Lehigh Valley InSite

HAUNT at Dorney Park

One of the best things about Lehigh Valley during the fall is the haunted attractions leading up to Halloween. It comes as no surprise that the most well-known is Haunt at Dorney Park, where the amusement park transforms into a thrilling and bone-chilling playground for brave souls who can stand a good fright.

After waiting all season for a pleasant-weathered weekend, I was able to go this past Saturday. The park was much more packed then I remembered it being during Haunt the past few years. My guess is that Dorney has really created quite a following since its debut in 2008.

by Moravian Book Shop

Lehigh Valley is home to plenty of history, including an occasional haunted story or two. This past Friday I was fortunate enough to be invited on Moravian Book Shop’s “Historic Haunts of Downtown Bethlehem” preview tour. The guided walk through the city’s Historic District blends factual information with reported tales of spirits, sightings and odd occurrences that have happened through the years.

I don’t mean for this post to be a teaser, but I’m choosing to omit some of the story details because I really don’t want to spoil the fun until you take the tour for yourself.

Stay & Investigate Ghost Hunting Guide Book

The children have ventured back to school throughout Lehigh Valley and the air has become brisk. October is upon us and that means the month of ghouls and goblins and Halloween. Discover Lehigh Valley has just launched a brand new Stay & Investigate program that highlights haunted and “true life” horror stories throughout Lehigh Valley.

Check out LehighValleyHaunt.com for a list of the areas creepy locations including Museum of Indian Culture, Wydnor Hall and Buckeye Tavern to name a few. If you are traveling to the area to take in this experience you are going to need more than a day so we have you covered. From the Holiday Inn and Conference Center in Breingsville to the TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Easton, you will find a convenient place to stay throughout Lehigh Valley.

No. 9 Coal Mine Hospital

This past Wednesday I took a driving tour of locations in and around Lehigh Valley that are to be featured in our newest Stay & Save deal for visitors called “Stay & Investigate”. With the long history of inhabitants in Lehigh Valley, there’s bound to be a few accounts of paranormal / haunted activity in some of these buildings (many of which date back to the 17th century).

A few locations in particular caught my attention; the Old Jail Museum in Jim Thorpe and the No. 9 Mine & Museum in Lansford. Unfortunately, the Old Jail Museum is closed on Wednesdays but I still got a few nice photos of the exterior and got to visit the beautiful town of Jim Thorpe. Upon leaving, I headed west to the No. 9 Mine to get there in time for the last tour.

IMG_6028

Nowadays it seems that every channel you turn on the TV has some sort of ghost show being featured, doesn’t it? Some of them feature human experiences and others may be animals that have had these types of paranormal experiences. Overall, some of those programs just really fascinate me. I have seen a few that had Lehigh Valley venues featured which really got me thinking, so I decided to take a step back and really dig into what there is here. I found that there are over 80 locations that have either documented proof of a spirit, or a horrific story behind the location, such as an Indian massacre.

This piqued my curiosity that there were so many stories so I decided to check one of them out for myself. The Sun Inn in Historic Downtown Bethlehem was featured on one of the shows I had watched so I thought this would be a great location to start my own investigation.

Tour Guide

As a Bethlehem native and a Lehigh Valley expert (well, according to Facebook’s Lehigh Valley Expert Quiz), I would’ve sworn that I know Bethlehem inside and out. Of course, that was before I attended The Moravian Book Shop’s “Historic Haunts of Downtown Bethlehem” ghost tour.

Last Friday night, under the eerie glow of a full moon, a small group of us set out on a candlelight walking tour, eager to uncover Bethlehem’s ghostly secrets. Our guide, dressed in a black colonial gown, velvet cloak and sateen gloves, led the way with her Moravian star lantern and stopped at sites like the Brethren’s House, the Old Chapel, God’s Acre, and the Sun Inn.

Maze10

Last Saturday was “Ladies and Gents Day Out” in Lehigh Valley. Now, as I tell you about our day out, keep in mind I already set everything up and it ran smoothly, so feel free to use this as an itinerary for you and your friends.

Around 4 p.m. on Saturday, 15 or so of us met at Mazezilla in Saylorsburg. I had allotted 2 – 3 hours there because they have so much to do: corn maze, pumpkin sling shot, pumpkin patch and hayride.

Sandra_c_davis

Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I visited Easton Haunts. From the creators of Tatamy Haunted Mill, Easton Haunts includes the 13th Street Fear Factory and the 3D Fun House. In a word: SCARY!

The scariness began the minute we pulled off of 13th Street in Easton and proceeded down the driveway to where the historic Simon Silk Mill is located. The driveway was dark and seemed to go to nowhere, until you came upon the abandoned mill.

Halloween Haunt

Last Friday Michael and I attended the faux, spirited nuptials of Elemina Faust and Soloman Dorney. The wedding and reception were held at the Mansion House Hotel at Dorney Park in Lehigh Valley. The event served as the kick-off to Dorney Park’s 2010 Halloween Haunt.

The ceremony was officiated by Rev. Cliff Herring and it wasn’t long before the bride and groom were wisked away to spend their night at the Mansion House Hotel. Meanwhile, the guests were treated to a fabulous menu at the reception. My favorites were the shrimp cocktail served in a coffin made out of ice, the duck breast, the petite lamb chops and the assorted desserts.

Old tatamy mill

So while Kim was at the Halloween Haunt on Friday night, I was at Tatamy Haunted Mill trying to get my heart rate to slow down.

Before Friday, I’d never been to a haunted house; I’ve always thought of evil clowns and chainsaw-wielding psychos as cheesy. But when I was personallyinvited to Tatamy Haunted Mill, I graciously accepted and looked forward to experiencing another first in Lehigh Valley.