Markoff’s Haunted Forest 2021 Review
On a Sunday, October 24th, the HRC ventured out to Dickerson (Poolesville) MD to Markoff’s Haunted Forest. In the past, this haunt had three attractions and a midway area. This year the midway still had many activities to partake in. There was ax throwing, the death jump, several food and drink options, multiple huge bonfires, and a DJ playing a variety of music for your entertainment. This year instead of three attractions, they had two. The town and only one trail. They combined the two previous trails into one long 45 minute hike in the woods. This combined trail had 19 scenes, from both original trails. This is not your average walkthrough. The trail is dimly lit and there are quite a few hills in the woods. They do a good job clearing the trail, but it is a forest and small objects could end up in your path. As you walk the trail, you don’t just run into the characters in the scenes; some will find you while walking between scenes. With the dim lighting, you never know what’s coming or where it’s coming from. In some scenes, the lights blast bright, letting you finally see what’s right in front or next to you. This abrupt lighting change plays with your vision and provides a great startle affect. Sometimes it’s not what you see, but rather, what you hear. Some of the vocalizations were just incredible.
The other attraction Markoff’s Haunted Forest has is called, The Town. To get to The Town you hop on a trolley-style trailer for a dark bumpy ride across the farm. Upon exiting the trailer, you walk over a short bridge to the entrance of the “pre-town” corn maze. Small groups enter the short corn maze; however, your group is not alone. There are some characters in there waiting for you. Upon exiting the corn maze, you make your way to the entrance of The Town. The sheriff or another local is there to greet you. The character does a nice job setting the mood for the attraction. They give you a little backstory of what has happened in the town. There’s great interaction and dialogue with the character while you wait your turn to enter. Once you’re in, it really feels like you’re walking through an old western town. The actors played their characters well. They were great at interacting with the groups of people. The actors knew the sets well; they were able to hide in alcoves and niches, so you wouldn’t notice them as you came into the scenes. They also didn’t use the usual first person scare tactic. That kept everyone in the group on edge, because they never really knew what was going to happen.
One thing we’d like to mention about Markoff’s Haunted Forest, they were the first haunt we’ve visited that used a number system or scheduled time slot for the attractions. This is great for crowd control and decreasing long lines. You can relax and enjoy everything the midway has to offer, until your number or time slot is called. We noticed this ticketing method has spread in the area, especially with continued Covid precautions.
While Markoff’s 2021 season has come to an end, this is another haunt to keep in mind for next Fall. Don’t forget to wear proper footwear for trekking through the forest. Check them out and let them know the HRC sent you.
