The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride continues its tradition of terrorizing and titillating thrill-seekers revving up for Halloween.
Located at Arasapha Farm in Glen Mills, Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride has been in business for more than 20 years. HauntWorld Magazine rates it the number one haunted attraction.
Matt Brown, a veteran staff member of 16 years, called the event "a year-round project." The buildings remain standing and preparations for the next Halloween season are constant.
To accompany the growing crowds, "the concession stand is twice the size it used to be." When asked what the most popular attraction is, he said, "the hayride is probably the number one but I'd say that the motel is the scariest."
He explained the overall popularity saying, "It's good family fun and a good night out.”
High school student Michelle Spence and her friends came running out of the haunted motel giggling and laughing despite the horrors within. She said that they were clutching each other as hands grabbed their ankles while they made their way through the building.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how scared were they? "An 8. Definitely an 8," Kyle Benditt said. "But it's worth it. It's scary but it's fun."
Parents are clearly eager to introduce their children to the Halloween fun. Sandy and Stan Snyder introduced their son Will and neighbor Luke to the festivities this year with a visit. Having been to the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride once before, Sandy recalled that they were "screaming and laughing" the entire time.
The Haunted Motel is a labyrinth of rooms. There is a library where a wraith shushes guests who might disturb an emaciated corpse who is supposedly reading, and a giant pig in the kitchen where body parts of animals and humans hang. Actors are dressed as monsters, ghouls, ghosts, witches and deranged doctors. Smoke machines and strobe lights pulse throughout the building. Hands grab legs from secret nooks in the walls. Taking a cue from the exorcist, there is a girl who floats above her bed. There is also a nursery where a demonic baby rises from the dead.
Just when visitors think that they've reached the exit of the haunted motel, they've only stumbled into the pet cemetery where the local gravedigger is eager for company.
If the fear factor hasn't clicked in yet, there is always the Haunted Hayride.
Seated in a wagon, visitors enter through a medieval courtyard where gargoyles loom and skeletons are staked to the ground. The entrance is the jaws of what looks like a Jurassic beast. Once inside, the scenery changes rapidly. There is an insane asylum where blood splatters the walls and patients pound the windows and plead to be let out. There is also a hick encampment where a banjo plays, an abandoned gas station and an industrial plant were actors where helmets befitting the atomic age. At various points, dinosaurs pop out from between the trees, as do other disfigured monsters. For the ultimate scare, performers with chain saws surprise guests by pretending to saw them in half.
For those who have been here before, things have definitely changed. According to Alexandra Deluca, a graduate of Springfield High School and a yearly visitor, "They've upped their game. The first time I came, nobody touched you, but now they stroke your hair and stuff. It's scary but it's cool."
And it's all in the name of chills and thrills.
The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride is open until Nov. 2. Hours on Thursday through Saturday are from 6:30-10:30 p.m. Hours on Sunday through Wednesday are 6:30-9:30 p.m.
About Erin Moonyeen Haley
After graduating from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with a degree in Writing for Film and Television, Erin made the cross-country road trip to Los Angeles where she worked nights at Disneyland before landing assistant gigs at agencies and various production companies. After five years, she decided on a career change and returned to the East Coast, enrolling in West Chester University to earn a Masters in English. Now, she is going on to earn her teaching certificate to teach English in the high school classroom. Throughout all of these years, she's been able to keep her resume eclectic, interning at the Cannes Film Festival, studying art history in Florence, Italy, volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and writing freelance articles for such websites as EHow.com, garden guides.com and suite101.com. In the end, writing, traveling, and teaching remain her ultimate passions.
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