Halloween for Older Kids: Haunted Houses and Halloween Mazes in New York Area

Check out these spooky activities and events—like haunted houses and Halloween corn mazes—in the New York area.

By Katelin Walling, Barbara Russo October 7, 2021

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Enter this terrifying attraction...if you dare! Can you handle a laboratory home to plant/human hybrids? How about a dark subterranean world where certain creatures are out to get you? Experience all this and a lot more at this Long Island haunt. The attraction is not designed for very small children. 

3. Gateway's Haunted Playhouse 

215 S. Country Road, Bellport
631-286-1133
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Hours: Camp Terror and Campers’ Pike: Oct. 1-31, Thursday and Sunday, 7-10pm; Friday-Saturday, 7-11:30pm. Not-So-Scary Kids Adventure: Oct. 16-31, Saturday-Sunday, 12-4pm
Price: Camp Terror: $25; Campers’ Pike: $54 per car (up to 6 people); Not-So-Scary Kids Adventure: $10. Tickets must be purchased in advance.
Recommended ages: Camp Terror and Campers’ Pike: 13 and older. Not-So-Scary Kids Adventure: 3 and older

The Gateway is hosting 3 events this year: Camp Terror, Campers’ Pike, and the Not-So-Scary Kids Adventure. Camp Terror was founded in the 1970s as Camp Gateway, but campers and staff were consumed by the demon spirits of the nearby graveyard. Make your way through this haunted camp...if you dare. Meanwhile, Campers’ Pike was opened after the atrocities at Camp Terror as a beacon of hope...but the demons from Camp Terror quickly took over...see for yourself in this 30-minute drive-through experience. During the Not-So-Scary Kids Adventure, you’ll encounter goofy creatures and bewitching tricks...there’s even a treat at the end.

4. Goat Man’s Haunted Farm

Glover Farm, 641 Victory Ave., Brookhaven
631-220-3424
Hours: Through Oct. 31: Friday-Sunday, 7pm-12am, plus Oct. 11, 7-10pm. Day Show: Saturday-Sunday, 11am-7pm, plus Oct. 11, 11am-7pm
Price: Day Show: $10; $5 children ages 2-14; free for children younger than 2. Night Show: $35
Recommended ages: Day Show: 14 and younger; Night Show: 15 and older

Walk through this haunted house to see the insane laboratory where the Goat Man was supposedly created. It is rumored that people have seen him both inside his house and lurking near the bridge. Then, once you make it through the house, climb aboard the haunted hayride…if you dare. The Day Show for families includes a petting zoo, pumpkin picking, games, a hayride, and more!

5. Harbes Orchard’s Spooky Night Maze

5698 Sound Ave., Riverhead
631-683-8388
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Hours: Oct 9-30, Saturdays, plus Sunday, Oct. 10, 7-9:30pm
Price: $16.95
Recommended ages: All ages

During the day, this orchard’s maze is fun for all, but once the sun goes down, it becomes a spooky puzzle for visitors to solve. Just beware: You’ll encounter creepy characters as you make your way through the maze. Oh, and make sure to bring your own flashlights, as each party that enters the maze must have at least one (you can also purchase flashlights on-site).

6. Halloween House Long Island

Samanea Mall, 1500 Old Country Road, Westbury
516-745-6065
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Hours: Through Nov. 4: Mondays-Wednesdays, 3-9pm; Thursdays, 3-10pm; Fridays, 3pm-1am; Saturdays, 11am-1am; Sundays, 11am-9pm
Price: $25-$30; $20-$25 ages 10 and younger.
Recommended ages: All

This is an indoor, one-of-a-kind, 10-room Halloween experience that family members of all ages will enjoy. Each room is curated by set designers, artists, and Halloween enthusiasts using creative lighting, props, and effects that bring to life the sights, sounds, characters, and traditions associated with the Halloween season with some interesting twists. It’s a one-of-a-kind walkthrough experience for guests, including a Trick or Treat Room, a Glow-in-the-Dark Room, a 1940s-inspired Vintage Haunted House Room, and Pumpkin Patch. During the month there will be scheduled live professional pumpkin carvers appearing to demonstrate and share their skills. There is also a room dedicated to the Netflix show "Stranger Things" with various props and decorations in tribute to the series.

7. Halloween Spooktacular

Sweetbriar Nature Center, 62 Eckernkamp Drive, Smithtown
631-979-6344
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Hours: Friday, Oct. 29, 6-9pm
Price: $15; tickets must be purchased in advance
Recommended ages: 7 and older

Come to Sweetbriar Nature Center for an evening of fun and excitement. Enjoy eerie animal presentations, a ghostly graveyard, creepy games, scary music, and spooky night trails. Refreshments are available for purchase.

8. Haunted Village at the Rogers Mansion

Southampton History Museum, 17 Meeting House Lane, Southampton
631-283-2494
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Hours: Oct. 24-31, Saturdays, 2-3:30pm
Price: FREE
Recommended ages: All; children must be accompanied by an adult

Visit a haunted Southampton Village inhabited with ghosts, goblins and ghouls all on the grounds of the historic Rogers Mansion. The outbuildings will be open and occupied with the unimaginable. Those brave enough to make it to the end will be rewarded with candy and pumpkins provided by the Southampton Youth Association (while supplies last). Social distancing will be enforced between groups, and face masks are required.

9. Restless Souls Haunted House Complex

301 W. Hills Road, Huntington Station
631-319-9662
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Hours: Oct. 8-31; Friday-Saturday, 6-10pm; Sunday, 5-9pm
Price: $29 combo ticket for all four attractions; $10 The Shack; $8 Klownkatraz in 3D; $8 The Dark Colony; $8 Alien Autopsy Escape Room
Recommended ages: Appropriate for all ages, but parents of younger kids can request the “Family Fright” option when purchasing tickets to receive a toned-down experience. Call for more information.

This haunted attraction doubles as a nonprofit fundraiser for the West Hills United Methodist Church. Prepare to be thrilled by a combination of interactive and up-close actors, props and audio animatronics. Shack of Screams is a haunted motel; Klownkatraz in 3D is a trippy and intense visit through a prison infested with killer clowns; the Dark Colony is a horror-filled outdoor attraction; and in the Alien Autopsy Escape Room, you and your group have 10 minutes to find the keys and get the alien containment back in operation. 

10. Schmitts Farm Haunt

26 Pinelawn Road, Melville
631-271-3276
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Hours: Through Oct. 31: Saturday-Sunday and Oct. 11, 12-5pm lights-on walk through of the haunt and haunted corn trail with no actors; 7pm, haunt and haunted corn trail with live actors, animatronics, and surprises.
Price: $37.99 combo ticket to The Haunt and Haunted Corn Trail.
Recommended ages: Daytime: All ages; Nighttime: 8 and older; children ages 8-12 must be accompanied by an adult.

Those with young children can visit during the daytime corn maze on the farm; older kids who scare less easily should opt for Schmitts Farm Haunt, which offers axe throwing, zombie brains, and a nighttime corn maze. 

Main image courtesy Bayville Scream Park

Here at NYMetroParents, we've got everything you need to have a safe, fun, and festive fall and Halloween season.  Whether it is pumpkin or apple picking, getting lost in a corn maze, making Halloween crafts or finding costumes and decorations, we're here to help.