by Liliana Trigilio | Nov 4, 2021 | November 2021, Web Exclusive
WEB EXCLUSIVE The Built Story app guides you through 20 of Raleigh’s most spooky spots.
Calling all thrill-seekers and lovers of the supernatural! Spooky season ain’t over yet. Experience Raleigh’s most terrifying ghosts, spirits and haunts through self-guided tour marketplace Built Story’s tour of the most spooky spots.
The Built Story app takes you ghost-hunting through 20 local haunted locations (mostly near NC State and DTR), including the likes of Dorothea Dix Hospital, Oakwood Cemetery, the Mordecai House and more—each with its own dose of paranormal activity and bone-chilling story of lore. They say the spirits of the deceased are said to walk among us in Raleigh—and during this tour, you may just come in contact. Boo!
Added bonus: Once the tour is purchased, you can start, pause, stop and retake it as many times as you wish for 30 days (so if you get too spooked, you can always work up the nerve for a redo). Happy haunting! $10 per person, app available on iOS & Android
by Lauren Kruchten | Oct 6, 2021 | Do, October 2021, Web Exclusive
WEB EXCLUSIVE Ghouls just want to have fun, and what better way to spook up some fun than getting the pants scared off you during a local haunt. Here, we round up some haunted houses, trails, mazes, walks, farms and more worth venturing to this month. You may or may not be tempted to sleep with the lights on afterward…
Through Oct. 31
Clayton
The iconic scare fest that is Clayton Fear Farm is back with the hayride and maze. Experience the terror of the Fear Forest Haunted Hayride—aka the longest 20 minutes of your life—on a 40-foot hay wagon from hell charting territory few dare to go and from which even fewer return… then venture to the Haunted Maze and find your way through 8 acres of extremely tall Sudangrass. Scared yet?
Through Nov. 6
Middlesex
Come over to the darkside… and watch your nightmares come to life through a 1/4-mile haunted walking and Mayhem Hayride through the backwoods, as well as new attractions such as the Insane Asylum, JoJo’s Clown Town, the Slaughterhouse, the Bundie Hotel, the S. S. Sea Hag and RottenKorr Cemetery. We dare you to take the scare!
Through Nov. 6
Archdale
Prepare to be spooked! Dubbed by USA Today as one of the 2021 Top Haunted Attractions in America, Spookywoods features 13 themed sets, including Victoria’s Revenge, Werewolf Forest and Slaughter House, each of which boast scary-good set designs and horrifically amazing actors—it’s like a scary movie come to life!
Through Nov. 6
Clinton
Calling all children of the corn. These haunted attractions are guaranteed to “scare the yell out of you.” Hop aboard a tractor for the Haunted Hayride; make your way through a spooky corn maze; or take down some zombies with a paint gun.
Through Nov. 6
Seagrove
Do you have what it takes to make it through Fear Carolina’s 2020 Victims Choice Awards Winner for Best Haunt in the Carolinas? Walk through cabins, houses, mine shafts, swamps, villages, haunted woods and more to find out. Scares beware!
Through Oct. 31
Wilmington
Take a tour through Wilmington’s most haunted homes and burial grounds while hearing eerie tales and ghostly occurrences from professional storytellers and ghost hunters. You’ll never see Wilmington the same…
Through Nov. 6
Youngsville
Hallo-scream is here. Fright night found at NC’s No. 1 Haunted Forest at Panic Point in Youngsville, comprised of four haunted attractions and 32 unique scenes—including Panic Point’s feature attraction, the Haunted Forest, where you find your way through tears of blood and a 1/2-mile of murderers, spiders and aliens via 11 scenes of mayhem; along with the Dark Trail; Killers in the Corn; and Menacing Maze.
Through Oct. 31
Granville
Welcome to your nightmare. North Cackalacky’s first contact-free drive-thru haunted trail is here for the spooking. Do you dare? You and your boo crew creep it real and stay in your vehicle, driving along the thrill-and-chill packed trail for, well, a wicked ride.
Through Oct. 30
Hillsborough
More thrills, less frights, this “haunted” experience is great for the whole family, providing a whimsical look at Halloween—think a coffin fitting room, aliens, spiders, skeletons, clowns, witches and more. Plus, there’s candy for all at the end (if you survive…).
For those who fear the frights, there are plenty of other fun things to do this October that are 100% scare-free. See our round-up of other family-friendly fall happenings just outside of Raleigh below.
Oct. 7
Cary
What could be more North Carolina than a hootenanny?! Join local blogger NC Eat & Play for a fun-filled event featuring live folk/bluegrass music, wood-fired pizzas from V Pizza and other tastings from local vendors, beer and Cheerwine, games, giveaways, and a farm-style train ride at Phillips Farms of Cary.
Oct. 29
Cary
Fans of the annual holiday flotilla in Wrightsville will be pumped to add this local pumpkin flotilla holiday edition to their agenda. Come costumed and bring your carved pumpkin, then watch as they all set sail across Bond Lake at twilight. On-site concessions will be available to buoy up the fun factor while you watch your pumpkin creation float along the lake.
Oct. 31
Durham
It’s like your very own Blair Witch Project by iPhone (I mean, you’ll be ’Gramming it, obv) via hike at the Eno River State Park. Don a costume and be prepared for all the spooks that lurk within the shadows.
Through Oct. 31
Durham
All aboard! The Pumpkin Patch Express is back in the Bull City at Museum of Life + Science with a hay maze, nature bingo, mini golf and more—plus, your chance to pick the perfect pumpkin in the patch.
Through Oct. 31
Chapel Hill
It’s baaaack! Fall fun just “goat” serious. Pick your perf pumpkin in the patch at Spring Haven Farm and then trot over to the pasture for carving with cute friendly goats. Insider tip: The goats love to nibble on the insides of the pumpkins after you scoop them out.
Through Nov. 7
Fuquay-Varina
Give ’em pumpkin to talk about and spice things up with the fam or your boo on the farm through a giant corn maze, pumpkin patch, hayride, jump pad, barrel train, pedal karts and so much more.
Through Oct. 31
Wake Forest
Have an a-maze-ing time finding your way through the 8-acre corn maze (go during the day, or up the spook factor by going at night); then take a hayride. All tickets include a free traditional jack-o’-lantern or exotic pumpkin (blue dolls, pink dolls, ghost, warty goblins and more) that you can take home to carve.
Oct. 30
Zebulon
Slide into Halloween weekend via Lazy Hound Farm’s big slide—plus enjoy food trucks, hayrides, mazes, a playground, farm animals and more. Don your best costume for the chance to win the costume contest!
Oct. 16, 23 and 30
New Hill
Track or treat! Trade the broomstick for the Halloween Express Train and spook up some fun traversing kid-friendly scenes of flying witches, smoking cauldrons and more. Halloween costumes are highly encouraged.
Through Oct. 31
Ramseur
Gourd morning! Millstone Creek Orchards has planted more than 12K pumpkin seeds across three different patches, offering a dozen-plus different varieties of pumpkins and gourds from which to pick. Search for your fave to take home; then enjoy the farm’s signature apple slushies, cider doughnuts, an orchard hayride and more. Fall doesn’t get any better than this!
Through Oct. 30
Seagrove
For a more unique pumpkin-picking experience, head to the Scenic Pottery Highway each Saturday in October to shop for such home accoutrements as ceramic pumpkins, gourds, autumn leaf pottery, woodland creatures, scented candles and seasonal refreshments from various local pottery purveyors.
Through Oct. 31
Wendell
“Getting lost has never been this fun.” Throw on a flannel and enjoy all types of fall entertainment, including a 5-acre corn maze, hay maze, fresh fall produce, games and more.
by Raleigh Magazine | Oct 1, 2020 | Do, October 2020
In a year that’s been anything but, storyteller JD Thomas’s haunted tours will make those eerie October evenings feel a bit more normal—paranormal, even—with stories of ghosts and ghouls, local folklore and mysterious occurrences.
Thomas, who you may otherwise know from his completely different persona as Santa from the Great Raleigh Trolley Santa Express, has led haunted tours on the trolley through downtown Raleigh for the past three Halloweens. But this year, due to COVID, Thomas is taking his tour to the streets of North Hills. Though the format will change, Thomas says, his spooky stories will be the same.
Thomas has devoted much research to Raleigh’s haunted past, and, as an engineer for Amtrak, he’s got a few stories of his own to tell.
“I like spooky, I have fun with it,” Thomas says. “People want to hear these stories. They don’t know a lot about Raleigh’s haunted history.” The tour will be interactive, too, so tour takers can ask Thomas questions and tell him what they think. But some of the stories can be pretty frightening, Thomas says, so he doesn’t recommend the tour for children under 13.
Thomas’s haunted walking tours take place Friday and Sunday evenings, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Groups will meet in the outdoor foyer between STIR and Capital Grille, where Thomas plans to host Halloween-themed cocktails from STIR while waiting for guests to arrive. A Saturday evening tour, beginning at 5 p.m. at Union Station, will also be available. Costumes are highly recommended; Thomas will be dressed in a black top hat, dark round glasses and a black tuxedo, with his signature long beard and a cane for a creepy crypt-keeper vibe. “It’s not as jovial as Santa Claus,” Thomas jokes. “When I wear that outfit, I transform into the storyteller of Raleigh.”
Thomas’s tours will follow all government-mandated COVID regulations, including spacing people six feet apart and requiring face coverings. With local communities already cancelling fall festivities and even trick-or-treating due to the pandemic, Thomas says the haunted walking tour will be perfect for people looking for something to do to celebrate Halloween this month. Each haunted tour will be capped at 10 people. Tickets cost $30 per person; call (919) 889-4499 to reserve your spot.
