A wooded trail haunted by the fictional disappearance of five friends in 1996 was scheduled to open Saturday, October 3, at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia, for the 13th year of Haunt: Dark Encounters on grounds of what was once a District of Columbia correctional facility. The opening-night trail and flashlight tours were canceled due to weather. The event runs Fridays, Saturdays and select Sundays from October 3 through October 30, with tickets priced between $25 and $35.
According to Potomac Local News, the trail's storyline centers on a newly discovered camcorder that may hold clues to what happened to the five friends who vanished in 1996, per the event description. The attraction is located at 9518 Workhouse Way and is recommended for guests ages 13 and older. Discount codes are available for early visitors: $10 off with the code 10offhaunt on October 3, 9, 10 and 11, and $5 off with 5offhaunt on October 16, 18 and 25, according to the same report.
The haunt isn't the only thing happening on the property this month. Families can also book 15-to-20-minute Historic Flashlight Tours of the former Occoquan Workhouse grounds and museum cellblock on Haunt nights, priced between $10 and $15 per person, per Workhouse Arts Center. Those guided tours move through museum interiors and un-rehabilitated areas of the historic prison without actor jump scares, offering a quieter, educational counterpoint to the scripted scares along the trail.
A Sensory-Friendly Hour and Pavilion Extras
Not every guest wants the full scare experience, and organizers have built in an option for that too. The Workhouse Arts Center is hosting a sensory-friendly hour on October 17 from 6 to 7 p.m., designed for youth with sensory sensitivities and guests requiring additional accommodations, according to Potomac Local News. Families can reserve sensory-friendly spots through the Workhouse Arts Center's email address.
Beyond the trail itself, the Rizer Pavilion on site features a DJ along with themed cocktails and bites for guests looking to extend the evening. The event description lists an alternate ticket price of $39 plus discounts, per a cover note cited by Potomac Local News, alongside the standard $25 to $35 range.
The Prison History Beneath the Scares
The ground the haunted trail winds through carries weight well beyond its Halloween theming. The site opened in 1910 as the D.C. Occoquan Workhouse and operated for 91 years as Washington, D.C.'s primary correctional complex, according to the Workhouse Arts Center. By 1995, the Lorton Correctional Complex held more than 7,300 inmates, 44 percent over its designed capacity, prompting federal legislation that forced the facility's total shutdown by the end of 2001.
In November 1917, 33 suffragists from the National Woman's Party who had been picketing the White House were incarcerated at the Occoquan Workhouse and subjected to what became known as the Night of Terror, during which guards chained, beat and force-fed them, per the U.S. National Park Service. National outrage over that treatment helped pressure President Woodrow Wilson to support passage of the 19th Amendment. The Workhouse Arts Center opened the Lucy Burns Museum on its campus in January 2020, during the amendment's 100th anniversary, to document both the prison's 91-year history and that suffrage legacy, as reported by WashU's The Source.
From Cellblocks to Art Studios
The former prison complex is now home to the Workhouse Arts Center.
Today the nonprofit cultural destination welcomes more than 225,000 visitors annually and offers artist studios, gallery exhibitions, live performances, arts education programs and community events.
A Trail Built by Veteran Scare Actors
The Workhouse Haunt features seasoned scare actors and razor gloves; power tools are also part of the production.
