Haunted Woods Hayride

Grafton, MA

Website: https://www.facebook.com/graftonlionshayride/

Pricing: $10-15

Type: Hayride

Setting: Outdoor

Full Contact Option: No

Overview

I started writing this about a completely different Forest of Fear. One is a hayride out in Connecticut run by the diocese of Bridgeport and mainly youth volunteers and students, while this appears to be run by the Grafton Lions Club in MA. In yet another case of multiple names, I'm going with the Haunted Woods Hayride, since the facebook page mentions that in the URL, and it will avoid confusion.

I had mixed feelings about this one, but most can be overlooked by its indie nature, being run by a small club, and not asking for too much in terms of admission. The main positive I can give is actually towards the line. While any line is generally seen as something you're burdened with getting through, it tends to overshadow the main event in this case. A DJ plays music, lights dance around the waiting areas, and snacks are relatively cheap. Since it can be a rather lengthy wait, it's nice that there is some atmosphere.

The hayride proper is a fairly standard affair. I'd place is somewhere on the level of Seven Cedars. There's actors and set pieces to look at during the somewhat short ride. The giant cage around the trailer is a nice touch and sort of makes you feel like you're a barrier against the haunts and gives the actors more ability to hold onto the ride.

The main downside was the amount of younger people who didn't really take it seriously. I can't fault them much, since there's that group who are there to meetup with friends, and then there are others who are looking to invest time into the attraction. I was that way once, and probably would have been goofing off all the same. It was slightly more bearable in the line portion, but when on the ride, however, they kept shouting out names of their friends who were working the event, and that sort of broke the immersion a bit.

The Haunted Woods Hayride is only open one weekend a month and payment is in person upon arrival in cash.

Notable Moment

A DJ was playing music throughout the night, with clowns behind his shoulder to keep things on track. Requests were accepted, which led to Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' being played. Not only played, but by a generation that requested it 100% unironically.

Photos

Ratings

Ambience:

The music and atmosphere of the initial line was great. The hayride was somewhat of a standard fare.

Value:

$10 for children, and $15 for adults isn't bad, and is on par for a non-commercial attraction. I imagine procedes go into the club and keep it afloat, so it's not a bad value.

Scares:

Aside from a few roaming actors while in line, the constant jeering from the younger crowd sort of kept any of the proper haunts from hitting their mark.