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Before Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest, Howl-O-Scream, and Knott’s Scary Farm, was Spooky World.
With little dispute, Spooky World is credited as America’s first established haunted theme park. The first attractions included haunted houses, sideshow attractions, horror celebrities, and a hayride which became the event’s signature event.
Why was Spooky World a Success?
For those who were too young to remember, or not even born yet… 1991 was a time ripe for horror, and the legends we celebrate today were in their heyday.
Freddy Krueger, Jason Vorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface were all household names. Many of these legends were spawning sequels that entered into the double digits. Their iconic masks and clothing became merchandise in costume shops. This was a great time to be a horror fan!
While there were not many horror conventions, and certainly none outside of the big cities, horror fans had a way of finding each other. The unofficial club houses of the 1980s and 1990s for horror fans were shopping malls, movie theaters, as well as comic book and video stores.
Before the invention of the internet, these were the places where mutterings of Spooky World began to gather attention.
Making Memories
It was a Spooky World where many young fans had their first opportunity to meet horror legends. Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th, Hatchet), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Alice Cooper, Gunnar Hansen (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and more all made appearances at the scream park!
In fact, it was at this event where a young Adam Green (Hatchet, Holliston) almost met his favorite Jason Vorhees. As a boy, a 9 year old Adam attended Spooky World with the sole purpose of meeting Kane Hodder. Unfortunately, after two long hours of waiting in line, the attraction closed before the young filmmaker could get to the front. He was crushed, but his love horror prevailed. In fact, roughly two decades later, Green was finally able to meet Hodder on the set of his film Hatchet.
Spooktacular! A Documentary About America’s First Scream Park
Owner David Bertolino opened the doors to Spooky World in 1991 at a run down dairy farm in Berlin, Massachusetts. However, Spooky World only called Berlin home until 1998 when it moved to Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium. After a brief stay it then made a few other small stops before it moved to its permanent home in New Hampshire, where it was rebranded as Nightmare New England.
Between going from home A, to home B, to home C, the history of America’s first scream park is immense! Hundreds of stories have been gained along the way, and the foundation is rich in culture, memories, and nostalgia.
The journey about the little scream park that could, will be shared in a new documentary produced by FX legend himself, Tom Savini!
Next week on October 3, 2025, steam on Amazon or Direct TV the documentary about America’s first haunted attraction; Spooktacular!
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