Randy Bates, the longtime owner of The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, and a founder of several of the haunted attraction industry’s professional organizations, died on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at the age of 68, following a battle with cancer.
His death was announced by his family and confirmed in statements from the Haunted Attraction Association and TransWorld’s Halloween and Attractions Show.
The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride
Randy Bates and his wife, Anne, own Arasapha Farm in Glen Mills, which was named after his great-great-grandmother. There, in 1991, they started The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride, which grew from a single tractor and one hay wagon into a family business. The Haunted Attraction Association said the attraction was the most famous way that thousands knew him. Bates was also the original producer of Pennhurst Asylum, another Pennsylvania haunt, for its first few years, until 2016.
Founding the Industry’s Associations
Bates helped shape the trade groups that organize the haunted attraction business. In 1997 he helped found the International Association of Haunted Attractions, serving as a board member, and in 2003 he helped found America Haunts, a group of the largest haunted attractions in the country. He was a member of the Haunted House Association, and in 2011 he helped merge that group with the International Association of Haunted Attractions to form the Haunted Attraction Association. He was a current member of that association at his death.
A Focus on Safety
Bates spent much of his industry work on safety. When Pennsylvania began requiring haunted house owners to take a safety course and pass an inspector’s test in 2007, he was asked to help write the test and put together seminars specific to haunted attractions. He was a certified Haunted Attraction Inspector and taught Pennsylvania’s inspector course. He served as task force chairman for the ASTM International haunted attraction safety operations standard, adopted in 2020, and, as an experienced hayride operator, worked with other Pennsylvania operators to develop hayride safety standards that took effect the same year.
Tributes From the Industry
In its statement, the Haunted Attraction Association wrote, “Randy Bates was a great man who believed in family and helping others in many ways,” and closed, “Thank you for being a true hero to so many in so many ways.” The association also noted that Bates helped the TransWorld haunt shows as a friend and advisor.
TransWorld’s Halloween and Attractions Show, in a tribute signed by organizers Jen and Rich, wrote, “Randy wasn’t just a pioneer and leader in the haunted house industry, he was someone who meant so much to so many of us personally,” and added, “He played an instrumental role in helping us build TransWorld Trade Shows into what they are today.”
A Lifelong Entrepreneur and Community Leader
Beyond the haunt, Bates was a lifelong entrepreneur. He founded The Defender System, an alarm company that continues to operate, and ran other businesses over the years, including Christmas trees, escape rooms, laser tag, a Christmas hayride, and corn mazes.
He was also active in his community. He served more than 25 years with the Edgmont Township Fire Company, spent 12 years on the township planning commission, and later served as an elected township supervisor. He sat on the board of the Delaware County Conservation District and helped found the Edgmont Township Business and Professional Association.
Bates was born on May 12, 1958, in Chester, Pennsylvania, and married Anne Marie Dolar in 1979. He is survived by his wife, Anne. His six children are Angela Majewski, Drew Bates, Kathryn Minacci, Veronica Brown, Benjamin Bates, and Diana Knight, and he leaves behind more than 20 grandchildren, many of whom are involved in the family businesses. He is also survived by his sisters, Marie Boisvert and Martha Striedeick, a niece, and a nephew.
In a message on the Arasapha Farm Facebook page, the family wrote, “We are going to keep doing what Randy taught us to do. Take care of family. Take care of our community. Work hard. Have a little fun. And keep moving forward.”
Services
A visitation will be held Friday, August 14, 2026, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Minshall Shropshire-Bleyler Funeral Home in Media, Pennsylvania. A service will follow on Saturday, August 15, 2026, at 11 a.m. at Arasapha Farm, 1835 Middletown Road, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, with a celebration of life afterward. Those attending the service are asked to arrive by 10:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made in Randy’s memory to Breakthrough T1D, for the team Jackson and DJ’s Diabuddies, or to the American Lung Association.
Haunted Attraction Network extends its condolences to the Bates family and to Randy’s many friends across the haunt community.
