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Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable..

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.

In this file photo, Tim Jackson demonstrates the popular, hand-crafted duck race activity at Howling Hills. The Hills are alive every weekend through Halloween.

Corn mazes, pumpkin paloozas and haunted thrills abound this spooky season in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.

Camila Cupp, of Scott Township, picks the perfect pumpkin at Simmons Farm in this 2021 file photo.

In this file photo, Tim Jackson demonstrates the popular, hand-crafted duck race activity at Howling Hills. The Hills are alive every weekend through Halloween.

Corn mazes, pumpkin paloozas and haunted thrills abound this spooky season in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties.

Camila Cupp, of Scott Township, picks the perfect pumpkin at Simmons Farm in this 2021 file photo.

You know it’s fall when the days grow shorter; the air, more crisp, and leaves crunch beneath your feet when you step outside in flannel and boots.

Hayrides, pumpkin picking and haunted houses are on the schedule all autumn long. If you’re looking to fill the calendar with festive seasonal activities, Washington, Greene and Fayette counties offer a variety of events fun for all ages.

If a scenic hayride that ends with pumpkin picking and corn maze-ing is what you’re looking for, swing by Trax Farms in Finleyville for the annual Fall Fest, which runs Sept. 24 through Oct. 23.

Hayride reservations are recommended, with a limited number of day-of tickets sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Along with the tractor ride, pumpkin patch and corn maze, visitors can enjoy live music and food from local food trucks.

Again this year, Trax is hosting Friday hayrides through Halloween weekend. Reservations are required, and include a scenic, 20-minute hayride, three-acre corn maze, petting zoo and picnic games.

To book tickets or learn more about Trax Farms, go to https://traxfarms.com/.

There’s lots of fall fun on the calendar at Bedner’s Farm and Greenhouse in McDonald, like a haybale designing class and pumpkin succulent centerpiece workshop, but parents won’t want to miss the Pumpkin-Palooza the last four Saturdays of October.

The palooza runs from 10 a.m. to noon or noon to 2 p.m. and includes pumpkin painting and a spooky surprise.

“We’re actually turning one of our greenhouses into a haunted house,” said Carolyn Blaine, education and events coordinator. “I’m very excited.”

If you’re not able to make the Pumpkin Palooza, Bedner’s is hosting a children’s Halloween and costume party Oct. 29, too.

For more Bedner’s fall fun, visit https://www.bednersgreenhouse.com/.

The Spring House invites you to hop aboard a tractor ride to the farm’s pumpkin patch and corn mazes every Saturday and Sunday beginning Sept. 24.

“We do have a kiddie corn maze. We cut off half the corn stalk, so it’s shorter,” laughed Kara Blum, store manager. “For brave folks, we have the large corn maze.”

After finding your way out of corn mazes, visitors are invited to pick a pumpkin, speed down the haybale tower tube slides and enjoy old-fashioned games. No trip to the Spring House is complete without farm-fresh milk (which comes in a variety of flavors), pies or ice cream.

Fall activities run from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekend days and come to a close Sunday, Oct. 30. For more information on the Spring House’s seasonal fun, visit https://springhousemarket.com/.

Fresh fall things are yours for the picking at Triple B Farms, which offers pick-your-own apples, pumpkins and flowers between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Oct. 31.

The farm also invites families to Pop’s Farmyard show every Saturday and Sunday for duck races, games and a singing chicken event. Pop’s Farmyard Fall Fun is a good time for all ages. Reservations are required.

For more on Triple B Farms’s fall fun, visit https://www.triplebfarms.com/index.html.

Last year, Tim and Chris Jackson transformed their Allentown family property into Howling Hills, featuring an eight-acre corn maze cut lovingly by Tim himself. Howling Hills has grown to include family-friendly activities like haunted paint ball, duck races (on a hand-crafted track) and pumpkin picking.

This year, the Jacksons are offering picnic and birthday party rentals; the latter includes a private hayride and lunch or dinner. Concessions are available on-site during business regular hours, noon to 5:30 p.m.

The fun begins Sept. 17 and continues weekends through Oct. 31. Flashlight corn mazes run 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. every weekend in October, weather permitting.

Learn more about weekends at Howling Hills online at https://www.hhcornmaze.com/.

Duda’s Farm in Brownsville is again offering pumpkin-picking hayrides every weekend from Sept. 24 through Oct. 31.

Activities begin at 11 a.m. and include a hayride, pumpkin, double-barrel shotgun slides and a corn maze. Bonfires will burn until the farm closes for the evening at 5:30 p.m.

Ticket sales for the haunted maze start at 7 p.m., and folks may enter the maze when darkness falls. Ticket sales run until 11 p.m.

For more on Duda’s Farm’s fall activities, visit https://www.dudasfarm.com/index.php.

Fall is underway at Simmons Farm in McMurray, where kids of all ages will enjoy journeying through an apple rock labyrinth, getting lost in the four-acre corn maze and patting animals at the petting zoo. Simmons offers a two-acre corn maze, rubber duck races and a new double mega slide for young visitors, while teens and adults compete at pumpkin corn hole.

Folks are invited to pick pumpkins, pick apples and pick flowers at the farm, and swing by on select weekends for apple slinging and other bonus events.

For more on Simmons Farm’s fall schedule, visit https://www.simmonsfarm.com/home.html.

Washington and Fayette counties are home to some of the region’s most revered haunted attractions, including Castle Blood in Monessen, the Smithfield Fright Farm and Pittsburgh Zombie Assault in McDonald – all must-visits for the bravest of readers.

Allen’s Haunted Hayrides in Smock is a must-visit, too. The family-owned and operated attraction welcomes visitors on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings through Oct. 29 to warm by a bonfire or brave the horrors that haunt the property.

Take a tractor ride through one mile of haunted woods and fields. If you dare, visit the hayshed, which was confirmed to be haunted in 2001 by the Angle Ladies of Pittsburgh, or wander through the Tavern of Terror, where Dracula simply cannot wait to meet you.

To book reservations or learn more, go to http://www.allenshayrides.com/.

One never can tell if the shivers running down one’s spine are caused by a brisk breeze or passing ghost, but at Demon House in Monongahela, it’s definitely the latter.

”The Travel Channel was here for a week (in 2018) shooting Portals to Hell,” said Demon House owner Chris Prit. “We are not a portal to hell, thank God, but they consider it to be a haunted haunted house.”

Unlike most other haunted attractions, where visitors wait in line to encounter the horrors within, guests to Demon House purchase tickets and then mill about the grounds, chatting around bonfires, enjoying concessions or watching a scary movie at the outdoor theater.

A loud bell grabs folks attention, and when your group is announced, into Demon House you go.

“It’s a more personalized experience,” Prit said. “You rarely ... run into another group.”

Haunted tours take about a half-hour to complete, depending on how quickly you make your way from one ghoulish room to the next. Demon House is actor-driven, boasting only three animatronics in the huge space.

“It’s more of a psychological type of show. We really try to mess with your mind more than anything by changing your sense of sight, your sense of sound, your sense of touch,” Prit said.

Every year, Prit and his wife update about five rooms, based on customer feedback. He can’t say much about this year’s show without giving thrills away, but Prit said this year, Demon House has a new parking lot.

Folks are invited to park at the Monongahela YMCA and take a free shuttle to the haunted grounds.

“Wear closed-toe shoes. We get people breaking flip-flops left and right from running,” Prit laughed.

For more on Demon House, visit https://demonhouse.com/index.html.

Expect all the usual scares and new horrors at the family-owned Haunted Hills Estate in Uniontown, which since 2004 has grown into a regional, seasonal destination.

This year, the spooky estate debuts Twisted Nightmare 3-D (need we say more?), a Mutant Paintball experience and the highly anticipated Stalker Hollow Corn Field.

To book your terrifying trip, visit https://www.hauntedhillsestate.com/.

Greene County needs no haunted attractions.

“My co-author (Rosemary Guiley) referred to it as the most haunted county in America,” said Kevin Paul, a Greene County native who literally wrote the book on the area’s paranormal activities.

Paul, co-author of Haunted Hills and Hollows: What Lurks in Greene County, put together a self-guided tour of the area’s spookiest spots, most of which are public and accessible at no charge. If you dare, print out the tour online at https://visitgreene.org/tours/tour-paranormal/ and check as many sites off the list as your heart can take.

One ghost you may encounter on the self-guided tour is Catharine, the wife of Joseph Caldwell, a farmer who lived in Aleppo. On Dec. 29, 1898, Caldwell and his wife finished lunch and went to the barn to build a calf stall.

“When they got in the barn, he basically beat her brains out, left and went right over the state line into Marshall County, West Virginia,” said Paul.

There, Caldwell lay on the railroad tracks, and was beheaded by an oncoming train.

“There was a ghost seen in the area that was believed to have been Catharine,” Paul said. “I heard this story from a guy who had witnessed (the ghost) when he was a child. I was never really sure about the story.”

But one day, while visiting the Geneological Society, Paul came across newspaper reports of the murder-suicide.

“That was a pretty interesting story,” he said.

Ghosts have also been sighted at the Hartley Inn in Carmichaels and around Phillips Cemetery in Wayne Township – both stops along the self-guided tour.

For less haunting, but just as eerie, thrills, visit some of the tour stops where Bigfoot reports have surfaced, including Mon View Park in Monongahela. Other strange creatures have been reported from nearly every corner of Greene County.

But the definite must-see on Paul’s self-guided tour?

“I would gravitate toward the western end of the county,” he said. “There’s been some activity reported around Ryerson, and some activity on the Warrior Trail. The Muddy Creek Watershed, there’s a lot of stuff there. Lights in the sky. Balls of light that approach people.”

Nothing feels more fall than a festival, and folks are invited to the annual Fall Craft & Vendor Show Oct. 1 in the Jefferson-Morgan High School gymnasium. Admission is free.

Shop local vendors, try your luck at the basket raffle, and don’t miss the chicken roast.

For more on the craft show, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1657687694608413/.

For more seasonal fun, head down to the Greene County Historical Society Oct. 8 and 9 for the 51st annual Harvest Festival. Along with fall activities, live music, demonstrations and lots of good eats, folks are encouraged to take self-guided tours of the museum, its grounds and the W&W Railroad.

The bravest attendees can step into the dungeon for tarot reading and paranormal equipment demos.

For more on the Harvest Fest, visit https://www.facebook.com/gchsofpa.

Fall foliage enthusiasts will enjoy colorful sights at Ohiopyle and surrounding areas, which offer spectacular views of changing leaves. Choose a weekend, grab some friends and pack a picnic before winding through the Laurel Highlands to ooh! and ahh! at nature’s finest show.

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