Spider Hill was launched in 1999 by the local Optimist Club[2] and Three Sisters Park and featured three main attractions: The Massacre Mansion, The Haunted Express haunted hayride, and The Trail of Terror, which walks visitors through the forest.[3][4] Attendance in the first event was 8,000.[2] Sponsors of the event remind visitors of the legend of Spider Hill and the event's namesake where 23 individuals died at the site during World War I from venomous spider bites.[5]
The event is run entirely by volunteers, starting with 60 in 2000, increasing to 165 in 2007, and about 100 in 2022.[6][7] Volunteers participate in organized workshops to share scaring techniques.[8] The last attendance figures released were in 2004, when 20,000 visitors went through the various attractions during the October weekends and Halloween night.[8] Event volunteers or actors reveal the biggest screams result from encounters with terrifying clowns, causing a grown man to faint twice in 2003 and another to spit at the circus specter for scaring his girlfriend.[8][9]
Massacre Mansion is the haunted house, which encompasses about 8,000 sq ft (740 m2). In 2012, the operators of Spider Hill bought a haunted house from Cedar Rapids called Nightmare Manor. Its props and scenery were used to double the size of Massacre Mansion.[11]
Haunted Trail
The Trail of Terror is a winding path through the forest featuring scares along the way.
Hayride and Zombie Invasion
The original haunted hayride was replaced with Zombie Invasion, which is a paintball shooting experience from aboard a "war wagon". In 2022, the Zombie Invasion was put on hiatus due to costs and returned to a family-family scenic ride.[7][12]
Paranormal investigation
In 2023, Spider Hill partnered with Enlightened Souls Paranormal investigation group to offer paranormal investigation of a historical building at the park.[13] Tickets in 2023 were $45 for the paranormal investigation experience.[13][14]
^Boswell, John (21 October 1999). "New Haunts: Spider Hill is the Tri-county Area's Newest Halloween Happening". Metro Thursday. Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. p. R1.