About the Forest

The Haunted Forest is a "ghoulish inspiration" from the twisted minds of owners Robert Ethington and Bob Tillotson. One night, while riding their horses in the mountainous canyon where they lived, they stumbled upon a camp of old gypsies.

Sensing their presence the gypsies started to chase them. Emerging from their grimy tents and gliding across the ground they sprinted towards the two men, screeching and yelling. Bob and Rob scrambled to escape, but as they rode away the forest seemed to close in around them. The two men rode deeper and deeper into the forest, running for their lives. Suddenly, a gnarled branch seemed to come out of nowhere and caught Rob, knocking him out of his saddle as his terrified horse galloped into the night. It was not until Bob reached the ranch house that he noticed that his friend was missing.

Rob appeared early the next morning tired and bewildered, but alive. Despite the events of the previous night, they both agreed to look for the gypsy’s camp again. They searched for hours but it was nowhere to be found.

The horror they experienced that night in the hollow gave them the idea for their first haunt. They decided to build it in Provo Canyon, and were ready to open in the fall. Thus began the Haunted Hollow. The opening year they expected to start small, both owners actually having to play five to six characters on any given night. Nevertheless, it was a huge success…several thousand people came to experience the horror! The following year Bob and Rob discovered a truly demonic piece of property in American Fork, Utah. They called it Haunted Forest due to the eerie group of trees located on the property, from which some of the most horrifying ghost stories have come. The most famous of which is the story of Crazy Annie.

The Legend of Crazy Annie

Annie was a beautiful, charming woman in her 20’s. She lived in a quaint cottage deep in the thorny Russian olive trees on the west side of the forest with her aged, widowed mother. She was in love with a young, handsome miner who she vowed to marry as soon as they had saved the money to build their dream cabin in mountains. On October 13, 1913, the night before their wedding, the young miner was buried alive when the old No.13 mine, in American Fork canyon, collapsed. When Annie heard the news, she was devastated. Dressed in her wedding gown, she ran the 3 miles to the mine where her young love had died, tears streaming down her face. When she reached the enclosed mine, she collapsed, overwhelmed with grief and fatigue. She spent the night there, sobbing over the death of her true love.

The following morning, Annie was nowhere to be found.

The townspeople searched for days, but to no avail. Some say she jumped off of the mountain and died, others say she went crazy and retreated deep into the forest, spending her life in torture. Having lost her only child, Annie’s mother abandoned their cottage and left the town. The cottage remained there for some years until the town decided to tear it down.

A group of men volunteered to undertake the task. As they approached it, they heard low moans and a faint sobbing coming from inside. As two of the men approached to investigate the sobbing grew louder. Suddenly, one of the men spotted a young girl in a soiled, torn wedding dress standing in the hallway about 10 ft. away, hands in her face crying softly. One of the men called to her, and told her that this was no place for a girl, and that she must leave. She stopped her sobbing, and slowly looked up. To their horror they saw the face of the girl. Her eyes were as white as marble, and pieces of flesh dangled from her skull. Her mouth was gnarled and twisted, and they saw her muttering something under her breath.

The two men turned and started to run away from the horrific sight, but just as they turned around, one of the men felt an icy, coarse hand on the back of his shoulder. The other continued running and never looked back. He could hear the blood curdling shrieks of his friend behind him as he ran. The men ran from cottage leaving their friend behind. They returned later, but the man and the woman, who they swear was Annie, was nowhere to be found.

Years later, in the fall of 1972, a group of teenagers were walking through the forest and came across the old cottage. They dared each other to go inside, and eventually one of the boys took the challenge. He approached the rank house and started to go in when he began to hear the quiet, shrill voice of a woman. He started to run, but not before he saw the face of Annie.

That boy now resides in the Psychiatric unit of the Utah Valley State Hospital. He spends time huddled in the corner of his cell muttering and shaking uncontrollably. No one had entered the forest for over 20 years until Bob and Rob bought the property. It was almost impossible to enter because of the heavy growth of thorny bushes and rotting trees. Rob made Bob crawl on his hands and knees under the brush to find out what was on the other side. To this day, Rob will not talk about his experience upon discovering Annie’s old cottage. If you look closely, you can see horror in Rob’s eyes whenever he nears the old house.

Crazy Annie’s old house still exists on the property today. Unexplained cries and shrill sobs can still be heard on some nights. Every October 13th, the night of the young minor’s death and Annie’s disappearance, a series of mysterious events occurs which the owners of the Haunted Forest cannot explain. Many have claimed to see a young girl in a wedding dress crying with her head in her hands as they pass the cottage. Bob and Rob do not have any such person on their staff.

After 17 years of many thousands of thoroughly horrified guests, the Haunted Forest has become an icon in Utah and is one of the most talked about attraction in the valley. The Haunted Forest has become Utah’s most reveled Halloween attraction. The natural outdoor setting is made up of five (5) acres of haunting, wooded terror – the dungeons, swamps, run down mines, and yes, even crazy Annie’s old home. The Haunted Forest is sure to become the most horrifying, shocking and gruesome experience of your life.

 The Haunted Forest truly is the Mother of all Terrors!

What you can expect.

The Haunted Forest is Utah’s premier outdoor haunted attraction! Nothing can bring true Halloween fear like walking through thick, thorny underbrush, warped trees, damp cavernous under-ground dungeons, and murky shacks…You will see ghosts, ghouls other horrifying sights like the 25 ft. grim reaper, monster maze, tin man terror, the amazing 2 ft. tall man, the swamp “thing”, skull tomb catacombs, the gothic chamber of horror and real, working guillotines. You will even be entertained while you wait in line and at the concession stand. Make sure to bring your friends, people rarely make it through alive….

Other Haunted Attractions: The Haunted Hollow