Special Notes: Get the SINISTER STAMP CARD to visit SIX local haunts for ONE UNBEATABLE Price: <a href="https://tickets.thescarefactor.com/e/sinister-stamp-card?utm_source=affiliate&utm_name=Scare-Factor-Website&utm_campaign=Scare-Factor-Website&utm_id=68a773d85ad8471e899c6a130a1e63ed">Click Here to Learn More!</a>
Being in the woods at night, even with a group of friendly strangers, is creepy enough. There’s just enough light along the trail we’re exploring to find our way, but beyond the surrounding trees, it’s nothing but shadows. But knowing we’re also headed into a town long abandoned by the outside world- and worse, they’re expecting our arrival- is even scarier. Who knows what sort of crazies or creatures could be waiting out there? And worse… what are their intentions?
As if in answer, a harsh, eerie voice cries out from up ahead. An equally harsh voice calls back in response – both too close for comfort. Unfortunately, all we can do is press forward and do our best to make it out together. We’ve been delivered to the site of a once prosperous railroad town, one whose original name has been forgotten by those whose families no longer reside there. Instead, they refer to this cursed place under an entirely new moniker: Dark Hallow Creek.
2025 marks season two for Dark Hallow Creek, an original haunted trail located in West Point, Kentucky. The haunt is centered around the story of Hallow Creek, a place that’s said to have existed before the area became known as West Point. Supply chain issues caused the townspeople to resort to desperate measures, and while some chose to leave, many accepted their new way of life and remained. Rumor has it they’re still there to this day – and on a fateful mid-October night, this Lone Wolf set out into the woods of old Hallow Creek to find them.
Our host, Itchy, came across as gracious and funny… at first. I suppose we shouldn’t have trusted the guy who appeared to be wearing someone else’s skin, but hey – at least he got us to Hallow Creek safely! Too bad we were the supplies the residents were expecting… uh oh. After checking in at the hotel, a lady in a black dress with mysterious markings on her face (rather humorously) gave us the laws of the town and an idea of what to expect. Our very brief stay at that hotel was an adventure in itself; many of the guests were an odd bunch. My favorite was the woman with several big, long zucchinis laid out on her bed. These were her “toys”, which she insisted on spanking us Extreme customers with. Unfortunately for her, she wound up breaking it on the backside of one of the young men in our group. Without missing a beat, angry cries of “You broke my toy!” followed and the two of them started arguing. She was still bellowing at him as we were checking out. It was hilarious; you just had to be there.
We had the misfortune of meeting the lady’s husband later. Somehow, some way, he knew I was afraid of dolls and couldn’t wait to introduce me to his doll-obsessed daughter: my arch nemesis Sally, who was waiting in her dollhouse. The result was her giggling and chasing after me for a good portion of the trail. (She touched me at one point. I about went down. No ma’am!) We stumbled into the town’s jail, where we were witnesses to a man’s execution. In Hallow Creek’s former church, a scary-looking… priestess? Witch?… marked us with blood and snapped that she was “blessing us… to Hell!” When we reached the mines, we met the Harvester, who thoroughly- and profanely- told us all about his beef with Itchy. “He’s a thief and he’s an a-hole!” Apparently, he had a bad habit of smoking the “crystals” they mined. Much later, after being separated from the rest of the group, I found the train conductor, now a trapped soul within the woods. If only he could’ve found me a train to get past those chainsaw crazies lying in wait up ahead!
The cast was pretty interactive, ready with a response to nearly anything we said to them… and that was good, because we had some guys in our group who loved the banter. No one just stood around staring or going through the motions. We saw some interaction with their sets and each other, too – Harvester and the crazy cannibal from the prior scene, in particular, played well off each other. With the full understanding haunt actors are sometimes unwell, injured, or just Not Feeling It on certain nights, I would have liked to see just a bit more enthusiasm put into some of the acts we saw.
You could definitely tell the town of Hallow Creek had met with a terrible fate – and it showed in the faces of those living there. Everyone we came across looked like they’d been stuck there a while or had some amount of blood and dirt on them. Several were either wearing masks or had transformed into creatures that were no longer fully human, like the burlap zipper-mouthed and twisted bunny faces on a pair of chainsaw maniacs. Sally’s obsession with dollies seemed to have gotten to her; she had the faces of several fused to her own face. Creepy!
Most costumes matched the story behind the trail. I saw dresses, suit jackets, overalls, and other apparel that looked like what normal townspeople would wear… only they all looked worn, dirty, or bloody. No one had a completely pristine outfit. At least a couple of characters- the lady in the church and Itchy- wore SFX lenses to give them eerie eyes.
Finding Dark Hallow Creek wasn’t hard. A big sign was lit up out front and they also had a banner hanging above the haunt’s entrance. There was free parking on the grass and you could pull in wherever there was space. Below the banner, a sign let arriving customers know the ticket booth was straight ahead and it was clearly marked when you got there, with all ticket options on full display. General Admission was $25, an Extreme ticket was $30, and Front of the Line was $65. If you were in a hurry or it was crowded, you could also get an upgrade to Fast Pass for an additional $10. The trail was largely safe, minus some dark spots and minor trip hazards.
Dark Hallow did have a website that covered the basics and even provided a rundown of their storyline. I would like to see them add FAQs with common questions we hear from haunt-goers like methods of payment accepted, weather policy, touch policy, handicap accessibility etc. Their Facebook page had photos and videos of their actors doing their thing; I’d like to see some of that added to their website too.
NOTE: If you opt for an Extreme pass, you will be given a glow necklace to wear as you go through. This grants the actors permission for moderate physical contact, use of adult language, and there’s a good chance you’ll get wet or dirty. Plan accordingly and wear clothes you won’t mind getting stained or damaged! You can always remove the necklace if it becomes too much.
I knew I was in for an interesting night when one of the first things I heard was a roaring chainsaw, followed by people running for their lives into the square… oh boy. Rock and metal music blasted in the background to hype everyone else up for the show. There were plenty of spaces for people to hang out before or after the haunt, including tables covered in Autumn decor. Dark Hallow Creek is located on a farm and I noticed stalls where people could purchase pumpkins and produce using an honor system. I didn’t see any dedicated roamers, but every now and then a resident of the town would wander out and mess with people.
As the name might suggest, DHC is based on the story of Hallow Creek, a town that fell into shambles and is now sequestered away from the outside world within the woods of West Point. The haunt’s queue was located outside of the town’s train station, where Itchy- our host, who works to deliver “supplies” to the townspeople- eventually arrived and loaded our group onto his train. Prior to doing so, he gave us a brief history of Hallow Creek and an explanation of what happened there. Then we were dropped off in the woods, told to approach the hotel looming before us… and from that point on, we were on our own.
Many of the scenes and areas we passed through did feel like portions of a town. Besides the hotel, we also went through the hotel’s restrooms, a guest room with a lady’s “toys” laid out all over the bed, an old church, and the other (now defunct) station – just to name some! Other than general scary themes, like dolls and a church, it felt like the team behind the haunt tried to keep things original as much as possible. There were still some less immersive spots that used materials like black plastic as barriers and random bits and bobs in scenes that didn’t seem to match them, but Dark Hallow definitely took any feedback they received to heart and used it to improve their show.
Something to keep in mind with this haunt is that they don’t have a large budget like many of the haunts in the Louisville area. You won’t see many fancy props or animatronics, but I could tell they used what they had available to them to create scenes that mostly made sense. The train ride into the woods was fun and helped to set the tone for our visit, especially when Itchy told us what was up with the town we were headed into. There was an electric chair execution that was well done, even going so far as to emit smoke, rock back and forth and spray us with “blood”! Lighting was used well; never excessive, just enough to provide ambience along the trail and illuminate scene details. I loved all the LED candles in the church- so spooky!- as well as the lit-up faces above the fireplace in the hotel… and the freakin’ deer head with glowing red eyes!
While there were some silent spots- usually when we were headed towards a new scene- we did hear appropriate audio in several places. Soft music played in the hotel. The dollhouse had a tune playing that I can’t quite call a “music box”, but it certainly felt childlike and innocent. I’d like to see the haunt add more where they can. (The church was one of the best scenes and deserves some audio!)
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.5
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.25
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7.35
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 6.25
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 6.75
I will preface this part by stating that I absolutely went for the Extreme upgrade. The trail could scare a customer without it, as evidenced by the two in my group who opted out, but I definitely thought it enhanced the experience. Actors got in our faces, stalked us, used threatening language (and profanity, since my group had some Extremes), worked together to mess with everyone, and at least one pulled the “now you see me, now you don’t” scare – so effective! We also heard them strike set pieces to create loud, startling noises or they just threatened us with their weapons.
Are you afraid of chainsaws? I hope not, because they love them here. We were attacked with them multiple times. (Shout-out to the two near the end, who demonstrated excellent teamwork. I got pinned between them for a few tense moments and all I could do was take it! I had nowhere to go!)
I noticed they had a tendency to focus on the Extreme guests just a little more than the rest of the group. If they can increase their cast size or find some trail-friendly SFX to add more jump scares, it would help to make the haunt scarier for those who aren’t keen on being touched or getting bloody.
Evading the clutches of Hallow Creek’s residents was no easy task, but I managed to escape Dark Hallow Creek in approximately 25 minutes. We measure a haunt’s MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) rating using the most basic ticket price- $25 in DHC’s case- which brings their rating to a solid 1.00. I did have an Extreme pass and was kidnapped for a couple of minutes at one point, but our whole group also got held up several times, so I’m fully comfortable with that score. It’s funny, because when I made it out I commented that the trail felt kind of short… I was informed weather destroyed a lot of the haunt early in the year, and it would’ve been even longer if they were running full force. I guess time flies when you’re being scared!
In addition to the trail, some fun extras were included with admission. Groups could hang out at the picnic tables and enjoy the music or grab a photo with any roaming actors. These were optional and involved payment, but merch was available at the haunt’s ticket booth and they also had a dirty soda truck on site selling tasty drinks. I grabbed one before I left.
Legend has it the old town of Hallow Creek still exists – and you could say its people are hungry for new blood. Are you brave enough to find out if the rumors are true? If so, board a train into the woods of West Point and pay Dark Hallow Creek a visit this haunt season.
2080 Main Street, West Point, Kentucky 40177