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Asheville Plays
What you need to know
Asheville Plays is a family-owned event company run by husband-and-wife team Arica Haro and Hans Banzer, and it builds play-based experiences for kids and families around Asheville. Its best known show is the Haunted Trail, Asheville's family-friendly Halloween haunt, now in its 14th year at the Adventure Center of Asheville at 85 Expo Drive, five minutes from downtown. The outdoor trail has 18 live-action scenes with more than 40 actors, and it's made for kids ages 3 to 12, with no gore and no contact. Barriers keep the actors back, so nothing touches or chases you. In 2026 it runs October 9 and 10, 16 and 17, 22 to 25, and 29 and 30, from 6 to 9 PM. Pirates Cove adds a 30-foot pirate ship escape room and mermaid encounters, and there's a Little Ghouls play area for the smallest kids. In winter, Asheville Plays runs the Winter Wonder Walk, and it also rents mobile escape rooms and games for parties and team events.
Local's Tip
Nervous little ones can take the Sweet Peek Tour at 6:30 PM, a walk through the trail with no actors. Buy tickets ahead for weekend nights, and call (828) 808-3341 to book a party.
What the locals say
For a lot of local kids it's a gentle first scare, and it's been an October tradition for 14 years.
What you need to know
Asheville Plays is a family-owned event company run by husband-and-wife team Arica Haro and Hans Banzer, and it builds play-based experiences for kids and families around Asheville. Its best known show is the Haunted Trail, Asheville's family-friendly Halloween haunt, now in its 14th year at the Adventure Center of Asheville at 85 Expo Drive, five minutes from downtown. The outdoor trail has 18 live-action scenes with more than 40 actors, and it's made for kids ages 3 to 12, with no gore and no contact. Barriers keep the actors back, so nothing touches or chases you. In 2026 it runs October 9 and 10, 16 and 17, 22 to 25, and 29 and 30, from 6 to 9 PM. Pirates Cove adds a 30-foot pirate ship escape room and mermaid encounters, and there's a Little Ghouls play area for the smallest kids. In winter, Asheville Plays runs the Winter Wonder Walk, and it also rents mobile escape rooms and games for parties and team events.
What the locals say
For a lot of local kids it's a gentle first scare, and it's been an October tradition for 14 years.
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