Sept. 9, 2014. When the eerie sound from the whistle of a steam locomotive pierces the peaceful quiet of an autumn High Country night, it can only mean one thing: it’s time for Tweetsie Railroad’s annual Ghost Train Halloween Festival. Starting Sept. 26, and continuing every Friday and Saturday night through Nov. 1, guests will enjoy a frightfully spooky ride as the Ghost Train howls its way through the Blue Ridge Mountains with new frights and delights around every corner.
Daytime visitors can still enjoy all of Tweetsie’s Wild West adventure, rides and attractions, but when the sun goes down, ghosts and spirits fill the park when the gates open at 7:30 p.m., daring brave guests to take a trip pack in time to the Great Train Wreck of 1914. Ghost Train passengers will travel back in time to the scene of one of the worst (fictional) accidents in railroading history. Old-timers swear they’ve seen an apparition of the phantom locomotive and its doomed engineer and passengers. A true scream-worthy experience, the journey is filled with spooky frights around every bend and is guaranteed to give passengers a ghostly good time.
Named one of the “Top 20 Events in the Southeast” by the Southeast Tourism Society, the hauntings include much more than the signature train ride. Enjoy a spooky stroll through the Freaky Forest while encountering dark surprises along a desolate woodland pathway of terror. Visit The Boneyard where you can venture into the 3-D Maze, the disorienting Black Hole and new for 2014, the mystifying Warp Tunnel. Brave visitors should not miss the spine chilling Haunted House, where 13 spooky rooms will startle and challenge the imagination.
For those looking for less chills and thrills and more tricks and treats, visitors of all ages will be enchanted and amused by the spooktacular black light show at the Haunted Palace Saloon, the lively dance party on Tweetsie’s Main Street, the amusement rides at the Creepy Carnival and of course, it wouldn’t be Halloween without traditional trick-or-treating throughout the park. The Ghost Train Halloween Festival is safe, scary fun for all ages
Due to the popularity of this annual event, a limited number of tickets are available for each evening. Many nights often sell out, so ordering advance tickets online is strongly recommended. Admission is $31 for adults and children while kids ages2 and under are admitted free. Tickets are available at www.Tweetsie.com.
Tweetsie Railroad is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays Aug. 18 through Nov. 2. The 2014 season ends Sunday, Nov. 2. The park’s Wild West themed hours are 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Ghost Train Halloween Festival runs from 7:30-11:30 p.m. October is particularly busy in the High Country as the fall foliage is at peak color, so make your lodging reservations early.
Tweetsie Railroad is located on the Blue Ridge Mountains on U.S.321 between boone and Blowing Rock. For more information about the 2014 season at Tweetsie Railroad, visit Tweetsie.com or call 877-TWEETSIE.
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