Shocktober’s Haunted House Opens For Its Eighth Season; Spooky Mansion, Trail, and More

Paxton Manor is a 140-year old mansion located in Leesburg, Virginia. Also included is a horrific haunted trail located in the woods surrounding the mansion.
Photo by: DarkWorkX

Shocktober’s Paxton Manor has opened for its eighth season this year with a brand new theme in the basement attraction, “Carnival of Souls.” Formerly, the “Haunted Well of Souls,” the in the new “Carnival of Souls,” the Carver Carnival Family has come back to town to terrorize anyone willing to enter the basement. “Think crazed killer clowns and rancid cotton candy in twisted underground carnival carnage,” says Matt Smith, Director of Facilities for The Arc and evil creative genius of Shocktober.

Award-winning Haunt: The 200+ team of dedicated volunteer actors and crew won Loudoun Care’s Volunteer Team Award for 2018, Visit Loudoun’s Marketing Campaign of the Year Award in 2016 and the Humanitarian Award in 2015. Paxton Manor is a 140-year old mansion located in Leesburg, Virginia, that has been transformed into a professional haunted house that raises funds for The Arc of Loudoun at Paxton Campus (The Arc), a nonprofit providing services to people with disabilities and their families living in Loudoun. Also included is a horrific haunted trail located in the woods surrounding the mansion.

New Grants Program Giving Back: “Every scare counts at Shocktober and something new and exciting this year is that through Shocktober we are giving back to the community in a bigger way than ever before,” says Melissa Heifetz, Executive Director of The Arc. “We want to introduce the ‘We Scare Because We Care Mini-Grants Program,’ which is an opportunity for human service nonprofits in Loudoun to serve more children.” It is The Arc of Loudoun’s mission to maximize the potential of children while supporting families and individuals with disabilities so that they may thrive in the community and this program will be impacting more families by providing five $1,000 mini-grants to human service nonprofits in Loudoun County.

Partnerships: For a better time than ever, this year we have amazing community partnerships and sponsorships this including our own special brew, the Oxorcist II, that is brewed by Old Ox Brewery in collaboration with Shocktober, on sale at Shocktober and distributed throughout Northern Virginia. Paisano’s Pizza will be on sale at Shocktober, and they are generously feeding our volunteer zombie hoard every Sunday in October. Our hotel partners are: Lansdowne Resort, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Homewood Suites. We thank Visit Loudoun, our tourism destination sponsor.

Legend has it that over 100 years ago, The Carvers were banished from Leesburg and forced to move to the underground caverns beneath the Paxton Manor. These zombie cave-dwellers were tired of living underground so they have taken over the haunted mansion, wreaking havoc on all who enter. Attractions include: Paxton Manor, and its basement, Carnival of Souls.

Dates: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through November 3rd.

Hours: Fridays and Saturdays: 7-10pm; Sundays: 7-9pm

Location: 601 Catoctin Circle, NE, Leesburg, Virginia 20176

Shocktober is a major production that logged over 5,000 volunteer hours and raised nearly $350,000 for The Arc of Loudoun in 2016. The Arc of Loudoun at Paxton Campus is a full-service organization with multiple programs and services that together provide an integrated and innovative environment for people with disabilities from childhood through adulthood,, as well as their families and caretakers, through its many programs: The Aurora School, Open Door Learning Center, ALLY Advocacy Center, Advantage Behavior Clinic and Ability Fitness Center. The Aurora School, a private day school licensed by the Virginia Department of Education, teaches students with special needs, particularly those with autism. Open Door Learning Center is a preschool that serves children with and without disabilities. “A Life Like Yours” ALLY Advocacy Center fills the unmet needs of the community by providing free information on disability rights, guidance, support, events, and workshops to families and caretakers of those with disabilities and the professionals who work with them. Advantage Behavior Clinic provides individualized therapeutic options for children with autism and other related disabilities, with a specialized curriculum focused on verbal behavior and increasing social interactions. Ability Fitness Center is therapeutic fitness and wellness center with expert clinicians and specialized equipment that will provide access to innovative, customized, and activity based interventions for people with neurologic and developmental disabilities. The Arc of Loudoun is celebrating 50 years serving people with disabilities in Loudoun since 1967.