‘Death Trail’ is prime haunted walk in Prince William County

Calling all horror fans: if you’re in for a good scare, then The 2016 Death Trail “Asylum” is the next on your Halloween to-do.

The Death Trail is an attraction just outside Dumfries that incorporates a good scare for horror fanatics, but the last five minutes of the trail is the real hook of the entire attraction.

As walkers near the end of the horror, there’s a special religious twist.

“If it wasn’t for the final five minutes of the trail, we wouldn’t do the rest of it because it’s a tremendous amount of work, it takes a lot of manpower and a lot of energy to do this. But we feel like, our goal is to reach people that normally wouldn’t go to a church and hear a message,” said Executive Pastor Brad Lewis, of Montclair Tabernacle Church Church of God.

While spooky Halloween haunted walks are a staple on farms in Fairfax, Fauquier, and Spotsylvania counties, The Death Trail has emerged as the only haunted trail in Prince William County.

Even though the trail is connected to a church, the attraction is marketed as a secular attraction, not a religious event. “We try and market it as a secular style event, so we try to rival things like Busch Gardens, Kings Dominion, other prominent — total secular haunts,” said Lewis.

“We’ve been surprised. We knew we didn’t have a lot of competition, but we basically geared it to a secular audience and not a church audience. And over the years since we started in 2009, we have just been outstanded at the response from people,” said Lewis.

In fact, the trail attracts people all the way from Baltimore, Richmond, and even the Shenandoah Valley. Lewis notes that whenever most first visit the property, they don’t really understand how it’s connected to a church. In fact, he commonly hears the question ““Hey, how does a church allow you guys to do a haunted trail on their property?”

The Death Trail website describes itself as “a balance between a haunted trail and a house of death.” Despite its name, the Death Trail is indeed safe, well equipped with security personnel and fire/insurance codes. Depending on individual pace, the trail takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Those who dare to embark on the trail can encounter an array of a nightmare. “They encounter all kinds of things. Demented clowns, a cannibalistic family, a crazy toy store terror is what we’re calling it this year where the toys literally come to life.”

This year’s theme is the Asylum. Tickets for the attraction are $15 per person, but visitors may upgrade to $30 to travel to the front of the line, receive 25% off all merchandise, and access the Death Trail’s special escape room.

The trail is the deep, dark, spooky woods next to Montclair Tabernacle Church of God, located at 16120 Dumfries Road.