A massive new Halloween festival opens in Charlestown this month and it promises to be even more chilling than Storrow Drive during rush hour. Developed by Lynnfield native and entertainment producer Carl Rugato, Boston’s Wicked Haunt Fest is a sprawling, monthlong immersive Halloween experience with everything from chilling haunted walk-throughs to an Oktoberfest beer garden.
What is Boston’s Wicked Haunt Fest?
Wicked Haunt Fest is a packed fall festival celebrating everything spooky and seasonal. Whether you want a heart-racing immersive horror experience or a family-friendly stroll through a pumpkin patch, it’s all here.
The centerpieces of the festival are three haunted walk-through experiences, with "Hollywood-caliber" details like professionally trained scare actors, 16-foot animatronics and tons of unexpected frights. Rugato has worked in entertainment for decades with big names like Busch Gardens and SeaWorld Parks, so you won't find any sheet-covered ghosts here.
So, it’s a haunted house?
Not quite. It sounds like this goes way beyond your typical haunted house. Each of the three immersive experiences has an intricately designed storyline that carries through the whole excursion, like a fully-fledged theatrical experience you’re starring in.
In "Rise of Annkh,” a team of well-intentioned archaeologists has unleashed a vengeful Pharaoh and his mummified staff. “Harvest Awakening” will take guests through a once-successful farm that’s been overcome with malevolent spirits. And “Into the Astray” beckons visitors into the eerie supernatural beyond.
What if you’re not into super-scary?
No worries! This is a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience. If you don’t like to be spooked, there are loads of family-friendly daytime activities like pumpkin painting, a graveyard walk-through with themed headstones, face painting, trick-or-treating and more.
What about food and beverages?
You’ll never go hungry (or thirsty) here. On-site you’ll find an Oktoberfest-style beer garden and two festive bars, one with a prehistoric-creatures theme and one themed around classic movie monsters. Organizers promise seasonal eats from local restaurants, as well.
When and where is it?
Wicked Haunt Fest is open at Charlestown’s Hood Park from September 29–November 3, most weekdays from 4pm-11pm and weekends from 11am-11pm. (It will be closed on Halloween and select other dates.)
A mixed-use development centered on green space, Hood Park is home to the adult-oriented playground Urban Wild, whose team is partnering with Rugato to produce the event.
The festival grounds are walkable from Sullivan Station on the MBTA Orange Line. Music to every Bostonian’s ears, there is also free parking available for up to three hours on a first-come, first-served basis.
What will tickets include?
General admission tickets are $25 per person and give access to the Wicked Haunt Festival grounds, themed bars and beer garden as well as family-friendly prop and performances areas. It does not include access to the haunted experiences.
Festival & Haunt Admission is $50 per person and includes access to all three haunted experiences plus the festival grounds, food and beverage spaces and non-spooky attractions.
The Spectral Speed Fast Pass is $70 per person and lets you skip any lines for the haunted experiences, plus you get access to all the festival spaces and photo ops.
Do you dare check it out? We’re curious to know if it’s scarier than the creatures living in a couch on Allston Christmas.