The Yaphank Trail of Terror has and always will be a volunteer charity fundraiser for the Yaphank Presbyterian Church and has gone through several changes over the years.  Always held on the grounds of the Yaphank Presbyterian Church on Main Street in Yaphank, the trail began in the late 90's as "Yaphank's Tales of the Haunted Forest."  While the trail enjoyed success for the first few years, by 2001 the guest and financial numbers began to decline. In 2003 a new director was brought in and the name was changed to the "Yaphank Trail of Terror."  Whereas the "Tales of the Haunted Forest" was geared more towards youths aged 7-13 the "Trail of Terror" geared itself towards older teens and adults. Creating a darker and scarier trail in 2003, Yaphank saw a huge increase in the number of guests and revenue for the church.  In 2004 the trail was expanded and included a haunted maze at the end.  

     In 2005, creative differences caused a split between the church and director.  The Trail of Terror name was used for another two years before the Presbyterian Church brought back the "Tales of the Haunted Forest" in 2007.  Due to dwindling numbers and failure to recoup the investment in the trail, 2009 was the last year for a haunted trail in Yaphank.

     In the spring of 2013, the director of the Trail of Terror in 2003 and 2004, now a member of Curtain Up entertainment (a theatrical non-profit fundraising organization) met with church leaders about the possibility of restarting the trail.  With Curtain Up Entertainment being the primary sponsor and benefactor of the trail with the church allowing use of their grounds the Trail of Terror was reborn.  The Yaphank Trail of Terror faced an uphill battle in that there had been no haunted attraction in Yaphank in 4 years and the amount of other local haunted attractions had tripled since the first incarnation of the Trail of Terror in 2003.  Despite all that, the Trail of Terror did respectably and was renewed for another year by the church.  In 2014 with the help of website and social media exposure the Trail of Terror doubled their "victim" count.  2015 saw another increase as the number of victims visiting the trail reached almost 1,000 (700 victim growth in 2 years).  From 2016 to 2019, the success of the Trail exploded with almost 2,400 victims visiting in 2019. COVID forced the cancelation of the Trail in 2020 but in 2021 it came back and never missed a step. 2022 and 2023 featured more success and in 2024 we're looking forward to our best year yet. We've replaced numerous, aging sets the last two years and changed how our victims wait - no more waiting line. You're group is given a number and you're free to hang out in our field at the bonfire, watch the movie or enjoy some cornhole while you wait for your group to be called. This year we've revamped our concessions and will also be selling merchandise. We look forward to welcoming back returning victims from previous years and all newcomers to the Yaphank Trail of Terror!