Dark Nights Behind the Haunt: Haunted Coal Mine

Join us at Hersheypark this fall as we introduce our new Dark Nights add-on experience as part of Hersheypark Halloween. 

Dark Nights is a frightfully immersive haunt experience that spreads its shadows over the Hersheypark landscape every evening during Hersheypark Halloween, with four spine-tingling haunted houses and three scare zones . Midways transform from enchanting to unnerving and once-familiar spaces mutate into chilling explorations of the unknown. The only thing more terrifying than the dark is what lurks within it.

Dark Nights at Hersheypark Halloween will run Sept. 17 through Oct. 30, 2022 from 6-11 p.m. on Saturdays (and Fridays starting Oct. 14) and 6-10 p.m. on Sundays. 

Behind The Haunt

We’re excited to share our next house in the Behind The Haunt blog series, where we dive deeper into the four spine-tingling haunted houses - Haunted Coal Mine, The Descent, Twisted Darkness and Creature Chaos - as part of integrated thrill experiences guests can only find in Hersheypark. Each house is themed with its own unique story to frighten guests with every visit.

 Up next in our Behind The Haunt series is Haunted Coal Mine.

Overview

For too long, unsettling cries of miners lost in these coal shafts have tormented the living. Take a daring trek through the abandoned mines which suddenly becomes an explosive encounter.  

Location

The Haunted Coal Mine haunted house has taken over the Trailblazer catering space near Spring Creek Smokehouse. Guests will enter the queue line outside of the Trailblazer roller coaster entrance and follow the path across the bridge until they get to the entrance of the catering pavilion. 

Unique Tie to Hershey and Central PA

Pennsylvanians have a long, rich, and sometimes dark history with coal mining. The landscape of mining can be seen along many of the roads leading to Hershey. The lore of mining and the brave men and women that work in the mines leaves an impression on those who visit Pennsylvania, so much so that the planning team from California that created the 1972 Master Plan for Hersheypark designed a Minetown region of the park (still noticeable in the architectural form of Overlook Food Court and of course in the iconic Coal Cracker attraction). Knowing that, it should be no surprise that 50 years later, another skilled team from California was inspired by this same coal heritage, only this time with a slightly more menacing twist. 

Behind The Clue

Did you know all of the Dark Nights clues were filmed on-site at Hersheypark? The first clue for Dark Nights was set up as a series of Polaroids captured inside the Park at multiple locations near the Trailblazer catering area. The coal miner items including those staged in the photos were actually borrowed from family members' garages after a road trip back home to Pottsville, just distressed a bit more with shoe polish and coal dust. Our talented Sign Shop created the “Danger Mine Closed” signs.

The first photo has 9:17PM written on the border, an early and subtle nod to the Dark Nights opening date of Sept. 17. For the old-school map enthusiasts, the coordinates written on the next photo set a pin directly on the utility building next to the Trailblazer catering whose door served as the perfect backdrop for a “mine closed” sign.

From the very beginning of our clue series we were giving away the name of our new haunt experience in each clue. “Dark Nights are Coming” was at the end of the clue video.

Construction Updates

Here is a sneak peek at the construction of the Haunted Coal Mine house.

Stay tuned for next week as we reveal more details on our last haunted house of the series, Creature Chaos.

Dark Nights Know-Before-You-Go: Tickets 

Guests must purchase a separate Dark Nights add-on ticket to experience unlimited access to all of the four haunted houses as many times as they dare during a single visit. Scare Zones are included with a general admission ticket to Hersheypark Halloween.

A general admission ticket to Hersheypark Halloween is required for entry throughout the fall season. Dark Nights haunted houses access is not included with a general Hersheypark admission ticket and must be purchased separately or as part of a bundle. Guests can get to the fear faster with Dark Nights Fast Track program, available to ensure unlimited access to the four new haunted houses on the date of visit.