Headless Horseman Hayride

Infobox Company
name = Headless Horseman Hayride and Haunted Houses

type = Haunted attraction
genre = Theatrical
foundation = 1993
founder = Michael and Nancy Jubie
location_city = Ulster Park, New York
location_country = USA
location =
locations =
area_served = National
key_people =
industry = Theatre
products =
services = Entertainment
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
owner = Michael and Nancy Jubie
num_employees = 150
parent =
divisions =
subsid =
slogan = A New York Nightmare
homepage = [http://headlesshorseman.com Headless Horseman.com]
footnotes =
intl = No

The Headless Horseman Hayride and Haunted Houses ("H5") is a Halloween attraction in the Hudson Valley area of New York. It is located in Ulster Park, about convert|10|mi|km from Poughkeepsie, New York. This haunted attraction covers 45 acres and includes a hay ride, corn maze, and two haunted housescite web |url=http://www.iahaweb.com/news/2007_12_01_archive.html |title=2008 National Haunt & Attractions Show Announces New Seminar Theme: The Art & Science of Haunting |accessdate=2008-09-22 |publisher=International Association of Haunted Attractions |date=2007-12-01 ] cite web |url=http://www.hauntshow.com/eventsandseminars/ |title=The Art of Haunting |accessdate=2008-09-22 |publisher=TransWorld |date=2007-12-01 ] .

H5 is located on a 45 acre, 200-year-old farm that some employees report is actually haunted [ [http://www3.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/10/27/haunted.houses/ 'Haunters' work year-round to scare up Halloween frights] , by Ann Hoevel, CNN.com, October 31, 2006; accessed October 29, 2007, at 09:55] . The facility has garnered a reputation for tailoring the terror experience to the individual customercite web |url=http://www.hvmag.com/Hudson-Valley-Magazine/October-2008/A-Model-of-Mayhem/ |title=A Model of Mayhem |accessdate=2008-10-06 |author=Greg Ryan |date=2008-09-17 |work=Hudson Valley Magazine] .

Attractions

Hayride

Patrons are first taken on a hay ride on a wagon which holds 25-30 customers. Customers are given ample opportunity to be scared by actors during the trip, which is facilitated by a "storyteller," another actor who is on the wagon for the ride. Each year the hayride has a different theme, and the storyteller narrates the tale, interacts with other characters, and sets the mood for customers. The hayride is scary enough to cause some customers to jump off the wagon, or knowingly leave valuable possessions behind [ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2006-10-11-haunted-house-main_x.htm Haunted houses get really scary] by Craig Wilson, USA Today, October 12, 2006, accessed November 2, 2007 at 00:08] .

Hayride Themes

*2008: Once Upon a Terror
*2007: The Black Spider Sideshow
*2006: The Night of the Collectors
*2005: The 13^th Sacrifice
*2004: The Night of the Bogeyman
*2003: The Season of the Witch
*2002: The Necromancer
*2001: Dr. Dark's Evil Carnival

The Corn Maze

The corn maze is the second stage in the visit. Numerous actors are hidden in a one-way (i.e., customers cannot make a wrong turn and lose their way) maze to scare passersby.

Corn Maze Themes

*2008:
**Dark Harvest: Evil Reaping
**Freak Way Walk-Thru
*2007: Dark Harvest

Haunted Houses

Several haunted houses, each designed with a new theme annually, are also part of H5. They are frequently covered in local media [ [http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071002/NEWS06/710040307/1010 Why Is Fear Fun?] , Poughkeepsie Journal, October 2, 2007, accessed October 23, 2007 at 00:27] [ [http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071005/ENTERTAIN/71005008 Local Haunts Reviewed] by Sandy Tomcho and Kristina Wells, RecordOnline.com, October 5, 2007, accessed November 1, 2007 at 23:58] .

House Themes

*2008
**"Bad Seed Fertilizer Co.:" The Nightshade Experiments
**"The Feeding:" Flesh They Crave
**"The Mansion of Dahlia Blood:" Phantom Harbor
*2007: "Bad Seed Fertilizer Co.," "The Feeding," and "The Mansion of Dahlia Blood"

The Creature

Appearing in 2007, the Creature was a convert|150|ft|m|sing=on-long inflated attraction that appeared to be a sleeping dinosaur or dragon. Customers passed through the mouth and walked past internal organs on their way through to the back end.

Other Activities

H5 includes several other attractions, including three eating establishments (Croaked Crow Cafe, Evil Eatery, and Witch Hazel's), four gift shops (Magic Moon Gifts, Ghoulish Gifts, Witchy Woman, and Scarewear), and other entertainers including Spray paint artist Lady Galaxy and sideshow performer John Shaw. Various costumed actors and animatronic creatures are found throughout the site.

Charity Benefits

*2008: Profits from opening night will be donated to the Children's Annex, an autism services provider in the Hudson Valley [cite web |url=http://childrensannex.org/Headless%20Horseman%20Rides.pdf |title=Autism Press Release |accessdate=2008-08-24|format=PDF] .
*2007: A behind-the-scenes look at the hayride was used to raise money for The Queen's Galley, a Kingston, New York-based food bank.

Children's Day

Billed as a "Tiny Taste of Terror," Children's Day takes youngsters on a scaled-down daylight hayride and through the corn maze, all of which are modified for a youthful audiencecite web |url=http://www.thecabinet.com/darkdestinations/location.php?sub_id=dark_destinations&letter=h&location_id=headless_horseman_hayrides__haunted_houses |title=Dark Destinations: Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses |accessdate=2008-10-06 |work= TheCabinet.com|date= 2007-09-27] .-

Frosty Fest

In 2007 H5 reprised "Frosty Fest [ [http://www.ulstertourism.info/todo/attractions.html Ulster County Tourism Bureau] ] ," a Christmas-themed event that had originally been conceived and attempted early in the attraction's run.

References

External links

* [http://www.headlesshorseman.com/ The Headless Horseman Hayride and Haunted Houses]
* [http://www.underworldent.com Illusionist John Shaw]