Halloween frights (and fun) are off to an early start at Oak Glen’s Stone Oak Manor.
The five-bedroom manor and its surrounding estate (which is about an hour-long drive west of Palm Springs) is typically
the host of atmospheric, and often elaborate, weddings and other private events.
But for three weeks in late summer and early fall, it's transformed into “The Haunting of Stone Oak Manor,” a fun collection of Halloween-centric activities centered around a uniquely theatrical and spooky trip into the manor itself.
Here are five things to know about the second annual Haunting of Stone Oak Manor.
This isn’t your typical haunted house
This attraction takes visitors into an actual 100-year-old house rather than just some random space that has been decorated to look that old (and let’s be real, there’s no way to fake this level of creepy vibes). But The Haunting of Stone Oak Manor also dispenses with many of the standard conventions of a haunted house — though there are still at least a few things that will make you jump — in favor of a more theatrical, participatory and narrative-driven experience.
Stone Oak Manor Owner, Operator and Production Designer Keir Royston and their partner Andi Garrison, director of media and special events, run the attraction with friend Lauren Boone, director of immersive experiences. Royston and Boone did theater together in college, and their background is evident when you walk through the haunt.
"We're both very passionate about making things feel immersive and detailed," Royston said.
Boone considers herself lucky, because she could derive her inspiration for the haunt's script from the house itself.
"We like to use the house, the manor, as a main character," she said. "We have the greatest set piece of all time already here for us, so when we knew it was the actual 100th anniversary of this place being built, we knew we wanted to do something thematically around a birthday party, and because Stone Oak Manor does a tour regularly ... we thought we should really lean into the realism of that and add some spooky ghosts who have been trapped here over the last 100 years."
There’s much more to experience here than frights
While you probably won’t want to miss the haunted manor experience, there’s plenty more to do on the property. Other attractions include evening movie screenings; axe throwing; arts and crafts; clothing, wellness and baked good vendors; a “Dark Library” where you can buy all manner of spooky books (from both local authors and local bookstores), a bar serving up cocktails made with plenty of spooky Halloween flair (including NA options like a local cider), a food truck, carnival games and more.
You’ll also find some spooky costumed characters walking around, and maybe even a singing zombie puppet that has been known to make an appearance from time to time.
Scaredy cats who don’t want to venture into the manor itself, or those who aren't ready to leave after their haunt experience, can partake in a Dungeons and Dragons-style tabletop role-playing game inspired by the manor. The game takes you into the historic house, where you have become a ghost who has to find their tether and outsmart the living.
This attraction prioritizes accessibility and inclusivity
Stone Oak Manor is known as a a highly accessible Halloween experience. While all public haunted houses are supposed to be ADA compliant, the team at Stone Oak Manor says they take accessibility extra seriously and are very intentional with their production design to create an entirely compliant haunt. That's why wheelchair users and other people with extra access needs repeatedly return to their attraction.
It's also a queer owned and operated business, which the team says has helped them carve out a special community space in an otherwise quite conservative area of Southern California.
"The No. 1 thing that we really pride ourselves on and what initially gets a lot of people here isn't always necessarily the haunts or the weddings, it's really because we've built a really safe space," Garrison said. "We really want people in oppressed and marginalized communities to have a safe space that they can always come to, and we also just happen to do really cool stuff at the same time ... that's what really drives me personally."
"That's what makes this place special," Boone added. "We don't just do it because we want to make money or (do) what seems cool to us, it's about what would everybody want and what would bring people together, and that's the basis for everything that we do here."
Royston agreed, adding that none of that would be possible without her passionate staff who care "relentlessly" about the manor.
"They showed up after a mudslide and rebuilt the event within two days," Royston said, referencing a weather event Oak Glen had just experienced at the time of our interview. "The fact that everyone cares about this place is what makes it special and what makes it possible."
Spirits aren't the only ones that take up residence in this manor
Those wanting to live out their lifelong dream of sleeping in an active haunted house will need to wait until next year, as Stone Oak Manor and its temporarily Halloweened-out rooms — the bed-and-breakfast can sleep 20 total and every fall, each room is given a different spooky theme, from "Frankenstein" to "Dracula" — are currently booked through the end of Halloween season.
However, there’s plenty of availability the rest of the year, when both the individual rooms and the whole house can be booked for charming stays (sans the Halloween décor).
There’s only a few days left to visit the haunting itself – but the mansion has plenty more in store
The final weekend of The Haunting at Stone Oak Manor event is coming up Saturday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 4 (the are no further October haunts because the staff has to work around the venue’s busy private event schedule, which includes an upcoming haunted mansion-themed wedding and a murder mystery-themed wedding).
The manor’s team says those who miss the Halloween festivities will have a chance to take another twisted trip to the manor before long as plans are in the works for a holiday “Krampus Market” that will feature what Royston says will have a “similar but different vibe” from The Haunting festivity with an immersive vendor market and a “twisted” holiday cabaret show taking place in the manor. The manor also hosts a summertime Renaissance Fair and is also planning to start hosting Dungeons and Dragons game play events.
If you go
What: The Haunting of Stone Oak Manor immersive haunted manor experience, vendor market and Halloween carnival
When: 2-9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27; Saturday, Oct. 3; and Sunday, Oct. 4
- The haunt experience takes place every 30 minutes between 2 and 8:30 p.m. (maximum 15 people per group)
- TTRPG takes place at the top of every hour between 3 and 8 p.m. (maximum 6 people per group)
- Movies on the lawn take place 6:30 p.m. onward
- Visit the Dark Library to check the schedule, which varies every day with kids readings and other featured author appearances
Where: Stone Oak Manor, 38-433 Potato Canyon Road, Oak Glen
Cost: General admission to the site (including access to the vendor market, Dark Library, bar/food truck area, movies on the lawn and fall carnival) is $10 per person before 6 p.m. and $15 6 p.m. onward. The haunt experience is $35 per person before 6 p.m. and $40 6 p.m. onward. The TTRPG experience is an additional $25 per seat, and carnival games are an additional cost that varies (axe throwing is 5 tickets and all other games are 2 tickets a piece, and 2 tickets cost $2, 6 tickets cost $5, 20 tickets cost $15 and 100 tickets cost $50)
More info: stoneoakmanor.com/communityevents
(Desert Sun journalist Niki Kottmann contributed to this story.)
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development, business and, sometimes, music festivals in the Coachella Valley. Email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why The Haunting of Stone Oak Manor is worth a fall day trip
