Bradley Farm Residents Get Ready to Scare at Annual Haunted House

The residents of the Bradley Farm have been making their annual plans to spook and scare locals seeking a Halloween haunt at the Bradley Farm Haunted House.

The annual event will take place from 6-10 p.m. on Oct. 28-29, and those looking for treats rather than tricks can head to the children’s 10 and under mild haunt from 1-5 p.m. on the 29th.

This year’s event features more than a haunted house with games, live music, tasty treats and more. It’s just $3 to walk through the haunted house. Proceeds from the all-volunteer event help support Herndon-Reston FISH.

Two of the event’s organizers, Lisa Kelly and Sarah Bermingham, said tickets sold out last year, so those planning to attend should get there early. They said those who arrived late in the evening had to be turned away.

Kelly and Bermingham said the current version of the event began five years ago, although the Bradley Farm community had hosted haunted houses in the past.

Since early September local residents and volunteers have been working to transform the community's pool building, an old barn, into a haunted attraction open to the public for one weekend only. The barn was on the property long before the community was developed and was an original part of the Bradley family farm.

Kelly said the event started out with only Bradley Farm community members volunteering and has grown to family, friends and even those outside the community asking how they can get involved in the spooky fundraiser.

The organizers were originally thinking of a holiday theme for this year’s haunted house but wanted something broader, Kelly said. Bermingham said to tie everything together they decided on the theme of “The Land of Make Believe.”

Last year they added games to the event for the first time and it was successful, so they plan to expand them this year. A portion of the games will be in a tented area in case of inclement weather. There will also be music by students of Bach to Rock who will perform throughout the night.

Haunted house attendees can also head to the concession table for Vocelli's pizza, chicken and breadsticks, popcorn, caramel apples, cider, hot cocoa and other fall treats, Bermingham said. Organizers said this year they'll have s'mores available, too.

Kelly said Saturday's mild event for children 10 and under is not scary and the haunted house is not darkened. Instead children walk through the house trick-or-treating. The children’s event will include face painting, a balloon artist and fake tattoos.

Bermingham said after last year’s event they learned to seek out entertainers for those who are standing in line waiting to go through the haunted house to combat boredom.

The event is open from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 28) and Saturday (Oct. 29), as well as from 1-5 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 29) for the special children's mild haunt. The regular, or wild, haunts are great for tweens, teenagers and adults.

For a chance to win a family four pack of VIP line-skip passes hurry over to “like” the Bradley Farm Haunted House on Facebook. The winners will be announced Friday, Oct. 21.

The haunted house is located at 13159 New Parkland Drive and takes place rain or shine. For more information, visit www.BFHauntedHouse.com or email info@bfhauntedhouse.com.