BOO! Our Scary Guide to Haunted Halloween Fun
Kandy Harris | October 12, 2012Sorry if we scared you with the title, but we know some of you liked it. And now that you’ve got your first scare, you’re hungry for more, kind of like a zombie after its first taste of human flesh. So here we go, our short list of fun Halloween frights in the Upstater reader area:
1) Sleepy Halloween, Sleepy Hollow (Tarrytown, Westchester Co.): There’s actually a whole bunch of stuff happening in Sleepy Hollow around Halloween. Not too surprising, given its nomenclature. There are ghost tours, a haunted hayride, a haunted house, cemetery tours, and other stuff. Find out what else here.
2) The Barn of Terror (Lake Katrine, Ulster Co.): Thruview Farm can be seen from the Thruway near the Kingston exit, and the scary happenings take place in a big old barn. If that’s not enough, Farm also has a haunted corn maze, where ghouls jump out at you. Yikes!
3) Shanley Hotel (Napanoch, Ulster Co.): Ah, we’ve been here before on Upstater, and the scares might actually be real. The Shanley holds a Halloween Party on October 27th along with paranormal investigations every weekend.
4) Kevin McCurdy’s Haunted Mansion (Poughkeepsie, Dutchess Co.): This year marks the 34th year of scaring the dickens out of visitors at Bowdoin Park, and they change it up every year. Three screams for the price of one.
5) Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Houses (Ulster Park, Ulster Co.): Much like the Poughkeepsie attraction, the Headless Horseman offers a number of options for your freak-out enjoyment, nine total. Be warned, though: Headless Horseman is the “scarred for life/nightmares forever” kind of scary. Just looking at the photo gallery made us question our sanity. Definitely not for the kids or the weak-hearted.
And if you are looking for something a little more tame and kid-friendly, there’s always the Catskill Mountain Railroad Halloween Ride.
These are, as we said, just a sampling. What’s your favorite scary Halloween destination? Tell us in the comments!

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