Last Friday, my friends and I decided to have a quick night out and drove out to Ellicottville. Our first stop was Pumpkinville (the perfect spot for a fun fall photo shoot). The premises are a pumpkin farm, but the farm also includes a corn maze, a cider mill, desserts, a corn barn and even a merry-go-round. What we didn’t know is that we needed to pay extra for most of these attractions! So, we got ourselves a cider slushy, did a photo shoot in the “Apple Hut” and went on our way.
We then had dinner at the delicious Gin Mill in town and went to the Haunted Hayrides. You’ll want to get there before 7 p.m. on a Friday night even though they open at 7:30 p.m. because the line gets long super quick! This gave me hope that it was worth it. Even while waiting in line, actors in costumes like werewolves and scarecrows were prepared with their jump scares getting everyone excited for the main event. The $25 included the hayride itself, a haunted house, and a maze, which took us a fair amount of time.
Now, I have never seen a scary movie or ever been to a haunted house. I am very easily scared so know that before you read my opinions. This hayride was super scary. It was about 15 minutes long with a bunch of actors in charge of jump scares. They were allowed to go on the tractor, around its perimeter, and one of them even tried to steal my friend’s hat! Creepy clowns and goblins made exceptional fake screams and threats. The special effects were great and heightened by the terrifying voiceovers.
This does not even go over the haunted house and maze. This section made me audibly scream and race to get out of there. I am pretty sure my friends will never take me to anything scary again. The lighting was extremely well done, and some sections even felt like we were moving side to side because of the optical illusions. The actors were stationed around in places you could not see and made scarier jump scares than I have ever seen. Sometimes they even followed you silently through sections of the maze, which doesn’t sound scary but was definitely creepy. Granted, this was my first real Halloween outing experience so it would not take much to scare me. Regardless, if you are looking for last-minute Halloween plans that are cost-effective and scary, look no further than Ellicottville’s Haunted Hayride attraction.