Haunted Hollow: Trail of Terror
The Haunted Hollow was the original "ghoulish inspiration" from the demented minds of owners Robert Ethington and Bob Tillotson seventeen years ago. While riding horses deep in the mountainous canyon where they lived, the resounding crackles of leaves underfoot evoked imagery that they thought would make an incredible effect. Thus, the idea of the original Haunted Hollow came to fruition that fall. The opening year they expected to start small, both owners actually having to play five to six characters on any given night. Nevertheless, it was a huge success… several thousand people came to experience the horror! The following year Bob and Rob discovered a truly demonic piece of property in American Fork, Utah. They called it Haunted Forest due to the eerie group of trees located on the property, from which some of the most horrifying ghost stories have come. The most famous of which is the story of Crazy Annie.
Staying abreast of this unprecedented legacy, these two "Master Spooks" decided to recreate the same legacy of their original Haunted Hollow. This Haunted production opened its doors in fall of 2000 in Ogden, Utah. At the start of the new millennium, the masters of true Halloween scare, Bob and Rob, found a truly haunting hollow of ghostly trees on the Weber River in Ogden, Utah which was uniquely sinister.
The Legend of Mangus Hurlbut
For years this location has been known for the legend of Mangus Hurlbut, a man who used to live on this property when it was a gravel pit over 100 years ago. He lived in an old shack in the trees behind the railroad yard with several other vagrants. One by one his fellow bums disappeared until he was the only one living among the trees, thus he became known as the Hermit of Ghost Hollow. Every now and then some one would visit him and try to befriend him. Mangus loved to have company and would sit by the fire and play his harmonica for his guests. However, when his guests tried to leave, Mangus would get violent. No known guest has ever escaped the fury of Mangus.
After serious gravel slide that buried most of the pit and the pond Mangus disappeared. His body was never found, but sometimes, at night, a single lonely sound of a harmonica playing Mangus’s favorite song, “Oh Suzanna” can be heard. This was the song that Mangus practiced almost nightly as he sat at his campfire, preparing for the next time a guest dared to visit. This Harmonica can still be heard from time to time when there is a missing person in the area.
15 years ago, developers were about to make the property into a housing tract. The two out of state developers were never warned about Mangus Hurlbut and after staying on the property one night, were never heard of again. That same night locals reported hearing a harmonica playing “Oh Suzanna” and 2 men singing. The light of a campfire was also seen. Horrible screams were heard later that night but upon investigation no sign of the men, a campfire, or a harmonica was found. These events have kept any further development from occurring and provided for the ultimate Haunting experience. Every year, a couple of nights before opening that lone harmonica can be heard.
This encounter is sure to be your scariest one yet...with over 13 wooded acres embedded deep in a true "hollow." Both creations are completely different from the other, so be sure to make the terrifying trek to both spectacles. The Haunted Forest and The Haunted Hollow truly are...the most frightening spectacle to visit in Utah!!
What you can expect....
Utah’s longest haunted attraction is located deep inside a dark wooded hallow with 13 acres of haunted trails shadowed by 100-foot trees. You will descend down into over a thousand feet of underground dungeons complete with underground swamps. Your heart will race as you try to keep your balance while crossing the rope bridge over the black swamp. Old Mangus’s presence can be felt as you enter the old cabin that he once lived. The tomb that lies in the heart of the hollow is filled with voices you will not soon forget. Be careful not to get lost in the mineshaft. Some have taken a wrong turn and never been the same.
Although this haunt takes about one hour to experience, but you will live with it for the rest of your life! As always with any production from the “Masters of Scare” you will be entertained from the minute you leave your car.