Celebrate Halloween Season Safely AT Pennhurst

Things look a little different at Pennhurst for 2021. We have restructured many aspects of our operation with the safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff in mind. We are excited to be able to have the opportunity to entertain our community this season. Below are just a few changes you might notice upon your visit this Halloween Season.

Guests will be greeted at a Health / Security Checkpoint where they will be asked to pass through metal detectors and may have bags checked.

Guests are asked to refrain from visiting if they have been exposed or think they may have had a COVID exposure risk. Guest exhibiting COVID symptoms may be asked to have their temperatures checked upon entry.

The wearing of Face Masks will be encouraged while on the Pennhurst Campus. If a guest arrives without a mask, a two-ply paper mask can be provided. Alternatively, Pennhurst two-ply cloth masks can be purchased in our merchandise area.

Guests will notice new signage and audio announcements throughout the property. These visual and auditory aids will remind guests to please adhere to our Social Distancing practices and to keep masks on. Additionally, Event Staff will gently remind guests of these standards as well.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has recommended that businesses limit the gatherings of crowds. We have retooled our que lines to facilitate this social distancing requirement.

Timed ticketing has allowed us to better control the number of guests on the property. We STRONGLY encourage that guests pre-purchase their tickets in this manner. However, we will have walk-up VIP tickets available for an additional fee. Again, we STRONGLY recommend purchasing a ticket for a specific time slot.

We have timed our attractions to allow for greatly reduced group sizes with a focus on household groups going through the Haunt together as a unit.

A dedicated crew of our staff members will be responsible for sanitizing customer areas throughout the evening. This includes high contact touch points such as railings and rest room facilities.

Hand Sanitizer Stations will be at the entrance and exits of each attraction, restroom areas, ticketing redemption areas, security screen and health check stations. We will be highly encouraging all guests to utilize the Hand Sanitizer Stations during their visit by utilizing verbal recordings and signage.

Behind the Scenes

All staff members must check in with the Health Screen desk prior to clocking in for the night.

The interior of each Attraction will be sanitized daily prior to show time with the use of sanitizing, anti-microbial foggers. Once a week the interiors of each Attraction will be deep cleaned and sanitized by a third party company.

Staff members will social distance throughout their shift at Pennhurst Asylum. We have implemented a system called “Haunt Spots” wherein same household members must wait for Health Screening, Make-Up, Call Time, etc. while standing on Social Distanced Markers.

FUN FACT! Due to social distancing guidelines, household units will be haunting together. So when you visit, scenes with two or more actors are very likely a family unit such as spouses, roommates or siblings!

Typically Pennhurst Asylum is fortunate enough to have dedicated MakeUp and Costume Rooms within our Haunted Attraction. This year however, we have constructed a Make Up tent and a Costume space built outside to maximize airflow.

Our talented MakeUp Artists will be working in this new space while wearing the most protective levels of PPE. Artists, will wear new gloves and sanitize their tools before and after each make up application.

Every actor you will encounter during your visit to Pennhurst Asylum will be donning a Mask. Rest assured that while it may seem like a costume mask, every item is lined inside with 2-ply regulation paper masks.

Because of the expanded utilization of masks in our Attractions and to restrict the use of make up brushes and sponges, most MakeUp you will see at Pennhurst Asylum has been applied by airbrush.

In years passed, you may have been touched by a Pennhurst ghoul. You may have had one of our monsters whisper in your ear. While we are fans of these scare tactics, 2020 will host a CONTACT-FREE HAUNT. Our actors WILL NOT touch customers this year. Very few contact points have been designed specifically with the ability to sanitize props between each customer.

Event Staff will be sanitizing touch points and encouraging guests to take advantage of our many Hand Sanitizing Stations. You will see our Staff wiping down railings, posts, and rest room facilities.

We at Pennhurst Asylum have taken these enhanced health and safety measures for our guests and our staff. We are proud to have the opportunity to entertain the community this Halloween Season. We hope our guest will feel confident in our safety measures and come out to see us this 2020 season.