About Us & FAQ

1991 Patrick Konopelski along with family and friends create a simple Haunted Hayride called Maniac Mountain.
1994 The hayride changed its name to Field of Screams.
1997 A second attraction was added called The Toxic Asylum Haunted House.
1997 Events name was changed to Shocktoberfest to convey that it was a much larger event and not just a hayride.
1998 Shocktoberfest helps the US Postal Service unveil five new postage stamps honoring Frankenstein, Wolf man, the Mummy, and Phantom of the Opera. The stamps also had an exclusive Shocktoberfest cancelation mark in the shape of skull.
2000 The first sound stage was built on the hayride called Shocker’s Den which contained large scale animatronics. These drive-through buildings gave the creative team the ability to control 100% of the environment allowing them to manipulate all aspects of the show. These buildings are controlled by the same technology used at major theme parks allowing the identical show to repeat every two minutes.
2001 Introduced the RIP Pass one of the first express pass systems in the haunt industry.
2001 Designed and built the Biochemical Plant a $100,000 scene on the hayride featuring a two story custom built animatronic mother worm and eight of her babies. The scene only lasts 2 minutes. This level of investment was unheard of at the time and began to set the bar in haunted hayrides.
2002 Introduced the Water Treatment Station to the haunted hayride that featured a massive hydraulic system large enough to move a full wagon that simulates the earth shaking.
2002 Construction of the Prison of the Dead mega haunt began.
2003 Off season and off location, the design team at Shocktoberfest created a laser shooting horror dark ride on the Wildwood Boardwalk called Zombie World.
2004 The Prison of the Dead was unveiled. Two years in the making, Shocktoberfest’s designers and builders created the massive 50,000 sq. ft. Prison of the Dead haunted house compound making it one of the largest haunted houses on the East Coast. (Most haunted houses are 2,500 sq. ft. to 5,000 sq. ft.)
2005 The Toxic Asylum was upgraded and transformed into the Toxic Asylum 3D Extreme. This very unique Haunted House was painted utilizing ultra violet paint giving the illusion of 3D when guests wore special 3D glasses. While there were other haunted houses using this technique, the experience was mostly paint on flat walls. What made this new attraction so unique was it was actually a three dimensional haunted house painted 100% in 3D UV paint!
2006 Shocktoberfest is selected as one of the Top 13 Haunted Attractions in the Country by Haunt World Magazine.
2007 Our haunted night club called Club Shock was introduced.
2007 Created TXT2 Scream and iScare U mobile apps that allowed our customers to scare other customers by controlling animatronics with their mobile devices.
2008 Owner, Patrick Konopelski elected to Board of the International Association of Haunted Attractions.
2009 Owner, Patrick Konopelski elected President of the International Association of Haunted Attractions.
2009 Shocktoberfest was voted #1 Must See Haunted Attraction in America by Haunted Attraction Magazine
2010 Chosen by the Travel Channel as one of the Scariest Places on Earth.
2010 Owner, Patrick Konopelski becomes President of the Haunted Attraction Association.
2011 Created the Unknown Haunted House that utilizes our proprietary 3D video technology that interacts seamlessly with real world environments.
2011 Owner, Patrick Konopelski continues his role as President of the Haunted Attraction Association.
2011 Following the lead of major amusement parks, Shocktoberfest built Pre-Show buildings that allows customers to be fully immersed with the back story of our attractions.
2012 Owner, Patrick Konopelski continues his role as President of the Haunted Attraction Association.
2012 Shocktoberfest was the first Haunted Scream Park to create The Zombie Mud Run, an obstacle course mud run that incorporates zombies chasing you as they attempt to infect you with the living dead virus.
2013 Shocktoberfest was selected as Top Choice Haunted Attraction by Fright Times Magazine
2013 Created the Zombie Experience where customers get transformed into a zombie and are taken to the Prison of the Dead to scare other customers. The only attraction of its kind.
2013 Voted Hayride of the Year by Frighttour.com
2013 Created the Naked and Scared Challenge Extreme Haunted House Experience. The first haunted house to ever allow guests the choice to experience a haunted house totally nude or prude (wearing nothing but their underwear). This was recognized on all major news outlets, TV networks, radio stations and in countries all over the world.
2013 One of the Haunted Attractions featured in Time Magazine.
2014 Voted Top 19 Terrifying Haunted Houses you should experience before you die! Buzz Feed
2014 Created one of the first haunted hayrides that incorporated an option to shoot live Zombies with paintballs within the traditional haunted hayride experience.
2014 Introduced another Shocktoberfest first: The Zombie Night Run to Shocktoberfest’s lineup of attractions that allows guests to run the one mile hayride trail trying to survive the attacking zombies.
2014 Voted Hayride of the Year by Frighttour.com
2015 Voted Third Best Extreme Haunted Attraction by USA Today
2015 Voted Hayride of the Year by Frighttour.com
2015 Ranked as One of the Spookiest Haunted Houses in Philadelphia – Philadelphia Magazine. 5 Poo’s out of 5 on the Scare-O-Meter.
2015 Designed the Prison of the Dead Escape an escape room experience. Shocktoberfest was one of the first haunted attractions to incorporate an escape room inside a haunted house. Even more impressive, this escape room actually encompasses 8 rooms!
2015 Shocktoberfest was transformed into Zombie World, a zombie theme park.
2015 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association.
2016 Created Ground Assault: Zombie Laser Tag, one of the first ever Laser Tag experience operated on a scream park that allows customers to shoot each other and zombies. Even more impressive, it utilizes state of the art tactical laser guns that communicate using Wi-Fi thereby eliminating any wires or vests.
2016 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by Americasfavoritehauntedattractions.com
2016 YorkFrightReviewSquad.com Rated Shocktoberfest 9 out of 10.
2016 Shocktober Music Fest is created featuring an all day music festival with an extensive line up of 8 bands.
2016 Unveils upscale food options with the creation of Shocktober Feast and Shocker’s Café which offers culinary delights from Fat Jack’s BBQ, Jump in the Boat Seafood, Flava Fries, Warm your Tummy Coffee, & Death by Desserts, all inspired by today’s very popular Food Truck cuisine.
2016 Inducted into the Haunt Rater’s Association Hall of Scares.
2016 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association.
2016 Nick’s Fright Night – Friday the 13th of May, Shocktoberfest and Moment of Peace Adventures (a group that organizes requests for kids with life-threatening disabilities) created a free event for Nick Jordan a 14 year old who was diagnosed with Muscular dystrophy.
2017 Introduces BlackOut and The Hooded Hayride. The first hayride of its kind anywhere in the world!
2017 York Fright Review Squad: Overall Haunted Attraction Rating (scale of 1-10): 9
2017 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2017 Selected as One of the Must See Haunted Attractions by Haunted Attraction Magazine Online
2017 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2018 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2018 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2019 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2019 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2019 Created The Torture Chamber, the first experience of its kind in the haunted attraction industry
2019 Voted Best Midway, Best Production, Best Hayride, First Runner up Scariest Haunt, First Runner Up Individual Attraction: Prison of the Dead and one of the 2019 Haunts of the Year – Fear Fan Reviews
2019 Blackout event received 2nd place award in the “Best Blackout Event” awards category -Fright Review Squad www.frightreviewsquad.com
2020 Created Spooktoberfest! The family friendly spooky version of Shocktoberfest designed for younger children who are ready for a haunted house experience but not quite ready for the extreme level of Shocktoberfest.
2020 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2020 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2020 Created The Zombie Safari Walking Tour- for one year only you can experience the Haunted Hayride without the safety of the hay wagon!
2020 Rated 4th Best Halloween Festival in the US. – The Oprah Magazine
2020 The year that created all new challenges with the advent COVID 19 pandemic! The team at Shocktoberfest worked tirelessly all year to be open and successfully entertain its guests in the safest way possible. By eliminating some of the attractions and changing the hayride to a walkthrough, we were able to have a successful year free of any incidents!
2021 Shocktoberfest’s 30th Anniversary celebrating 30 Years of Fears and Tears!
2021 Voted the 3rd Best Haunted Attraction in America by USA TODAY!
2021 Voted the 9th Scariest Haunted Attraction in America by Frighttour.com
2021 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2021 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2021 Upgraded the Unknown 2.0 to the Unknown 3.0 with new rooms, effects and scares.
2021 Created the first ever Haunted Hotel Room where guests can spend the night in a haunted house!
2021 Chosen as the Best Place to Celebrate Halloween in Pennsylvania – Travel Pulse
2021 One of the 23 Best Halloween Festivals Happening in the U.S. This Year– The Oprah Magazine
2022 Voted one of the Top 10 Best Haunted Attractions in the country by USA Today.
2022 Unveiled the all new Saw Kill building as part of the Safari Hayride featuring state of the art animatronics, special effects and live actors.
2022 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2022 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com
2023 Rated One of America’s Top Haunts in the Country by the Haunted Attraction Association
2023 One of America’s Favorite Haunted Attractions by AmericasFavoriteHauntedAttractions.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I able to bring Bags, Animals, Weapons, Knives, Metal Objects, Drugs, or Alcohol?

That would be a hard no dawg.

Is Shocktoberfest suitable for children?

Shocktoberfest is an intense haunted scream park with state-of-the-art animatronics, live actors, movie quality sets, and professional props. We do not recommend Shocktoberfest for children that might be permanently scared from this experience. Please don’t torture your children just because they make you nuts sometimes or you’re too cheap to get a babysitter.

If you have children under 12, we recommend Spooktoberfest from 5:00-7:00. This fun and spooky experience will allow you to see what your children can handle.

What attractions are open and how much does it cost?

Click on the BUY TICKETS button and then click on the date you would like to attend. You will see all the Combo Packages and prices.

Are you open when it rains?

The Prison of the Dead and the Unknown are open rain or shine. The outdoor attractions are generally closed when it rains. If the weather is really bad such as thunder, lighting, and flooding, Shocktoberfest will be closed. We try to keep everyone updated on our fb page. If you have a ticket for a date that it rains you may use that ticket on another day. Your tickets will be valid any other day or time we are open. The tickets are valid all season so if you don’t experience all the attractions in one night, you are able to return to do the attractions that may be closed on another night. We have a no refund policy unless you purchased the insurance. Thank you.

Do you use smoke machines or strobe lights?

Yes… because we are a haunted house. Why are you asking such a dumb question!?!

What should I Wear?

We recommend “Smart European Casual”. Step one: look at the weather forecast. Step two: dress in layers based on the weather forecast. Sturdy footwear like boots is a plus as you will be doing a fair amount of walking. Open toed shoes and/or flip flops is a no-go. Do not wear anything you value. It can be a hostile environment where clothing may get dirty (this includes your underwear).

Are we allowed to wear our Halloween costume to Shocktoberfest?

You may but please use good judgement. Simple costumes are okay but please don’t come in a costume that is a life size replica of the Statue of Liberty. Other than safety masks, we do not allow masks to be worn on property. We need you to be safe.

Children are allowed to wear costumes for Spooktoberfest from 5:00-7:00

Is parking free and do you have parking for busses and campers?

Yup.

How long does it take to experience Shocktoberfest?

That depends on how many people are here and how long the waits are in the lines. Generally speaking, there are more people here on Friday’s and Saturday’s in October. There are less people here in September, November, and on Sunday’s. Each attraction can take up to 25-30 minutes. Our Monster Midway offers lots of activities along with food and beverage options. You should plan on about two hours total.

Are your attractions handicapped accessible?

We design and build all our attractions to accommodate our handicapped guests. Please let us know if you require any additional assistance at our Customer Service Window upon arrival.