The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride’s 2012 poster features a family portrait of the cursed Clifton family.

The Los Angeles Haunted Hayride has announced that it will feature a longer trail a “360 degree experience” when it returns to Griffith Park’s Old Zoo on October 5th for a month of Halloween scares.

“We’ve really focused on bringing our guests into the ride this year,” said Melissa Carbone, Executive Producer of Los Angeles Haunted Hayride. In addition to being terrorized by various undead and other monsters on foot, hayride visitors will have to also beware of creatures overhead and spatter from all sides.

“When they leave, they should look like they just woke up from a rough night out,” Carbone said. “We’re going to show them immediately that you have no idea what to expect or from where to expect it.”

Running for 17 nights from October 5th to October 31st, this year’s hayride will feature an extended trail will provide more content and a longer ride than in its previous three years. Tickets will go on sale August 15th.

The hayride’s new theme will explore the darkness and power of cults. Visitors on past hayrides have learned the story of the Cliftons, a cursed family who perished in a horrific church fire. The 2012 hayride, “The Congregation,”  will be a prequel that will show visitors the events that led up to the fire.

The Haunted Hayride website tells more about the backstory:

While playing in the woods surrounding the Old Zoo, the Clifton Twins discovered a strange playmate – a little boy named Aleister. The boy had no family, no one could understand how he had survived. He would barely speak, and if he did, he preached a dark religion he had learned from the presence in the woods. Soon, he gathered a flock of followers, the Clifton Family included. And on that faithful night, when all perished in a horrific church fire, Aleister’s black eyes glowed against the flicker of the match.

Tonight, Aleister and his followers have returned to mark you as a witness to the prequel of past years. Crawl deeper into the story and examine the darkness he brought onto the community and what occurred before that fateful night the church fire killed the whole village. Ride with us as we explore the powerful hand of cults.

Also returning to the Haunted Hayride is the “In Between” dark maze will also return, where visitors are given a barely working lantern to find their way through a pitch black maze filled with all matter of creatures.

Included in the price of admission is a sideshow area called “Purgatory” that will include magic and freak shows, psychics, multiple photo scenes, a house of mirrors, and more.

For more info, check out their website (which just had a major update today) and, of course, keep an eye here on CreepyLA.