Be Local when visiting haunted attractions
It’s the time of year when people love to be afraid.
They dress up in spooky costumes, watch scary movies and read horror stories by authors such as Stephen King, Anne Rice and Edgar Allan Poe.
And for many, it won’t be Halloween unless they visit a haunted attraction. They look forward to the suspense and adrenaline rush that comes with the scares. Chills and thrills!
Be Local means visiting any of the many haunted attractions available in the area throughout the Halloween season whether it’s a hayride, haunted house or a historical site that offers opportunities to hear its legends and ghost stories.
Not only do they give you a night of fun, but these sites make important contributions to the local economy.
Nationwide, HauntWorld.com, an industry site, reports that haunted houses and attractions are now a one billion dollar industry.
“We estimate there are over 4,000 Halloween attractions charging admission fees to their events,” noted Haunt World on its website. “We additionally estimate there are over 300 amusement facilities producing some sort of Halloween or haunted house event, such as an amusement park or family fun center. A Halloween attraction could be a pumpkin patch, corn maze, hayride to a haunted house.”
Locally, haunted attractions are doing a great job of scaring and entertaining district residents as well as those from out of the area.
“Our main draw is from the area south of Pittsburgh. We know this because we book bonfires and we ask where they come from,” said Rick Allen of Allen’s Haunted Hayrides and Tavern of Terror in Franklin Townships
Rocky Brashear, president of the Brownsville Area Historical Society that operates Nemacolin Castle and offers ghost tours in October, said, “Ninety percent of our people are from out of the area — Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania.”
Local attractions draw visitors to the area where they can also spend money at restaurants and gasoline stations.
“Some people actually get a hotel room in Uniontown and stay over,” said Allen. “They take in our attraction and make a weekend of it. Business helps business.”
Brashear said, “We’re bringing in people from all over the area to stay at hotels, mostly in Uniontown and at the hotel in California — at least for one night.”
Haunted attractions also put funds they generate back into the local economy through their operating expenses, including paying employees.
“The kids who work it — it puts a few dollars in their pockets,” said Allen. “I think we’re going on third generation. It’s a rite of passage for a lot of local kids to work the hayride.”
Allen also noted, “As far as the local economy, it helps our situation on the farm. We consider it a cash crop. We use the same equipment: tractors, wagons and the property when we farm for our commercial endeavors: dairy and grain.”
Brashear said revenue generated from the tour helps Nemacolin Castle, where the board puts money into improvements, as well as other local non-profits that receive donations from the historical society.
“We donate back to the community – churches, the fire department, the library,” said Brashear. “And we allow students to do community service.”
Besides helping the local economy, haunted attractions are fun.
“You can’t beat it on a perfect Indian summer day,” said Allen. “A lot of people who book bonfires say it’s their last outside summer activity.”
As for the scares, Allen said, “We pride ourselves that the hayride is catered for families. The Tavern of Terror is more intense than the hayride. People tell us and we see on our Facebook page that people are real appreciative that when their kids are scared, they take off their masks and show them, we’re just people.”
Brashear noted of the candlelight tours, “We don’t dramatize. We don’t jump out at you. We tell the truth of things that happen in the castle.”
People love the thrills and the possibility that something supernatural is waiting just around the corner.
“We just had two experiences Friday night,” said Brashear. “Paranormal happens in the castle 12 months a year — not just on Halloween.”
Those interested in joining the Be Local Network can contact Ted Flowers at 724-425-7231 or by email at tflowers@heraldstandard.com. Discount cards are available at the 蘑菇视频, 8 E. Church St., Uniontown, and at the Greene County Messenger, 82 W. High St., Waynesburg.