Into the Woods at Markoff's Haunted Forest
One of our earliest adventures into the realm of haunts and horror was at Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Dickerson, MD. As we often inform fellow haunters, Markoff’s was “the haunt that got us into haunts” and remains one of our local favorites to this very day. Although this annual haunt event is a permanent fixture at Calleva Farms, it operates as a seasonal benefit performance for the licensed 501c3 educational organization…so we typically only have one month of each year to soak up the incredibly immersive spooks and scares of the forest. This year, we were absolutely over the moon to receive an official invitation to tour the property as media and film on the world-class haunted trail where filming is typically not permitted. And oh, the world of phantasmagoric horror we discovered inside the forest!
Markoff’s first opened its gates in 1992, a charitable initiative led by the Markoff brothers themselves under the Calleva banner. In the thirty years that have come and gone since, the property has evolved, changed, grown and developed into a machine of pure terror that thrills thousands of guests each year. The hybrid trail that has made the haunt so popular with locals and out-of-state visitors alike takes you deep into the woods, beyond the reach of most natural light and into the jaws of the beast - oftentimes literally. As you wait for your timed entry ticket number to be called, you can purchase a burger, a waffle or (for those of age) even a beer as you settle into a spot next to one of the massive fire pits and watch the most daring of customers try their luck at the Death Roll high above. Every night at Markoff’s also features captivating performances from contracted entertainment, such as the firedancers, as well - but don’t get too caught up in the midway, because all too soon the DJ will be calling on your group to line up for your entry into the woods.
Any doubts about the value of your ticket are all but immediately silenced as you stare up at the massive, 25-foot skeleton and pray that it isn’t staring back at you. As you descend carefully down the mountain and across what the team refers to as “Hell Bridge”, you’ll quickly find your pulse racing as hidden speakers and carefully-staggered actors emit low growls, rumbles and snaps from the pitch black surroundings that envelop you. It’s as you cross ‘Hell Bridge’, however, that you really begin to see how immersive and spectacular the craftsmanship of Markoff’s really is. You might even be fooled into thinking that the bridge was crossing over a lake of fire, thanks to some stupendous uplighting and fog effects!
““We make all of this stuff in-house. So I will find the LED suppliers that I like. I will get an individual flickering LED with a resistor and - it’s a pain in the butt - but we solder it all together and then we wire in series with some bigger, sidelining square LED lights and that gets the whole thing to flicker.””
Successive elements in the caves, the pumpkin patch and the circus were manifested with a similar attention to detail. That’s not to say that tricky lights and fog do all of the heavy lifting for this spectacular trail, however! As you’ll soon discover for yourself, there are also some massive set pieces that found their home at Markoff’s after serving time as set pieces for circuses, carnivals, feature films and even Ozzy Osbourne’s global tours. We found ourselves stopping off during both daylight and nighttime runs of the trail to take in the sight of the giant, rusty ferris wheel that jutted out from between two trees like a scene from Silent Hill. And this is one of the earliest vignettes on the trail, with more than half a mile of your journey into darkness still to go!
Above: The Church of St. Paul, a carefully-crafted structure on the grounds at Markoff's Haunted Forest
As you get further into the trail experience, you’ll find yourself passing through several massive sets with unbelievably vivid and immersive scenes and a dedicated team of actors who are dead set on making you believe that you have slipped into another world and are now at grave risk. We won’t spoil the complete adventure for you, and our vlog doesn’t either - but suffice to say that you’ll encounter everything from vampires to vikings (and maybe even a dragon) before your winding path through the woods finally reaches its end. Be advised that Markoff’s is also a full-contact haunt where the scare actors are allowed to touch the customers, which only adds to the terror of being caught unawares deep in the woods.
While the trail is definitely the main event at Markoff’s, it is far from the only attraction that this incredible property offers during ‘spooky season’. In addition to the aforementioned bar, log roll challenge and live entertainment, patrons can also choose to purchase tickets for add-on experiences such as the much-beloved zipline and the secondary trail known as the ‘Town’. Whereas Markoff’s Haunted Trail leans more into the forest motif, the Town leans more into the farm motif, sending travelers on a hayride into the old West before dumping them off to brave a linear saga of cornfields, saloons, morgues and mines on their own two feet. We’ve seen the ‘Town’ grow year-over-year into an experience that captivates, immerses and terrifies along with the trail, and we highly recommend that any interested parties throw in for the upcharge to experience it in person; just be sure to keep an eye out for earthquakes, floods and rodents of unusual size (if you know, than you know)!
Our visit happened to coincide with Markoff’s last operating weekend, and we knew that the staffers had been burning the midnight oil for weeks - but you never would have known it, from the amazing show that they put on. We spent all day and all night on property at Markoff’s and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The actors, directors and operational staff truly give their heart and soul to this monthly event every year, and every year it gets better. We strongly encourage a visit to Markoff’s for any adventurous parties looking for an incredibly immersive haunt experience in the years to come, and we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Paul Brubacher, Nick Markoff, Rania Peet and the rest of the team for hosting us and allowing us to showcase some of what this property has to offer. We can’t wait to return in 2024 - but until then, you can check out our entire experience vlog in the video below!
