If you travel down County Road 590 in Hanceville, Alabama, you might think you are in the back of the beyond when you finally pull into the rutted gravel entry leading to Haunted Trails of Terror. While you are only a few miles away from the friendly and historic town of Cullman, things feel different here. The darkness has weight, the warm early autumn air feels close, and there’s monsters waiting just beyond your sight.

Haunted Trails of Terror is a modest haunted house with a home-spun, labor of love feeling to it. Owned and operated by a Hanceville resident, Brian Hancock, the haunt has been operating in the same location for 13 years. While there’s no storyline or unifying theme, the actors do a fantastic job at scaring. These range from Michael Myers to Freddy Krueger to cannibals to monsters with chainsaws. The experience itself takes about fifteen minutes, and they let us in with a group of two after a Covid check, allowing for us to feel like the only people in the haunt.

The trail starts in a pre-fabricated building, winding back and forth within the space. This section is defined by hanging black plastic curtains. Scare actors are easily hidden around corners, popping out to taunt or just scream. The decor and props are mostly familiar haunt fare, but with a few surprises, including some excellent costuming and a severed head on a bungee cord. This was a great scare, especially with combined with accompanying dialogue from the actor.

Yet, it’s the actors that were the highlight of the experience. Whether we were inside the building or outside on the trail, the actors were always engaged, following us to keep up their assault of threats and promises. A chainsaw maniac was not afraid to combine humor with his own threats: “Right here, just a little closer. Wait, who forgot to put a chain on this thing?” Despite the jokes, he was not afraid to get close to you with his saw so I could smell the exhaust from the motor.

My main criticism of Haunted Trails of Terror would be the lighting, as better use of lighting would have allowed me to appreciate the detail in Freddy’s costume and his actions. Further, there were a few empty spots in the haunt, which I asked Hancock about later in an exchange of messages. Like so many other businesses these days, he’s had a hard time getting folks to commit to even a few weeks of work.

Overall, Haunted Trails of Terror is a frightening haunt filled with passion from its creative team and its actors. They filled it with details that show why this is a popular destination for the past 13 years. Currently, Hancock is trying to open a second location, the Haunted House of Frightmares, running in the nearby town of Arab, about 30 miles away. Keep an eye out for it—but make sure you check out the Haunted Trails of Terror first.

For more information about Haunted Trail of Terror in Hanceville, Alabama, checkout their Facebook page. For more immersive events, check out our Event Calendar.

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Haunted Trails of Terror is a walk through experience in Hanceville, Alabama.