Markoff’s Haunted Forest

We went a week before Halloween and there was a 2 hour wait to get in, that we had to stand outside in the cold. Then for $ 35 we walked through one trail. All the other options there had additional costs. Oh and they don’t take credit cards at the entrance! wtf? The price for the wait and the entertainment is ridiculous. They have 3 bonfires that we stood by to stay warm while we waited and they must be doused in chemical kerosene because that smell lingered in my hair for over a week! I washed my jacket and scarf and you could still smell it.

This haunted forest was a blast! The atmosphere that is created here was very impressive, and Markoffs’s delivered in the scares. I’ve read some complaints about the wait times and there are lines, but I hardly noticed any waits because there was so much to look at and take in. While waiting for the main trail we did the haunted town. A tractor pulls you out to a western theme walk through that was very well done and much bigger than I thought, especially being a side attraction.
After that we headed over to the main trail, you have two choices clown and clown free. The main trail also did not disappoint, the only thing they could possibly do to scare you more is to actually hit you in the head with an axe.
The actors are great and the staff is very friendly.
Easily 5 stars!

Markoff’s is definitely the place to go for some Halloween frights. They recently added on a maze, so it’s great to see that they want to keep things fresh.
I will say that its popularity is its Achilles’s heel. It has such a good reputation that it is generally packed every night, causing long lines for tickets, long waits for all of the attractions AND you have a good chance of being stuck in a line of people on the trail, missing out on a lot of scares. I’d try to avoid Fridays or Saturdays, if you can.
However, it’s perfect for a big group and has so many «scary amenities» it’s a great bridge between people who want to be scared and people who just want to experience some October ambiance. Those who don’t want to be spooked can avoid the haunted hayride, maze and trail and enjoy the delicious food and drinks, and/​or talk to the fortune teller, as well as enjoy the classic scary movies playing on the jumbo screens. There’s also a zip line, giant swing, «death drop,» and other attractions.
Note that it can get pretty pricey for all these options. Also, while there is a fire pit, it can get very chilly. Dudes, leave your tank tops at home. Oh, and I suggest driving in with at least one friend in case you get lost (GPS is touch and go).

Truly excellent experience at Markoff’s Haunted Forest. We came on the Saturday before Halloween and arrived about 7 pm. This place is really out in the middle of nowhere. The parking lot is a farm field. And then up, out of nowhere arises this oasis of activity… lights, ghouls, bon fires, a zip line, etc. It is SURREAL.
The hub of activitiy starts as you walk into the main area that includes 4 – 6 gigantic bon fires, carnival type games, and a DJ who does a great job spinning tunes and getting the crowd excited. Concessions are also available and are reasonably priced (I think my sammie was $ 3). The concessions include pulled pork BBQ sandwich, pizza, popcorn, hamburgers/​cheeseburgers, funnel cakes, sodas, water and other standard carnival fare. The pulled pork BBQ sandwich was delicious. From this hub stem a multitude of activities to occupy your time. These activites are over all in addition to the price for the haunted forest trail that is the main attraction and include:
1. A giant swing similiar to the sky ride at Kings Dominion
2. Two zip lines
3. Haunted Hayride
4. Haunted Maze and
5. Haunted Trails — the main attraction.
Markoff’s runs an orderly system. Upon purchasing your ticket you will receive a numbered armband and when your number is up you can proceed to the Haunted Trail. They guarantee that everyone who is in the parking lot by 10:30 pm will be able to walk the trail.
Regarding the trail, PLEASE, PLEASE wear comfortable walking shoes. You will be hiking through the WOODS; real woods with real trees, and roots in the dark. The trail is dark and dusty. It’s at least 0.25 mi long if not long and takes approximately 30 minutes to get through. There are ghoulish sights all along the way and even props that pander to your most base fears and emotions (think pitch black hallway with narrowing walls). There are numerous «jump scenes» along the way with frightening zombies and other ghosts, ghouls and goblins popping out to give walkers a light hearted scare. And while it’s not overly scary, there are some sights that I don’t recommend this for children under 12 — nothing family unfriendly but scary and gory. The cast members are wonderful and they really play up their roles and the Haunted Trail is a scary good time. Everyone in my group walked out good heartedly and with smiles all around.
I also went through the haunted maze which was just as fun as the haunted trail but much, much less crowded. The maze starts with a tractor pulled bus ride to another part of the field and winds up at a old western type town hosted by a ghoulish sheriff and his deputy. You will walk through a «haunted mine». Again, it is very similiar to the trail but much shorter and meanders through some western mining town type buildings.
I didn’t try the hayride, the zip line or the swing but many did and they seemed to be great ways to occupy time while you are waiting for your number to be up waiting for the big event.
All in all, GREAT experience and big fun. Big tips of the night: 1. Wear comfortable walking shoes and 2. But your tickets online to avoid at least some of the lines, 3. They have an onsite ATM but I recommend bringing your own cash money.

Very fun place! Sometimes you want a good adrenaline rush and this does the trick.
Music dancing food fun fires.

Went back to Markoff’s Haunted forest tonight with the wife and son. Good times! While I’m not typically scared by the actors wandering around it was a whole different story for Jr. But let’s start at the beginning.
We got out there around 7:15 and buzzed right through the cash only ticket line. It was shorter than the online purchase line but not by much. Once inside we waited another 20 minutes to get into the forest. The wait wasn’t bad and the people watching was pretty good. The fire people were out blowing flames and fire dancing.
Once inside the forest the «fun» began. As I mentioned Jr. was pretty freaked out by the dimly lit trail and the freaky scenes — especially the basement of the church and the chainsaw wielding hillbillies right out of Deliverance. All in all a great haunt. Some of the actors seemed like they were having a hard time getting into character or pumped to be there but for the most part sweet costumes, make-​up and special effects.
Fun night. Worth the $ 30 for a once a year experience. We didn’t try the food or buy any extra tickets for the giant swing or haunted town. Jr. gave it a 6.5 out of 10 on the scare scale. Said that last years clowns were creepier. I agree clowns are creepy.

This racket is being run by a bunch of unprofessional, disorganized middle-​aged men with a teenager’s mentality. Unreal. My bf and I considered a few other haunted forests but he had gone in years past and insisted Markoff’s was the best. We buy tickets in advance for $ 30 a pop, thinking this would expedite the process once we showed up. When we arrive, we are ushered into the «Online sales» line, that took about 45 minutes to get through. Conversely, the cash sales line was virtually empty and staffed with employees that had nothing to do while the online sales line was packed to the gills. Complete and total disorganization. We received our wristbands at approx. 9:30pm. Start the clocks.
Once we enter, we notice they’re dispersing numbered wristbands in ONLY groups of 4 (anotherwords, our number of 220 was only issued to 4 people total); that means less number of people in the haunted forest at any given time. That means excessive wait times. We had no idea the wait we were in store for. Once inside, we notice they are only on number 186. So we enter and see all these gimmicky attractions (lame zip line, potentially life threatening bungee jump, corny maze, etc) that are all CASH ONLY, so we decide to wait in line for some hot cider and cocoa. Actually, everything was cash only. Annoying. There are 2 food lines and from start to finish, we waited in line for OVER AN HOUR for a cider and a cocoa! WHAT?! That’s obscene. We check the number: 189! Over an hour of waiting and they have only moved up 4 spots! What a JOKE.
They have 3 bonfires going that must be doused in chemical kerosene because that smell will linger in your hair and clothes for days. Lovely. We stand around, finish our drinks, walk around some more. It’s now 11pm. They are on number 198. I wish I was kidding. We had been there for over 2 hours and they had moved 12 numbers!!! At this point we started doing the math in our heads. We were getting tired. And defeated. But we still really wanted to get scared! We went over and shelled out another $ 20 for the maze, that was actually pretty scary, but lasted about 4 minutes. And it wasn’t the forest. We talked about our options. The Town was also an option for another $ 60 cash, but there was no signage regarding tickets and noticed there were some patrons standing in line without tickets only to find out once they get to the front they needed tickets. More lack of communication and disorganization. By 11:45 they were only on number 201 and we had had ENOUGH. We left. We ate the $ 60. We walked out to look for our car in the expansive field and searched for awhile. They can’t even number and label the parking lot rows so customers can find their cars afterwards?! What a bunch of slapdicks!
I consider myself a fair, objective person and I am trying to find a redeeming quality with this place, but I was left disgusted with the costs and lack of organization of this place. The music they played was fun but the idiots running the DJ booth were cutting in and out all night, screaming inaudibles over the mic, and annoying the piss out of everyone. I maintain that the jokers running this establishment are a bunch of unprofessional Peter Pans who fancy themselves «entrepreneurs» but unfortunately don’t know jack about business and have a very flawed business model. This experience left us so turned off, we will never throw money at Markoff’s ever again. POOF.

Word to the wise, if you wait til the day of to just show up and pay cash to enter you WON’T have to wait in line!
I’ve only ever done the Haunted trail here (not the haunted village or hay ride) but it’s good and scary! I’m 30 years old and I had so much fun. for those who are faint of heart, fear not. This is not the kind of scary that will give you nightmares for the rest of your life, you’re just going to get the sh*t scared out you. it’s surprising scary, not you’re never going to sleep again scary. The best thing to do is go with a fairly small group of friends and make sure there is enough space bt you and the groups behind and in front.
What to expect:
Actors will pop out of the forest, grab you, sneak up on you, wait in plain sight, etc and SCARE you, and you will scream a blood curdling scream, but then laugh hysterically at your reaction and the reaction of your friends. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life! The best is going with your macho guy friends who think they won’t get scared, then watching them jump 10 feet in the air and scream like little girls when something happens.
Food is decent but kind of expensive, and any activities in addition to the haunted forest cost extra money.
The entrance is a bit pricey for my liking but well worth every penny, especially when you only do it once a year.

What a bad experience! I’m all for haunted houses and the outdoors, but this place was so disorganized. Looks like they need some kind of growth. We started by standing in a big line for 30 minutes to get in. Then, once we were in, we needed to wait to get into the actual forest part. We decided to get something to eat, so we stood in that line over 45 minutes.
All in all, we arrived before 9:00pm and didn’t get into the main attraction until almost 1:00AM. It would be different if it was a REALLY good, high value attraction, but it wasn’t. It was maybe an eight or ten minute walk.
Oh ya, if you decide to go, wear clothes you’re prepared to throw away because the bonfires have a terrible smell associated with the fuel they throw on it.
I’d say stay home and save your clothes, time and money!
Ah yes… the «DJ» there kept shouting into the microphone over the music he was spinning.
Ugh…just stay home!

To be honest, I was really disappointed. I went to Markoff’s last night with a group of friends. We bought tickets online and got there around 10pm. I did the maze which is overpriced and hung out by the bonfires. By midnight, two hours later, only 19 of the 41 groups in front of my number had gone. I ended up leaving at 12:30am because I was tired of waiting for two and half hours, and my friends didn’t have their turn for the haunted forest till about 2:30am, FOUR AND A HALF hours after we arrived. I think I could have enjoyed it if we waited for an hour or even hour and a half, but four and a half hours is beyond me. Spend your money elsewhere.

We’ve been going to Fields of Screams for the last few years but decided to mix it up. That was a mistake. We went down path 2 which we were told was scarier since it had clowns.
The first third of the path was so dark we couldn’t see the makeup or costumes. We were too busy trying not to trip and make sure we stayed on the path we didn’t have the option of getting scared.
When the lighting did finally improve the props and animatronics were quite impressive. Particularly the ferris wheel and the one towards the end. The experience just wasn’t scary though. The actors didn’t all seem as into it. Some were but some seemed like they were just hanging out and not there to make it a better experience for the guests.
We didn’t do the extra town path (extra $ 20) especially after we were already disappointed. We were very glad we got the fast pass (dine at one of the 3 local restaurants — the pizza place is decent and quick) which is worth it as waiting in line for what we got would’ve brought us down to negative ratings.
The maze was fun at least — needed tickets (extra $) for that. The concession stand lines were ridiculous so we didn’t try any of the food. There was a bake sale which was selling some delicious brownies. Skip the line and support the local schools.
The fire pits weren’t plentiful like at Screams so dress warmly or be prepared to fight the crowd for some space.

The price for the wait and the entertainment is ridiculous.
Even with the discount for buying online tickets, it is not worth your money here. Yes, the trail is pretty cool and the actors do well compared to other places. BUT
1) It takes more than 20 minutes to even get thru the line to present your ticket
2) The ticket is the same price as a local amusement park
3) Every other piece of entertainment in the place is not included in the admission price. You would think at least a couple trails or the hayride might be included, but all is $ 6 – 9 extra for each.
4) Numbers are assigned on your wristband to enter the main trail. It took us 2.5 hours waiting around to have 16 numbers pass for us to enter the trail. We have friends show up that we saw later on, and they were 40 numbers in waiting at 10PM.
Nice that they have huge bonfires to warm up a bit, and that is about the only other positive thing to say. The DJs spinning music are horrible and about as funny as a heart attack, though they think they are hilarious.
Don’t waste your time or money.

Came here for the first time on a Saturday night, and I really enjoyed it! The friends that I came with had been here before, and they said that last time they came the lines were super long (they apparently didn’t start walking the trail until about 1 AM), so we made sure to arrive early this year. I think we arrived around 7 ish, waited 20 minutes or so for our group number to be called, and then we were one our way. Pretty smooth sailing!
I held on to my friend’s hand the whole time, but more because I was just scared of falling while trying to simply walk through the trail. I’m definitely a little clumsy, and probably would have fallen if I wasn’t continually being warned by my friend where to watch my step.
I only actually jumped once or twice, but that’s because I was so focused on looking straight and not getting scared by things popping in from the sides. Also, I was in the back of a group of 7, so I could pretty much hear when characters were going to pop out.
Even though this attraction didn’t really get any real «screams» from me, I still thought everything was well put together. There was a lot of variety in the scenes, and just when I hoped the trail was ending, there was another thing to go through. I definitely thought it was worth the ticket price, and they probably would have got a little more scares from me if I was in a smaller group.(I jumped at a guy in costume that came at me while I was outside the attraction, so I do scare quite easily…) I’d gladly return!

This was one of the best haunts I’ve ever been to! My friends and I like to do at least one a weekend this time of year and after last week was so awful at Scream City and then getting badgered by the people they recruited to dispute my review and also whoever handles their social media account claiming that I wasn’t a legitimate review and that I was fake for the rest of the week, this was the perfect way to start the weekend! The trail was amazing, full of unpredictable scares of different elements no matter what your fear was. Even having to pay for a separate trail that you had to take a tractor hayride to was completely worth it and I would pay it again. There was so much cool stuff that we weren’t able to take it all in in one night so we’re planning to make another trek out there before the haunting season ends to check out the rest! Would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a combination of the element of surprise and also amazing props and a great set up that helps you forget that the whole trail isn’t actually real!

Incredible. Get ready for an incredibly scary experience. There are 3 trails to choose from, and the way they set it up makes it so that you will go through the trail with your group, and not have to be part of a larger group. We went on the woods trail and it was 40 minutes of pure terror. You will scream the entire time and be completely exhausted. I stupidly kept my keys in my jacket pocket and lost them in the trail, but they found them after half an hour. KEEP YOUR BELONGINGS CLOSE TO YOU BECAUSE YOU WILL LOSE THEM.
Tips: Come with cash or buy tickets in advance, and come on a weekday night.
Could not recommend this place more. ¹⁰⁄₁₀.

We came here last year and there was a downpour of rain and we were stuck with our tickets for the designated day. Surprisingly the venue remained open. The trail was dangerous with really wet mud throughout the trail and many slipping and falling. There was no time to enjoy the trail because we were so focused on not breaking a bone from how dangerous it was.
Jump forward to this year. Little rain so not as muddy as before. This time I had the opportunity to finally experience the trail. I took the original trail. It was alright. Personally I didn’t find it scary but enjoyed looking around at the setup they had and scaring those behind me. Towards the end, the trail was not lighted to direct you where to exit. Instead it was lighted in another area giving the person the false impression to head in that direction. Unfortunately for my family members this took them into a very putrid pond of water. The sad thing is that there are no faucets to wash off so you are stuck with the smell until you find running water elsewhere. The younger kids enjoyed it but I thought more could’ve been done to make it better. Not worth the $ 35.

To be fair, a lot of what went into this 2-​star review isn’t around the core product of Markoff’s (the haunted forest), but the rest of the experience.
First, the haunted forest itself. It’s abundantly clear that the organizers and the participants who make the haunted forest really care for the craft and do their darndest to stay in character and to scare the bejeezus out of you. We did their original trail through dark houses and windy trails, and it’s very easy to get immersed and caught up in the experience. For those 30 minutes, being in the forest was awesome and worthy of a 5-​star rating in and of itself.
The problem, though, was that the experience encapsulates a lot more than just the forest. Now to be clear, I’m not going to fault them for the ~1 hour drive through deep MD suburbia to get to them (weirdly enough, I actually enjoyed the 2 hours end-​to-​end of driving). Where the issues for me start is when we parked our car.
Without any sort of communication as to when the Haunted Forest opened — not on the website or any handouts or flyers or anything — we made our trek out there coincide with sunset. We got there thinking that we’d gotten there nice and early and ahead of the lines, but we clearly weren’t the only ones who adopted this strategy. We ended up staying in a line outside of the park for about 1.5 hours, and apparently the first hour of waiting was because the venue hadn’t even opened yet. None of this was really communicated to any of us, leaving us quite literally waiting in the dark.
I have pretty lukewarm feelings about what went on inside the park too. Even though there’s activities offered to keep you entertained while you’re waiting for your turn on the trail, there’s either a) a massive line or b) an impractical added cost that keeps you from capitalizing. Food-​wise, everything was reasonably tasty but definitely overpriced ($ 9 for a pizza the size of a paper plate, $ 4 for two spoonfuls of vegetarian chili), and this came after waiting another 25 minutes in another line. To take advantage of anything like the zipline or the bungee thing requires waiting in a line to buy tickets followed by another line to wait your turn for bungee. Even going into the forest required a line to get into the trail followed by another line before they dispatch you into the dark.
All told, we probably waited in ~4−5 lines for a composite 2.5 hours for what amounted to a 30 minute spooky experience. And again, while the core product was really good, everything around it really did feel less than stellar.
I guess that’s the beautiful problem of being a really popular attraction (even with the 2 hour RT drive), but it left me thinking there couldn’t have been some added mechanisms to improve the people management. What would happen, for example, if the ticket price was raised from $ 30 to $ 40 p.p. and the internal ticket system was done away with? Assuming only 10% really take advantage of the rides and attractions anyways, you’re at the same revenues minus a couple lines and added hurdles to put your customers through.
But I digress. Anyways, this review is getting really long, so it’s time to wrap it up. Long story short, great core product, everything else is pretty meh to the point I don’t know if I’d do it again or recommend it. Hence the 2-​star review.

I had heard great things about Markoff’s, but was always skeptical since haunted houses (or forests) tend to be cheesy and a waste of time. Boy am I glad I took a chance! Markoff’s is awesome! It is pricey, but by the second area on the trail you will see why. It’s so well done! Each scare zone is better than the next and the actors are fully committed to totally creeping you out. The dark parts, narrow passageways and clown liar were the worst for me. But oh man, it was all great!
I also love that they have actors and performers wandering around the holding area while you wait for your group to be called. Specifically I had a blast watching them go up behind clueless people busy on their phones (or just generally not paying attention to their surroundings) and getting the bejesus scared out of them. Too funny!
Parting thoughts: if you buy tickets in advance you will save $ 5 and if you don’t get their food, you will save your tummy.

One of the best Halloween attractions in the DMV area. If you’re looking for something spooky to do with friends then this is your place! Tickets can be purchased online which I highly recommend in order to avoid the long entrance line. They’ll give you stickers with group numbers on them. This number will be called when it’s your turn to enter the forest. So make sure you and your friends all get the same number. Once inside there’s 3 huge fire pits which help keep people warm while they wait for their number to be called. There are other activities to do while you wait (hay-​ride, maze, face painting, bungee jump, etc.). Most of these activities cost additional.
Food & drinks are sold. Yes they do accept credit cards! So don’t worry about not having cash and go get yourself a nice hot cup of Apple cider or hot chocolate. Other menu items include cookies (which I highly recommend), brownies, hot dogs, fries, and funnel cakes. The prices are reasonable ranging from $ 3-​$ 8. The food lines are long, so expect to wait for a while.
While you’re waiting by the fire pit, drinking your cider, and listening to the DJ play Top 40 mashups over and over your number will be called to enter the forest. You have two different trails to choose from. Trail 1 or 2. Based on the line trail 2 is popular. We chose trail 1 and it was good. The trail is dark but has enough lights to guide you through. Everything is well setup and the costumes are awesome! You will have moments when you least expect it someone will jump out and spook you!
Tip: Dress warm bc this place is very popular and gets packed. So by the time your number is called you’ll probably be waiting for over an hour or two.

Trail 2 was scary in all the right ways. And eerily scenic. About an hour wait to get onto the trail but well worth it.