Cabrini students who attended the Bates Motel trip on Friday, Oct. 21, sponsored by CAP Board, had a fun and frightening time. For $15, students were given access to the Haunted Hayride, a haunted corn maze — and the infamous Bates Motel.
Arasapha Farm, the farm on which these scary sights are located, has garnered national attention, having been featured on the Travel Channel multiple times. Its hayride has also recently been rated as the #1 Haunted Attraction in America by Hauntworld Magazine, USA Today and other publications.
The main attraction, the Bates Motel, takes its name from the classic 1960 movie “Psycho,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock. While there doesn’t seem to be any direct connection between it and its namesake, it’s nevertheless a sure thing that guests will leave the building scared. For the most part.
One Cabrini student wasn’t all too shaken by the sights of the motel. “I felt that [it] wasn’t as scary as other haunted attractions I’ve been to,” Laura Rucci, sophomore math major, said, “probably because there wasn’t a centralized theme or backstory. It was just a hodgepodge of different things. I like legends more than horror movie references.”
Not everyone was so easily turned off by the various horror movie references that the attraction designers made use of, however. “It was such a fun and terrifying trip!” Danielle Kane, freshman undecided major, said. “I was so excited that CAP Board offered this trip, because I really wanted to do something for Halloween.”
Like Kane, many students often find it hard to find fun things to do for the Halloween season, let alone find transportation. As CAP Board provided students transportation to Arasapha Farm by van, it was made much more easily accessible to those that love haunted attractions but don’t have cars on-campus, like many of the freshmen.
“It was a nice break from schoolwork and a great way to start off the Halloween season!” Jillian Megna, freshman undecided major, said. “Everyone was laughing and meeting new people from Cabrini. I highly recommend it and plan to attend again!”
The local radio station Wired 96.5 was also present at Arasapha Farm that night and gave away t-shirts to participants in several dance-offs they held. The station’s staff will be back on Friday, Oct. 28 to give away more merchandise and play more music for the crowds.
The Bates Motel and other attractions, located in Glen Mills, Pa., will be open until Monday, Oct. 31, so there’s still a bit of time to schedule your own trip!
