Haunts 2026

I'm woefully behind on the countdown as of writing this, so naturally I will continue to procrastinate and save the final days of the storyline for a rushed and hectic cram session. I didn't figure I'd get another article in, but I'll be able to rip the contents into the Haunt Review section that never got fully finished years ago. Perhaps it will be one step closer. Then again, all these are new, so I'm just adding more instead of finishing up the vacant entries, so perhaps not.

But having attended so many things over the past seasons, the usual haunts (haha) tend to grow stale, so this year, I wanted to get in a few new ones in order to shake up the season a bit. Let's take a look.

Naumkeag Pumpkin Show

The Naumkeag Pumpkin Show was the most recent, so I will tackle it first while it's fresh in my rotting pumpking brain. It wasn't truly a first time at that location, but the prior visit was a Christmas-themed walkthrough set in the dead of winter when you're unable to feel your fingers or other extremities. That was worth the three-hour drive, so we figured an autumnal version wouldn't be too far off the mark.

Set in Norman Rockwell's hometown, it's as picture-esque as you'd imagine. A sprawling mansion, winding gardens and greenhouses, and an overlook down to a sheep pasture are then decorated with lights and pumpkins. They're the craft store carving pumpkins, but I think that's been the general trend lately, and it has the added benefit of not smelling like your toothbrush when you bring it on vacation.

Parking is off-site, but not a huge deal since that makes stashing your car a bit easier, and busses depart every few minutes, so there's no real waiting. The trip is only a few minutes too. Dropping off on the overlook, there's some asian-inspired temple aesthetics from the start, which then transitions to the gardens and a greenhouse. There's some love for Little Shop of Horrors too, which I recall persisting into the Christmas season.

This leads into a winding path back up to a mansion and giftshop, where you can repeat the circuit if you wish or head back to the bus. We opted to give it a second pass, since the 5:00 arrival time still allowed for some daylight, which was nice in its own right, but there was something added during the night when things could light up.

Railway of Horrors

In the pursuit of new haunts to attend, Railway of Horrors popped up on the list of newish things. I hadn't heard of it, but apparently it ran last year as well, perhaps without the marketing that made its way to my eyes. I also perhaps confused it with the Essex trolley museum, which I've written about in the Micros section and also has a Halloween revision for the season.

Connections to the Trolley Museum begin and end with some rideable object that rolls on a track, since Railway is actually a mini train akin to the ones you might see at an amusement park. This doesn't diminish what the overall result is, but don't think enclosed train. You'll be bumping knees with a passenger.

This leaves us with two segments of the experience. There's a midway, of sorts, behind the gift shop. You can pick up some branded swag, or you can play some of the carney games. I've written about my disdain many-a-times about carney games, but there's a twist here—they're free to play. Granted the prize is a small Halloween-themed rubber ducky, but I'd take a lesser prize over getting robbed any day. Continuing the carnival idea, there's a hotdog stand where you can get something to eat that also won't break the budget.

The tickets are timed, since there's but the one train, and it does follow a lengthy path, which breaks up sessions quite a bit. The midway helps pass the time, but there's no sense getting in line too early, as it will be a while if you're too early.

The train is more or less analogous to a haunted hayride, just in a rolling car instead of a wagon. It heads off into the woods, where it loops a few times with some themed set pieces, with the main one being a circus. This portion stops and has a lengthy narration that adds detail to the proceedings and doubles back upon the return trip.

Carver's Curse

The third and final 'new' thing this year also popped up on the list of things in the local area, and it also was in its second year, unbeknownst to me. I'm slipping. It was in the vicinity of another yearly attraction that we visit, so without having to backtrack too far out of the way, it was worth a quick stop. Funny how in years past, we'd hit up to five events in a weekend and expertly time each based on hours of operation and drive time. You'd almost think I had a grasp on time management for a second.

We picked the absolute coldest night to go, one usually reserved for the end of the season, not right in the middle of it. Being an indoor attraction, it didn't seem too bad, except for the 40-minute line to get in. Once there, it was all good, but seeing as I was dressed for daytime, it quickly became less than pleasant.

The grounds were well-done surrounding the attraction. A DJ played a mix of not-quite-Halloween music. It seems nutmetal, 90s Manson adjacent, and modern metalcore are fast becoming the soundtrack to seasonal haunts. I can't complain, even if multiple songs by the same artist were played back to back.

There were some food trucks and swag, but then it was time to get on in. Everything takes place in a large building, making it akin to Spooky World or Fright Kingdom. Each room, of sorts, has its own theme, the standout being the initial barroom, which was playing Cumbersome by 7 Mary 3—a perfect song for the location. I'm not sure if I managed to hit the exact moment when the objectively correct song was playing, or if the actors had to listen to it on repeat, making it live up to its namesake.

There was a little confusion in spots as to where to go to get to the next room, but overall, it wasn't too bad. Once we got to the end, it wasn't truly the end, as the outside wrapped around and had a few more themed sets to get through. And then it still wasn't over, since you could take a walk through the corn maze. I opted to follow the people in front of me, which proved to be a huge mistake. Never put your trust in others. By the first loopback, I broke free and found my own path, which may or may not have been an official trail, but it got us out in record time.

Overall, it was a nice addition to the options in the area, and one worth visiting again before I grow weary and want to find something new.