Hayride Of Horror Review (2026)

Hayride of Horror is located at Dellwood Park in Lockport, IL. During the fall season, the park becomes the HOH and the second attraction, Curse of the Bayou. Parking is readily available and free. Staff and parking attendants are on site to guide guests wherever they need to go. Guests should be aware that there are large areas of gravel roads and uneven paths. Guests should also dress for the weather, as both attractions are outside. HOH is on all social media platforms and has hours, dates, and any other specific details for both attractions.

There are food trucks, fire pits, picnic benches, photo ops, and roaming actors to interact with. Everything is neatly organized and set up for a spooky environment. The roaming actors are also there to make sure you have a ghoulish time. The area is also decorated with spooky props, and the natural creepiness of being in nature makes everything even scarier. The ticket area is well lit and easy to find. There are different options depending on whether you want to go to both attractions. There are also different types of tickets available.

Dellwood Park was dark and cold on the night we visited. The ambiance was perfect, with music in the queue line and actors entertaining the customers. The customers came prepared, wrapped in their favorite blankets while Monster House played on a projector.

On the hayride, we were guided through an open park with themed set-ups. The actors do a great job working the crowd, being stationed on both sides to interact equally. At some point, actors jumped on the moving hayride to deliver last-minute scares.

The sets were spaced out appropriately to time out transitions. Because of the use of sets on both sides of the trail, the customers kept looking left and right, trying not to miss a single moment. Our favorite part was the asylum scene with the multiple open-concept padded rooms with the actors playing the roles of the mentally insane. The hayride is also a perfect concept because you don’t bump into other hayrides, at least not on purpose, thankfully.

We walked down a gravel path hill, going at our own pace. The mazes were cohesive enough to confuse and disorient us, causing us to keep bumping into dead ends. The lack of noise and only a couple of actors make this simplistic maze very effective.

Because of the maze, we did bump into another group of customers who decided we were trusted enough to lead them. Not sure how we lost them in the next maze, but it happened in the blink of an eye. The Prince of the Bayou sends us on our way to prove our hearts are pure by finding our way through another darker maze. The Priestess was not pleased with our presence and decided to send us on our way; I guess we weren’t as pure at heart as we thought we were.

After exiting, we walked the same way we came from, leading us back to the food truck and some photo ops. We were quite hungry and got a few hot dogs and fries. This is a family affair even if not everyone is interested in getting on the hayride.

Given that this portion of the attraction is solely a hayride, designs are seen at a distance for the most part. Everything in this attraction seems hand-built and hand-painted as well. One of our personal favorite scenes must be the sideshow performance. The Barker climbs aboard the hayride, and as we pass through, they introduce the next act (strongman, Siamese twins, fortune teller, etc.). The children’s actors make every act fun and creative. Another awesome moment is the crashed alien ship. This is also hand-built and must have been a big project due to how massive it is.

Lighting and sound vary from scene to scene. Being outdoors, the lighting seems designed to highlight areas of interest and signs to know what to expect next, such as the graveyard gates or cam Crystal Lake. There is one tunnel the ride goes through that is blacklist and has neon colors throughout, as well as hanging props. Everything is well put together and enjoyable throughout the ride. Families seemed to really appreciate how entertaining the attraction was.

Much like HOH, The Bayou is mainly built in-house. This attraction is much grittier and raw. Compared to the hayride. There are some great scenes, including the Voodoo Kings thrown, which leads into one of the longer mazes. There are a few different maze areas throughout this attraction which can be confusing to walk through, especially in the dead of night. Another great scene must be the tradesperson who has plenty of wares laid out for trade. This is a fun and creative scene with many different items detailed throughout. The last scene, which is a small cabin, is also well detailed. Having guests walk through the fireplace can be challenging, but it is a fun gimmick nonetheless.

Hayride of Horror is a fun adventure that you can enjoy with the family. The actors here are very talented young kids who are clearly having the time of their lives. Their performances are so good that it feels like these young actors are going places. The queue actors are very entertaining. There were plenty of times they would interact with one another for crowd amusement. We were greeted by the Tooth Fairy, who had such an interesting look, with a small baby doll with an insect face. A stilt walker named Rabbit came over to pick a fight with the Tooth Fairy, trying to take the baby from the Tooth Fairy, and then hopped away to the crowd to give many more scares.

At the first attraction, HoH, there were plenty of creative and fun actors throughout. A hospital scene seemed to have actors chained up and screaming bloody murder. Each scene was very impressive, including the freak show where the “Freaks” were doing stunts that made my back hurt… to be young again. All the actors had so much energy and enthusiasm that shone through their performances.

Curse of the Bayou has a separate queue with separate actors. Pumpkin was overjoyed to have us. She was grossly eating the inner guts of a pumpkin, a literal fresh pumpkin. She was covered in blood and offered to share, yelling, “Why don’t you want any?” as she was spilling it out of her mouth.

CotB provided some great dialogue from actors throughout the attraction. A great example of this is walking to the Voodoo Kings Chambers. They sat on their skull throne and gave a speech, declaring one of us as “pure of heart” and stating they would lead the group to the High Priestess. Naturally, the maze led us in all sorts of wrong directions… so much for that pure heart leading the way. When we reached the High Priestess, they presented a fun gimmick for their scene. Paired with two souls captured in chains, they were seeking more victims for their rituals. For such a young group of actors, they do an amazing job of making their characters come to life.

Due to the family-friendly nature of the hayride, the scares are a little bit spaced out. The intensity is turned up, however, with actors jumping on the tractor as visitors ride past different scenes. Actors from the scenes walk alongside the tractor as we progress onward. The scares are unpredictable due to various seats on the tractor; therefore, everyone might not be targeted. The actors who play in different scenes set up the actors who walk alongside the tractor and the ones that hop on and terrorize the riders. Startle scares and ominous dialogue are the most frequent. Being on the younger side, the actors provide scares to the best of their abilities and add to the uneasy feeling. HoH is a bit more family-oriented and provides a great first haunt experience for many!

The second attraction has more intense scares. Walking down the trail on the gravel and uneven parts helps with an uneasy feeling. The darkness and terrain allow the actors to hide and jump out a lot more and give some intense scares. The actors utilizing the space and darkness deliver well-timed and intense scares. One area was very scary. There is a large maze that is easy to get lost in, with several dead ends, strobe lights, and actors afoot. Different bayou residents force groups forward with their menacing dialogue. After passing by the last bayou resident, a very creepy but funny collector of various trinkets and unique items they have collected from previous visitors. The final scene is the high Priestess with her servants and provides direct and vocal dialogue to make guests want to leave with haste.