Things that go bump in the night: Three area haunts worth the fright
Western Pennsylvania has no shortage of places to get your scare on this Halloween, but three area attractions offer something more than a few jump scares.
From elaborate sets and creepy clowns, to haunted trails and paranormal activity, these destinations can turn a night out into something to remember.
From the spookiness of the West Alexander Scare Fair to the anything-but-sacred grounds of Haunted Hills Estate and the Demon House, there are plenty of reasons to gather together a few friends and venture into the unknown.
The West Alexander Scare Fair
The West Alexander Scare Fair, located at the West Alexander Fairgrounds, operates on Friday and Saturday nights in October.
The walk-through attraction got its start in 2013 as a way to bring activity–and income–to the fairgrounds in the off-season.
The West Alexander Agricultural Association “recognized that nothing was happening and therefore no income was generated during two months out of the year,” said Rich Hunter, the association’s director.
The walk-through attraction comprises three separate buildings. Over the years the Scare Fair has grown from bringing in 200 or 300 visitors to welcoming about 4,000 every Halloween season.
And returning guests will likely see something different each year because the attraction is rebuilt every season. One of its most distinctive draws–and perhaps most terrifying, depending on your perspective–is a building filled with creepy clowns.
“That’s what we’re most noted for,” said Hunter.
Those looking to bring a group and make a night of it can reserve fire pits free of charge.
“It’s a great way to spend an evening,” said Hunter.
For more information on the West Alexander Scare Fair, go online to wascarefair.com
The Demon House
Fans of Jack Osbourne’s series, “Portals to Hell,” may recall “The Emerald Hill Hell House” episode, which aired in 2019.
Located at 417 Coyle Curtain Road outside Monongahela, the property is now known as the Demon House, and promises to strike fear in the hearts of those who enter.
Chris and Veronica Pirt, who worked at Demon House for years before taking ownership, now operate the attraction. And who better to run a haunted house than a couple of special effects artists?
Chris, who currently teaches at the Tom Savini Special Effects Makeup School in Monessen, sculpts, molds and paints masks. Veronica joined him in 2008, doing makeup for the business.
The roughly 200-year-old mansion uses its dark history as a draw, claiming workers discovered more than 70 unmarked graves during construction.
Veronica said the upstairs is particularly active.
“Every year our actresses seem to get their hair pulled, or shoved,” she said.
She also said that visitors and staff have reported seeing what appears to be a young child.
“People sometimes claim to see a seven-year-old girl with shoulder length hair and brown bangs, but it could be a boy too since boys had shoulder length hair back then,” she said.
For more information, go online to demonhouse.com.
Haunted Hills Estate
Haunted Hills Estate Scream Park, located at 236 Rolling Hills Estate Road in Uniontown has three separate attractions this year – The Edgewood Asylum, Twisted Nightmare and The Trail.
Jessica Quarrick, Haunted Hills’ operations manager, said the attraction grew out of her mother’s elaborate annual Halloween dinner parties and evolved into what it is today. About 65 high school students take part in the fun, wielding things like chain saws to increase the scare factor.
“Our actors are transformative and rarely break character even when I want them too,” said Quarrick with a chuckle.
The family also gets help from the pros. They flew in Kyle Vest from the Game Show Network’s “Skin Wars” to help create its “Hollywood-level” horror. Later they hired Dutch Bihary, another “Skin Wars” artist, to create custom airbrushed murals for the Twisted Nightmare 3-D attraction.
Quarrick, who is a registered nurse, started working in the ticket booth at a young age. She said that Haunted Hills Estate is the culmination of her mother’s dream and that the enthusiasm is contagious.
“It’s a great stress reliever seeing people just running around and having a good time,” she said.
Additional information is available at hauntedhillsestate.com.