Designed for safety, Bates Motel is still a scream
EDGMONT » It’s that time of the year again — Delco’s Bates Motel is back and ready for another season of terrifying haunts, levitating spirits, and echoing screams that ring throughout the night!
“Our high-startle, high-action haunted attractions are just what people need to get them into the Halloween spirit,” stated Randy Bates, the head scaremaster at Bates Motel and Haunted Attractions.
Chosen as the Best Haunted Attraction in America by CNN Travel last year, the Bates Motel is the place to be for anyone who wants to truly feel the spirit of the season. The Bates Motel and Haunted Attractions was also voted the Most Entertaining Haunted Attraction in America by America Haunts group. This year, Oprah Magazine chose Bates as the number one scariest haunted attraction in all of America. Here is what Oprah Magazine says:
“The Bates Motel and Bates Psycho Path (GET IT?) have been dazzling visitors for almost 30 years with a particularly slick experience featuring animatronic props actors, and digital FX. The third attraction, the monster-filled Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail, features walk-through sets and over 30 actors in creepy costume.”
Complete with monstrous creatures around every turn, pictures that follow every person, custom animatronic props, and so much more, Arasapha Farm’s Haunted Attractions are open for business, with emphasis on the public’s safety. To keep this year’s guests safe, the creepy actors won’t be touching anyone and masks are required for all visitors at all times.
The creators of the Bates Motel have changed the award-winning hayride into the all-new walking trail called the Psycho Path. Now visitors will be able to witness the deep, dark forest at Arasapha Farm, not from a hayride, but instead, up-close and personal. This dramatic change and others were made due to the pandemic.
“This year is certainly different from past years,” Bates explained. “We didn’t know we would be able to open until mid-August, and then it was a scramble to get ready for the show. Fortunately, our build crew completed updates to the Bates Motel over the winter. The reaction from our fans has been amazing so far! keep telling us to sell the wagons because the walking trail is scarier than the hayride.”
Small groups will be timed as they enter the famous castle façade and walk the hayride trail. The building crew has added lots of new animatronics, sets and scares to continue making this the best Haunted Halloween event in the country.
Additionally, with amazing Hollywood-quality sets like the 100-foot long, 40foot tall asylum and the 200foot long cave, it’s no wonder why this attraction guarantees to scare and be entertaining to even the most discriminating haunted attraction enthusiast.
Only the bravest will venture into the heart of the Bates Motel, where high-tech special effects, unique digital sound tracks and lighting, and monstrous acting make it feel like visitors are in a waking nightmare. According to the team at Bates Motel — visitors should beware because their attractions are not for the faint of heart. In fact, they say, “The hidden scares will have visitors jumping out of their skin.”
The Bates Motel has floor boards that come alive, and ghosts and ghouls that will have visitors wanting to hide behind their friends.
Completing the trifecta of terror at Arasapha Farm is the Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail, filled with brand new sets and trails that will leave trailblazers shook. A terrifying walk through a tall corn field that’s filled with walkthrough buildings and sets, tons of animatronic monsters, and evil hiding around every turn, Revenge of the Scarecrows heightens visitors’ senses, as well as their paranoia.
As they walk the creepy trail, with heart pounding, visitors will wonder what is lurking behind the next tree and who’s watching them. The Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail is no average walk in the park, but rather, a walk no one will soon forget.
The Bates Motel Haunted Attractions are open every night, 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., from now until Sunday, Nov. 1. Visitors can purchase tickets online at www.thebatesmotel.com. This year, to keep everyone safe, the Bates Motel is selling tickets online only. All tickets are date and time sensitive, limiting the number of guests per night. Upon entry, everyone will pass through a new checkpoint including a metal detector and temperature check. All queue lines are double spaced and guests are asked to social distance. Entry to all attractions are also timed to allow space between groups. There’s plenty of hand sanitizer stations throughout the facility and touch surfaces are disinfected on a regular basis.
“Arasapha Farms has gone to extensive lengths to keep our staff and guests safe during the pandemic,” Bates explained. “All staff get a temp test every night. All guests go through a safety check point, with metal detectors and temp monitors. We’re doing everything according to CDC protocols, and even going further than required.”
In another safety precaution, Arasapha’s annual kidfriendly Harvest Hayride has been limited this year to a hayride to the Wild West corn maze and pumpkin patch.
Harvest Hayride is open Saturdays and Sundays until Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. so families will have plenty of time to enjoy the beautiful fall season on the farm. For more information, visit www.harvesthayride.com or call 610-459-0647.
“The Bates Motel staff is doing everything possible to bring guests a safe and enjoyable experience,” Bates said. “There’s no question why the Bates Motel and Haunted Attractions is Delaware Country’s — and America’s - favorite haunted attraction!”