Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions: The #1 Haunted Attraction in America

When it comes to Halloween events, Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions is second to none.  We have frightened well over one million guests.  Horror Lives Here!

Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions is located in Ulster Park, NY, part of the Historic Haunted Hudson Valley. The historic manor circa 1793 incorporates over sixty-five acres of naturally landscaped property including foreboding woods, surreal ponds, fruit orchards and more. Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions is a unique, immersive experience with a theme that changes each Halloween season.  The event offers ten attractions, including a haunted walking trail, corn maze, and haunted houses, in addition to a donut bakery, gift shops, food cafes, and a professional illusionist stage show. Halloween fans flock back each year.

Headless Horseman continually evolves with unusual monsters, amazing illusions, stunning special fx, unique and original costumes, makeup, animations and frightening detail created by their related company American Made Monster Studios. Only the courageous will survive the intense encounters with the infamous Headless Horseman.

In addition, the creators of Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions are proud to present a new concept of interactive, immersive entertainment. A real-life escape experience "Headless Horseman Escape Rooms" - a first for the Historic Hudson Valley.

Children's Day dates for 2022 are scheduled for the Second and Fourth Saturday in October.

History

The haunted dark hills of New York State are the backdrop of a historic eighteenth-century stone house, horse exchange, and tavern on 65 acres that is the home of Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions.  Charging into its 30th season and entertaining well over one million guests, the legendary event continues to expand and terrify its guests.  Owners, Michael & Nancy Jubie, having a passion for horses, chose the horse and horseman as their iconic characters representing strength, speed, power, and spirit!

This historical estate cannot be duplicated! The night chill, the rustling leaves of ancient maple trees, and the shadows in the night swallow you whole.  While you are on the property your five senses are on heightened alert.

Your experience begins as you enter the property.  You realize that HORROR LIVES HERE! Once inside, you are immersed in a giant midway, with a Halloween atmosphere, including the smell of fresh apple cider donuts from “Deadly Donut Bakery”, gift shops, and music pounding out a bone chilling rhythm.  As walk times are called, you enter the line to the trail, where eerie glowing pumpkins peer down at anxious unexpecting guests.

In 1993 there was a hayride, 35 actors and a wall of t-shirts. Today, Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions is a unique, immersive experience with a theme that changes each Halloween season. Featuring a theatrical haunted walking trail, and 9 other haunted attractions as follows:

• The Lunar Motel
• Glutton's Diner & Slaughter House
• The Horseman’s Tomb
• Dark Harvest Corn Maze
• Mama Rose's Swamp Shack
• Night Shade Nursery & Greenhouse
• Dr. Dark's Black Spider Circus Sideshow
• The Feeding
• Two Raven’s Manor

Today, the experience includes stunt performers, trained actors, monsters, pyrotechnics, professional illusions, and a cast and crew of over 300.

With film-quality sets, costumes, cosmetics, sound, pyrotechnics, and high-tech special fx, the walk-thru is a theatrical experience like no other, complete with high-tech illusions.

Haunted Walking Trail: Start of the Haunted Journey

A NEW EXPERIENCE Is Waiting for You at Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions in the 2022 Halloween Season.

This year, in place of the traditional hayride, Headless Horseman will be offering a WALK-THRU Haunted Experience. This year’s story is titled "The Horseman’s Night of the Shadows.” Are you courageous enough to venture into the darkness of the Horseman's Trail and come face to face with the Headless Horseman? It Is Possible, But Are You Capable of Completing It? How Quickly Are You Able to Walk? Will the Horseman Be Able to Overtake You? You won't have the answers to some of your questions unless you dare to venture on the darkened trail. Keep in mind that you are on foot and that you are walking all by yourself in the dark!

Everything that is, casts a shadow. – Neil Gaiman

When a body passes from this plane to the next everything goes with it. Everything except its shadow. The shadow is forced to live between planes, between light and dark. We have all had that experience when you catch something out of the corner of your eye, only to have it disappear when your gaze turns towards it.

The Horseman wants to reclaim his ancestral land that was originally Crow Hollow. He summons the shadows of the dead from the cemetery of Crow Hollow. Crow Hollow Cemetery is peaceful. The footsteps of anyone who trespasses thru the sacred grounds summons the shadows of the dead out of the ground and into Crow Hollow. Your shadow many be consumed and become part of the army for eternity because it’s not just the shadows of the DEAD, the power will consume the shadows of the living.

Don’t Look Back! WHAT IS FOLLOWING YOU HOME?

Don’t cast a shadow, EVER! They are waiting……………

Shadows are the spirits of the dead that were buried in Crow Hollow Cemetery. If you trespassed on the sacred grounds of Crow Hollow Cemetery your shadow will be bound to Crow Hollow and be controlled by the Horseman forever.

Lunar Motel Haunted House - Stop in and stay a while.

Everyone has their secrets, and there are shadows following us all.

One by one the cars fill the parking spots, the food truck, the business sedan, the pickup loaded with all forms of trash and treasures. Into the final spot rolls the family wagon. It's filled with the noises of children who have been less than entertained with their drive. A weary father gets out just looking for some rest. He walks into the office, signs the guest book and gets a key. A good night's sleep, maybe a hot shower in the morning that will help, he thinks to himself. But those things are far from what he will find here at the Lunar Motel.

What this weary father soon finds is that this hotel has a history. A history of unexplained disappearances, screams of fear and iniquitous figures lurking in the shadows. Not long after slipping into the world of dreams, he is awoken by the blood curdling screams from the next room. He busts open the door, only to find....

It's Room #2... we'll let you decide for yourselves.....

A 1950s roadside hotel atmosphere permeates every inch of this haunted house, from the drapes and bedspreads to the rugs and pillows. There are vintage vending machines and art deco lighting in the rooms. Visitors are kept on edge by cleverly positioned animatronics, actors, video, and sound effects.

Gluttons Diner and Slaughter House Haunted House

“Waitress, there’s a fly in my soup.” Consider yourself lucky if that’s all you find.

From the roadside, Glutton’s looks like any other diner. Once you enter that all changes. Inside you meet a crass waitress, barking orders to the kitchen and delivering meals to the customers. Customers that are slumped over the counter. Are they asleep? Are they DEAD? From the kitchen window comes the stench of burnt meat. Down the hall and into the kitchen you meet the proprietor, Glutton. Shod in his chef’s coat, he keeps the orders filled. But what was that on the plate? Was that a finger? Where is he getting his meat?

Behind the diner is his source, the Slaughterhouse. Animals being butchered. Their meat hanging from the hooks, waiting to be used. Was that a head hanging next to the pig carcass? As you pass through the bowels of the processing area, you come across the truth. Not only are animals being carved for their meat, but there are bodies awaiting the same fate. Head for the loading dock to make your escape. Do not delay, or you may be tomorrow’s blue plate special.

“Gluttons Slaughter House" is the second Haunted House on our list.

The small hamlet of Crow Hollow thrived owing to an exceedingly productive meat-exporting facility. The world-famous meat plant was doing well until an outbreak wiped off all of the animals. Interestingly, the absence of animals had little impact on the slaughterhouse's output. Production went ahead as planned and as expected.

Despite the fact that the factory was closed at night, no one questioned the deliveries.

A real 1940s slaughterhouse was meticulously reproduced in this spooky mansion. Slaughtering sounds, decaying carcass scents, huge water features with dead cows pouring blood, freezer rooms, slaughter stalls, human grinding machines with hundreds of slain animals, and a sadistic butcher will leave you haunted by nightmares for all time. Replicas of the trade's tools of the trade were also constructed. The level of realism is terrifying!

Evil Reaping - The Dark Harvest Corn Maze

When you get out of Glutton's Slaughterhouse, you end up at "THE DARK HARVEST," a 4-acre cornfield maze. As you wander through the endless maze of 10' high corn stalks, you'll run into a lot of giant pumpkins, the bee house, shacks, scarecrows, and insects that are bigger than you are. The Harvesting of Souls is made easier because the people who live in the hollow grounds use old farm tools.

First of all, it was October, a rare month for boys; full of cold winds, long nights, dark promises. Days get short. The shadows lengthen. The wind warms in such a way, you want to run forever through the fields, because up ahead, ten thousand pumpkins lie waiting to be cut. – Ray Bradbury

Pumpkins to be cut, corn to be reaped and souls to be harvested. The fields here grow more than you know and take more than you may be willing to give. Although you enter this field at night and believe that shadows don’t exist in the dark, I am here to tell you that night is simply one large shadow. As you make your way through the fields keep your eyes open and your mind closed. The deranged, the friendless, the insane and indigent all call this field their home now. Souls lost to the shadows. Bodies twisted and transformed by the very stalks they walk amongst. Are they still seeking the path out? Or are they trying to make you join them?

So many souls lost. So many lives changed forever. Heed my warning or join them in their torment. Torment from the shadows that destroys their minds and pulls their souls from them.

The Horseman’s Tomb Haunted House

“Do you wait until Death separates you, to be faithful to Her for all days?”

The Headless Horseman, the Hessian Mercenary decapitated by a cannonball only to return and torment the town. We’ve all heard the tales and lived with the fear that he may be coming for our head next. I’m here to tell you the truth. You see my family has resided in Crow Hollow for as long as there has been a Crow Hollow. And the truth is, not only does he exist, but there is another.

It all started with Meredith Terpening. Meredith’s family lived next door to mine. When Meredith first encountered the Horseman, he spared her. At first locals didn’t understand, it wasn’t until he returned a month later, and under the Blood Moon of October took her head. Her parents screamed in terror as their grown daughter’s body went limp and fell to the ground. The terror was quickly replaced with horror as her headless body rose, turned to her parents and then turned and followed the Horseman towards the cemetery. Their parents followed, but not too closely for they feared the Horseman. They watched as the Horseman and Meredith’s headless body walked to the back of the cemetery and into the belly of a large mausoleum. Meredith’s parents attempted to follow, but a strange, cold force kept them from entering.

Now as you stand at the entrance of that very tomb, will you be able to enter? Will you make it out? Do you feel the cold breath of the earth keeping you from entering? Is that the night chill raising the hairs on your neck? Or is it the cold blade of the Horseman?

Mama' Rose's Swamp Shack

If you knew how you died, would that change how you lived?

The names may have been different, the crazy old woman, the witch, the old hag, Mama Rose. But the stories were all the same. Never go down to that shack. Don’t talk to her. And more importantly, NEVER listen to what she says.

Just on the outskirts of Crow Hollow, near Terpening’s farm, is a beaten down shack. Broken down by time and by neglect. Living in that shack is a haggard old woman, named Rose. Or more specifically Mama Rose. Rumor says that she was once the wife of a very prosperous businessman in Crow Hollow, until he disappeared. Most people believe Mama Rose was to blame for his disappearance.

You see, Mama Rose believes she can see into a person’s future, including the way they die. And many townspeople believe the same. Some claim to have seen it. Farmers getting run over by their own tractors. Lumberjacks killed by the trees they were cutting down. All of these would seem to be accidents until you find out that Mama Rose had seen it all happen, years before it did. While others, changed careers altogether, just to be claimed by the very means that Mama Rose had spelled out.

So if you happen to come across that old shack and specifically Mama Rose. Cover your ears and clear your mind or she may tell you your fate. For some of you that fate is a long way off. But for many of you, it is just around the next corner.

Dr. Dark’s Black Spider Circus Sideshow
Under New Management: Lucy Fear's Side Show

Twenty-one years of torment, fear, rumors and shadows.

Torment for the town residents,
Fear of what would happen next,
Rumors of what had come to pass,
And Shadows of the souls that once were.

Lucy Fear and her band of freaks and geeks have long been the talk of Crow Hollow. They have been the bringers of joy, the purveyors of pleasure and the traffickers of terror. Long gone are the squeals of children, the oohs and ahs of guests. These have been replaced by the wails of mothers looking for their lost child, the shrieks of victims pierced from behind and the cackles of Lucy’s lunatics.

All forms of souls now call this tattered tent their home, the Deformed, the Deranged, the Distraught and the Deadly. Souls Deformed since birth, their only purpose to draw the sympathy of those who pass by. The Deranged, long trapped here and forced to answer every one of Lucy’s requests. The Distraught, those still looking for the loved one that has disappeared into the shadows. And the Deadly, those that once brought joy and laughter to young and old, the Clowns. Dealers in Death. Lucy decries and they answer the call.

Will you make it out of the tent with the memories of what you saw? Or will your soul slip into the shadows and never return?

Nightshade Greenhouse

All action takes place, so to speak, in a kind of twilight, which like a fog or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than they really are. – Carl von Clausewitz

It was this very greenhouse, 100 years ago, where it all happened.

For years, Mother Nature had smiled on the Terpening’s farm. Animals had plenty of grass to eat and the acres of farmland produced crops that were unmatched. That is until it seemed Mother Nature had turned her back. Grass still grew and crops were still produced but not in the same way as the past.  But this bounty wasn’t enough for Mel Terpening, the farm’s patriarch. He wanted more. And if Mother Nature wouldn’t help him out, he would find a way himself. Terpening would spend his afternoons and evenings scheming and experimenting in the shadowy corners of the greenhouse. He increased his crops twofold. But this abundance came with a cost. For this is when Mother Nature showed her vengeful side. Terpening’s family became ill. Vicious headaches, abdominal pain and fevers were the norm. The very food they needed to survive was killing them.

Plants that once produced fruits and vegetables were now producing arms and legs. Yes, Mother Nature had turned his crops into killing machines. Plants that can now move, grab and constrict your movements.

Keep your eyes open and your arms close as you make your way through his evil nursery. For if you get trapped here you’ll give a new meaning to “setting up roots”.

The Feeding Haunted House

The Feeding presents F.E.A.R. - Fright, Empathy, Anxiety, Rage

Fear – (noun) – an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.

Located on the outskirts of Crow Hollow, lies a dilapidated building with broken walls and moss covered gables. This building once held the hospital wing for the town’s poorhouse, The Manor at Two Ravens. Within these walls are the remains, vestiges if you will, of operating, exam and rehabilitation rooms. Locals however recall that this building held only one type of room, torture.

You see, the stories tell of the indigent, insane, depraved souls that were brought there. Fears were explored, the dark, heights, spiders. Every type of fright was examined. Screams could be heard far and wide. The screams of human and animal echoing from the depths of the building. Former workers told of stories of empathy towards the patients. Many that never feared something began to. The empathy was so intense that many became patients themselves. Others held a level of anxiety like they had never felt. Fear of losing their job, their mind or worse their lives. Many patients developed a level of rage most have never experienced.

Before you enter, know this, the shadows, intimations of those patients and workers are believed to still roam its halls. They lurk in the darkest corners. Be wary, for if your shadow gets trapped there you will walk your remaining days a soulless, empty shell of what you are now.

You have been warned…..

Deadly Donuts

While waiting in line for the final haunted house, you can taste freshly made apple cider donuts. 

Haunted Gardens

Take a tour of a haunted garden adorned with an image of the Horseman, creepy jack-o-lanterns, hiding scarecrows, and menacing trees staring at you from every nook and cranny.

The Manor at Two Ravens Haunted House – Final Stop on the Haunted Experience

WHO'LL WEEP FOR ME?
Wher' neath the cold damp earth I lay
And sleep in quiet day by day
And have no more on earth to say

WHO'LL WEEP FOR ME?
When I am sleeping in the tomb
And o'er my head fair flowers bloom
Or midnight's showers in her gloom

WHO'LL WEEP FOR ME?
Yes others too will weep for me
As here I sleep beneath this tree
That waves its branches over me

THEY TOO WILL WEEP FOR ME
My mother dear - I know she'll weep
And father too while here I sleep
My brothers and my sisters dear
Will weep for me while I lay here

Poorhouse, almshouse, asylum, sanatorium, no matter the name every town had one.

In Crow Hollow, that place, was the Manor at Two Ravens. A beautiful Victorian manor in its day, worn down by time, covered in vines and forgotten, like the souls who once called it home. These souls came in all forms; the destitute, insane, indigent, the friendless, sick and elderly. Most residents died there. Some remains can be found in the local cemetery. But many, according to legend were burned in the crematory over the hill in the village. The smell of death still permeates the air. Locals believe the manor to be haunted by these souls. They tell tales of shadows, apparitions, spectres appearing in the windows, candles lit and floating through the air.

Your unguided tour today takes you through the manor. It shows you the living conditions, activity rooms and work duties for those that called it home. Previous guests claim you can hear and sometimes even see the shadows left behind by the tormented souls of those long gone. These same guests claim to have seen rooms that aren’t even there. Keep your mind about you, for those that have visited the Manor at Two Ravens claim to have never been the same. Nightmares, night terrors and delusions abound.

Professional Stage Show

Ryan Dutcher represents amazing illusion and magical entertainment, incorporating fast paced magic with music. His performance incorporates mind bending magic, cutting edge comedy and amazing audience participation.

Other Events At Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions

Headless Horseman Escape Rooms 

Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions also offers interactive and immersive entertainment. A first for the Historic Hudson Valley, "Headless Horseman Escape Rooms" is a real-life experience.

The Headless Horseman Escape Rooms are unlike anything you've ever encountered before. You're 100% actively participating in this haunted event.  Together, you must race against time to solve riddles, crack codes and escape. 

Will you be able to escape in 60 minutes.  If you work as a team, you just might make it, but either way, it will be the most thrilling and challenging hour of your life!

Cypher's Funeral Home

After the untimely passing of his wife, a mortician named Dr. Louis Cypher, who was just widowed, is said to have developed an unhealthy obsession with the idea of resurrecting his late wife. They were given an odd wedding gift in the form of a dollhouse, which possessed the potential to resurrect dead people. A procedure that calls for active participants.

You and your buddies have now broken into his long-abandoned funeral parlor in order to investigate possible paranormal activity there. Once you enter, you discover that the urban legend was accurate. Are you going to be the next person the doctor treats? Or are you going to escape?

Death Row

The Death Row experience lasts for exactly one hour. The most heinous of offenders are housed on Death Row, including Prisoner X, who is the only inmate to disappear completely without a trace. At this point, you and the other prisoners have the same objective. Can you carry out your strategy to rewire the electric chair to getaway? There is only one hindrance standing in the way of this escape plan, and that is the fact that one of you will have to give your life in the electric chair.

Ichabod's Revenge

The Headless Horseman is said to wake from his sleep in the afterlife once every century. At this point, he embarks on a journey throughout the land in pursuit of his severed head. Because you are a descendent of Ichabod Crane, it is now your duty to move the Horseman's skull to a new location to ensure that he will never find peace.

Are you able to find a new home for his skull with the help of the other members of your group?

Or are you going to let his blade get the better of you?

Children’s Day - A Tiny Taste of Terror

On Children's Day, the park lowers the intensity of its horror attractions and makes it a day for fun activities for your child and the whole family. On Children's Day, even the scariest monsters will treat you nicely. You will have fun on a hayride, and along the way, you will meet some friendly characters.  In addition, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the Magic Moon Maze, Haunted Gardens, Witch Hazel's Halloween House, Dino Trail, professional stage show, as well as enjoy music and other surprises, making this Halloween activity the ideal outing for families with young children.

Dates: October 8 and 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

October 9 and 23  have been designated as rain dates.

Make your reservations as soon as possible by visiting www.headlesshorseman.com/tickets  online.

Tips for making the most of your visit:

The best time to buy tickets is for a date early in the season or Friday and Sunday nights.  Saturday nights are busy nights and you may experience an extended waiting period. There is also a "scream pass" ticket option which allows you to go to the head of the line.

You have to pass through a metal detector before entering the attraction, and smoking is not permitted. Flip-flops and high heels are not allowed for safety purposes. 

Their website https://headlesshorseman.com and Facebook Page will be updated in the event the weather impacts the operation.

Final thoughts

In terms of scope and detail, the event is Hollywood quality. Headless Horseman is the only haunted attraction that genuinely captures the "feel" and "spirit of the season." Horror Lives Here!