Expect to navigate past Vikings, vampires and clowns at Markoff’s Haunted Forest this year, but first you’ll have to make it through the circles of hell.
The frightening actors and sets will be part of the festivities at the 22nd annual Halloween event in Dickerson, which opens this weekend.
Paul Brubacher, director of operations (or perhaps the sultan of screams), said the biggest new feature this year will be a Dante’s Inferno theme in the front circle—lots of flames, fire, devils and angels—where customers wait to enter the forest.
Other new attractions include a vampire village made of cedar huts with twisted roof lines; a Viking outpost complete with warriors wielding spears and axes; and a mine shaft with a moving floor in the haunted hayride, Brubacher says.
Visitors walk along one of two trails, where actors lurk, waiting to jump out from spooky sets to scare them.
Brubacher said about 30,000 people are expected to tour the woods this year. Other activities include a haunted hay ride, zip lines and a high ropes course.
“Every year we do it bigger and better than the last,” Brubacher said.
Brothers Nick and Alex Markoff created the Haunted Forest in 1993 raise funds to open a summer camp. After a couple years at Valley Mill, the brothers moved the operation to a 165-acre farm in Dickerson, where it is today.
The proceeds from the annual event support the brothers’ nonprofit Calleva, which provides camps and events that focus on getting adults and children involved in outdoor education and adventure. Brubacher said the attraction is expected to take in about $1 million this year.
Tickets for the Haunted Forest are $35 per person ; $22 if purchased in advance. Tickets for this weekend are $25 each. A pack of 10 additional attraction tickets costs $25; these tickets can be used at attractions including a hayride (5 to 7 tickets), a maze (2 to 3 tickets) or the high ropes course (8 tickets).
The Haunted Forest will be open every Friday and Saturday until Halloween. It will also be open on Oct. 16, 23 and 30.
To find out more about the Haunted Forest, read “Into the Woods,” which appeared in the September/October issue of Bethesda Magazine.
