Screams come to the beach

If you’re looking for a more grownup way to celebrate this haunted season, check out Screams at the Beach for a good fright. Now in its second year, and formerly known as All Hollow’s Revenge, the haunted attraction is held on the grounds of Sports at the Beach, near Georgetown.

“This is the second year we’ve had a haunted attraction. We completely redesigned it, changed everything up, added to it,” explained Mike Milliken, a manager for the attraction. “We always want to make it bigger and better. We always want to change things up and add to it so it’s not the same thing every year.”

The attraction has new legends for the haunted town of All Hollows and has incorporated the town’s cemetery and haunted woods into the mix.

“Once a flourishing settlement, this town has fallen into disarray since the appearance of The Hallow,” explains the attraction’s Web site. “Now, for the last 200 years, unsuspecting victims wander into the town’s limits to find there’s no escape. This isn’t for the faint of heart. Here you will face your worst fears and your nightmares come to life.”

Screams at the Beach has been open on weekends throughout the month and will finish the ghoulish season with a final run from Oct. 26 through Oct. 30, during which visitors to the hollow can get their wits scared between 7 p.m. and midnight, with ticket sales ending around 10:30 p.m. Tickets cost $25 per person and can be purchased in advance or on-site.

“The main difference is, last year was about a 15-minute time through the haunts and trails we had there,” said Milliken. “This year, it will take you an hour to get through, not including any wait time. Last year was very theatrical. We had larger rooms. This year it’s more intimate, more scary, more terrifying. We try to mess with people’s senses a lot more.”

Milliken said the attraction has approximately 70 different actors throughout who are guaranteed to frighten visitors to the hollow.

“We have two indoor haunts. We have a walking trail, a hayride, and we also have a maze. So it’s takes quite a while to walk through everything.”

For those who wish to take a break from the haunts, there are also carnival games and snacks available.

“We have a grill where they do hotdogs and sausages. We have cotton candy and all that sort of stuff,” said Milliken. “We have a carnival area this year that’s new. There’s all sorts of carnival games. We have a shooting gallery where you can shoot tennis balls out of air cannons and target them at people.”
Milliken added that the attraction has even received a high rating from a haunt reviewer, and visitors to the haunted town have enjoyed their experience.

“We had a rating company come out from Pennsylvania and rate us on what we do, our scare factor and things like that. They were very pleased with us. They gave us a very high rating,” he said. “We’ve been received really well. People have given us positive feedback. Everyone enjoys the length of the attraction and have said that it’s worth the money to come through.”

And, for those who have kids or are looking for a less scary Halloween activity, Sports at the Beach also offers All Hollow’s Farm, a family-friendly fall attraction.

“We have a petting zoo, a jumping pillow, a massive playground area. We have an inflatable slide and a train on a track. You can also pay and do some gem mining,” explained Milliken, noting that the setup is similar to that of an old settlement town.

All Hollow’s Farm is open Oct. 27 and 28, and Nov. 3, 4, 10 and 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We also serve food at a charge, and the carnival games and shooting gallery are open during the day, as well.”

For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.screamsatthebeach.com or www.allhollowsfarm.com, or call (302) 856-7400. The attractions are located at 22518 Lewes-Georgetown Highway, near Georgetown.