Halloween Happenings: The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride

The spirits are disquiet at The Bates Motel in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Every October for the past 18 years, the dead and undead alike have walked the earth in the otherwise quiet, suburban town of Gradyville. Halloween sees the transformation of Arasapha Farms into a triple-threat of horror including The Bates Motel, Corn Maze and Haunted Hayride.

Over the years, the Bates Motel has grown and evolved into one of the best and scariest of the Halloween-themed attractions to be found anywhere. Keeping with that tradition, the owners have taken the haunt to new levels of horror for 2008. If putrid, resurrected corpses get your pulse pounding, you'll be thrilled with what you'll find find roaming the property. In addition to the "live" undead. a dozen more animatronic zombies spring to life as guests make their rounds.

With a gleam in his eye, owner Randy Bates, tells about the exploding gas station making it's debut this year. The new feature, conceived by Bates and designed by a Hollywood special effects engineer, is centered around visitors coming across a recent car wreck. The badly mangled car is wrapped around a tree and still smoking as you approach. Gas is leaking from the vehicle and suddenly ignites. Flames rapidly travel a path towards a nearby gas pump and result in a very real and startling explosion.

As much of the attraction has been rebuilt from the ground up for 2008, previous visitors to the site will find many new shocks, features and frights. An all new, 32 channel computer-controlled effects board has been installed, bringing life to the haunt's lighting and digital sound track. Realistic animatronic creatures triggered by motion sensors allow for perfectly timed scares.

The owner's passion, craftsmanship and attention to detail is readily evident in every set and scene. A new, full-scale covered bridge beckons visitors inside. Soft, flickering lights set the mood. You will, of course, sense that something is coming. You just won't know where-- or when.

Holding a sword in one hand and a severed head in the other, a state-of-the-art animatronic headless horseman greets you in a most gruesome fashion. His horse rears back and kicks his legs. The only escape route is an eerie tunneled cave-- residents unknown.

While mechanized monsters are prominently featured throughout, you'll encounter dozens of ghouls portrayed by live actors along the way. The Bates Motel requires more than 90 actors, technicians and artists to successfully run the attraction. In the hours leading up to each night's show, several talented make up artists work their magic on the actors using fangs, fake blood, prosthetics and air brush.

While you wont be able to do much shopping there, be sure to check out the new strip mall located in the middle of the farm. There are five different stores at the mall, but it seems there's something rotten in the retail. The buildings are over run with the undead. Zombies are everywhere and they're looking for you to join them in the food court..

Over in the corn maze, you'll round a corner and encounter an all new mausoleum. As you approach, motion sensors trigger the creeky, rusted gates. Step inside and they slam shut, leaving no apparent route of escape. The stone plates meant to seal the coffins behind the walls sudddenly begin to rattle and a banshee soars overhead. At second glance, she turns and crawls along the ceiling in a most disturbing fashion. An animatronic corpse grabs your attention in one direction while a hidden door allows yet another decaying creature to emerge from behind.

In time, you'll pass through a haunted fishing village. There's nothing quaint about it. Nothing to lure you into sticking around to see if you get a nibble or bite. Remain alert-- entirely disconcerted in the knowledge you may not be "the one that got away".

As you near the end of your trip through the maze, you encounter a most grotesque and frightening scene. A large, animatronic werewolf has a young girl pinned down on an old, rusty table. Another beast crouches nearby. The girl is, at least for the moment, still alive as she reaches out and pleads for help. Her bottom half is revealed to be a mostly missing, bloody mess as the creature continues to dine on the remainder of his victim.

More werewolves await just around the bend-- and there lies another unlucky victim of the lycanthropes' veracious appetites. The cost of the two girls sneaking out to go to a party: Their lives. Animatronics for an ulta-intense werewolf scene: $25,000. Having the blood-curdling scare of your life in a dark, spooky corn field: Priceless.

Last up is the Bates Motel, a high-action, haunted Victorian mansion. Enter the lobby at your own risk. The rattling floorboards, eerie green glow and misty fog signal that Bates is no ordinary bed and breakfast. From candle light to strobe lights, the unsettling mood is set most effectively by an advanced special effects system.

Ghosts and ghouls abound in the motel. At one point during your tour you'll find yourself back outside, visiting the family's haunted pet cemetery. Beware of the rabid animatronic dog. Do your best to avoid his snarling growl and foaming mouth by heading back inside.

Further down the hallway, there's a birthday celebration underway. This party, however, strays a bit from the norm. The guest of honor and the other children have all turned evil. The pint-sized party-goers seem hell-bent on turning the festivities into a nocturnal nightmare.

Without a doubt, murder, madness and mayhem have checked in at The Bates Motel. The only question is... Do you have the guts to check it out?