The Tunnels.
“Lincoln Mill Haunted House” (4100 Ridge Avenue, Manayunk, www.lincolnmillhaunt.com) is running now through November 2.
Lincoln Mill Haunted House is Philadelphia’s newest haunted attraction. The attraction takes guests on a journey through an interactive living story featuring more than 40 live scare-actors, production quality sets, props, animatronics, and breath-taking special effects.
The attraction is intended to be very scary during evening hours. The owners want it to be the scariest haunted house in the greater Philadelphia region. Mission accomplished — it is scary.
While most haunted house attractions have a lot of room for props and actors, Lincoln Mill has a limited area. As a result, the 20-minute walk through the attraction features many tight spaces, sharp turns, sections that are pitch black, scary props and a slew of live-scare actors doing what they do best.
The attraction’s backstory emerged from a tragic event that occurred in 2021. On September 2, 2021, Hurricane Ida struck Philadelphia and flooded the Mill to historic water levels.
The flood significantly damaged the mill’s interior and revealed a hidden chamber located below the basement level. Countless bodies were found, and a dark truth was discovered about the mill’s past.
Local authorities determined that during the 1930’s, Viktor Kane, the mill owner, tormented and experimented on his workers. Countless workers lost their lives, and their spirits continue to haunt the mill. Construction has since been halted and the mill will open up for guests to experience its dark past for themselves.
Lincoln Mill Haunted House has issued a challenge — explore the Chamber, if you dare.
The main haunted house event will run at night Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday now through November 2. Tickets are sold in hour time slots from 6-11:45 p.m.
Ticket prices start at $35.
The “40th Annual Jason’s Woods” (99 Stehman Road, Lancaster, 717-872-5768, www.jasonswoods.com), which is running through November 8, is a horror show complex that features a combination of live actors, impressive animation and scary special effects.
Popular attractions include “Horrifying Hayride,” “Chamber of Horrors,” “Zombie Apocalypse,” “Lost in Jason’s Woods,” and “Carnival of Fear.”
Admission prices for combo tickets are $35 for three attractions and $45 for five.
“Valley of Fear” (300 W. Bristol Road, Feasterville, 215-942-9787, www.valleyoffear.com), which is open through November 2, features three “heart pounding attractions” — “The Original Haunted Hayride,” “Miles Manor Haunted House,” and “Escape Shipwreck Cove.”
There will also be live music on Saturday and Sunday.
The attraction is billed as “America’s Most Horrifying Woods.” Admission prices start at $25.
The “33rd Annual Field of Screams” (109 College Avenue, Mountville, 717-285-7748, www.fieldofscreams.com), which is open now through November 15, features four world-class Haunted Experiences and an impressive Midway Area.
Top attractions include “Horrifying Haunted Hayride,” “Den of Darkness,” “Nocturnal Wasteland” and “Frightmare Asylum.”
Ticket prices start at $55.
Shocktoberfest (94 Park Avenue, Sinking Spring, 610-375-7273, shocktoberfest.com) features an array of natural and genetically engineered Zombies in a safe and controlled habitat.
“Schockfest Zombie World” is celebrating its 35th year with six “Killer Experiences” — “Zombie Safari Hayride Tour,” “Prison of the Dead,” “The Unknown 3.0,” “Ground Assault,” “Zombie Experience,” and “Midway Massacre.”
The attraction will close on November 8. Ticket prices start at $30.
“The 29th Annual Frightland” (309 Port Penn Road, Middletown, Delaware, 302-838-0256, www.frightland.com) features eight special themed areas — “Zombie Town,” “Ravenwood Cemetery,” “Horror Hayride,” “Idalia Manor,” “Fear,” “Zombie Prison,” “The Attic” and “Haunted Barn.”
Frightland Haunted Attractions has been named a Top 10 Scariest Haunted Attraction in the country by Travel Channel, Forbes and Huffington Post.
The venue includes a variety of haunted attractions including a two-mile Haunted Hayride, four indoor haunted houses and more. The nationally acclaimed Halloween attraction also features live entertainment, carnival amusements and a daytime fall festival.
The venue will remain open until November 8. Ticket prices start at $40.
