Cumberland's Halloween Moved Up Diamond Hill Road, to a Farm and a Monastery Library

By 2015, the haunted attraction at the back of Diamond Hill Park had a crew of 60 local ghouls and drew upwards of 8,000 visitors each October, with support from the town's recreation department. It ran every fall from 2002 through 2025. That last season was the final one. As The Valley Breeze put it, the park "will be relatively quiet in the weeks leading up to Halloween" for the first time since 2002.

Parks and Recreation Director Mike Crawley told the paper the town has no other Halloween events planned for the park this year. No single event takes the park's place. Instead, Cumberland's October is spread across a library, two farms, a police department and a garden center, most of them within a few addresses of where the haunt used to be. Nearly all of them are free.

A Town Haunt That Outgrew the Town

The handoff makes more sense once you know where 13th World started. It began as an idea worked out in workout sessions between Cumberland native Rich Vaillant and then-Recreation Director Craig Letourneau. Woonsocket's Zeke Fortier joined as co-founder that first year, and a volunteer crew built nine sets in the park. By its 10th year it was bringing in about $70,000 a year.

In 2017 the town handed the event to Vaillant and Fortier, who renamed it 13th World. In 2022 they bought a 30-acre property in Palmer, Massachusetts, about an hour away, to build a permanent fright park. That park has roughly three times the staff the Cumberland attraction had.

"Our Cumberland attraction had a very limited amount of time to develop, and because of that, it simply never had the opportunity to become what 13th World is in Palmer." Rich Vaillant, 13th World co-founder

Vaillant said there is no immediate plan for another fright park in Rhode Island, though he "wouldn't rule out a second location someday." For now, the haunt is back where it began, with volunteers and local institutions, only smaller and in more places.

Same Road, Different Addresses

Diamond Hill Road still carries most of Cumberland's October.

1364 Diamond Hill Road. The Cumberland Police Trunk or Treat was held at Garvin Memorial Elementary School on Sunday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to noon. It was free.

1464 Diamond Hill Road. The Cumberland Public Library, on the Monastery grounds, has two events this month. The first is a Halloween Costume Swap on Monday, Oct. 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Children's Program Room, where families trade children's costumes. The second is the library's take on the old Diamond Hill haunt. Haunted Monastery: Decades of Dread runs Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6 to 9 p.m. It is a free walk-through haunted house, and it is meant to be scary. The library does not recommend it for children under 14.

2920 Diamond Hill Road. Phantom Farms Fall Fest runs Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It has hayrides, a hay-bale maze, a pumpkin patch and pumpkin painting, and prices vary by activity. The farm also has a Fall Paint & Sip on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. After the season ends, the farm's free Holiday Craft and Vendor Faire on Nov. 14 brings 40-plus vendors and live music.

Off Diamond Hill Road, Northland Farm and Garden Center at 61 Pine Swamp Road is hosting Trunk or Eek on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and the rain date is Sunday, Oct. 25. Adams Farm at 495 Sumner Brown Road is open for its fall season through Nov. 1, with a pumpkin patch, hayrides, a children's maze and two five-acre mazes. Some attractions run on weekends only, weather permitting.

Where the Real Scares Went

Families who want the fog-machine, chainsaw-sound kind of October now go one town over. Demon Woods, the haunted hayride at Seven Cedars Farm, 20 John Mowry Road in Smithfield, is running in 2026. Its booking calendar lists Oct. 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28 and 30. Time slots on the Oct. 9 booking page start at 7 p.m. and run every half hour through 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for regular admission, $30 for a Fast Pass and $35 for the Demon Express Bus. The Valley Breeze's autumn guide says Wednesday evening rides are non-scare, for younger riders.

The timing is useful even without a haunt. Smithfield's Economic Development Commission starts its Apple Trails treasure hunt on Oct. 10. Glass apples and pumpkins are hidden from dawn to dusk at Powder Mill Ledges, Stillwater Scenic Trail and Latham Brook Reserve, and the apples can be redeemed at Appleland Orchards, 135 Smith Ave. That makes a daytime trail walk an easy pair with a 7 p.m. hayride slot.

Franklin Farm Had Its Biggest Push Yet

The biggest Cumberland event of the season took place today, Sunday, Oct. 4, at Franklin Farm, 142 Abbott Run Valley Road. The 11th annual Harvest Festival & Tractor Show was moved to today because of an incoming storm. Board president Rob Mudge said about 35 vendors and 20 community groups were taking part. The festival has the same economics as the rest of this month's calendar.

"They like that they can come with their family and not spend a lot of money." Rob Mudge, Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm Preservation Association

Entry was free and parking cost $10. This year was also a milestone. It is the 20th anniversary of the volunteer nonprofit that runs the farm, and the 250th birthday of Liberty Metcalf, who founded the farm in 1809. Mudge said the team was aiming to make this the largest festival yet. The farm is on track to donate 30,000 pounds of fresh food to local pantries this year.

The farm also faces a deadline this season. Its Long Barn, a timber-frame building on the National Register of Historic Places, was built in three phases between 1810 and 1895. E.W. Burman Inc. will restore it for no more than $653,085. That combines the rest of a 2024 Community Development Block Grant with $153,085 from the town's capital fund, which the Town Council approved unanimously. At the council's Sept. 16 meeting, Planning Director Amelia Morton read from the structural engineer's assessment, which said "the structural deficiencies are severe." The engineer warned the farm could lose the barn entirely this winter if the work is delayed. As of that meeting, the plan was to start within three to four weeks and finish before the first snowfall. That puts the target start in mid-October, around the same time as the rest of this month's events.

The Rest of October, by Date

Lincoln and North Smithfield follow the same pattern as Cumberland. Most of their events are free and hosted by local organizations, and several are designed for children who need a quieter setting.

Saturday, Oct. 24, is the busiest day by far. That one Saturday has the Haunted Monastery, Trunk or Eek, two trunk-or-treats in Lincoln and North Smithfield, the St. Aidan–St. Patrick event and Demon Woods. In past years, the night belonged to one ticketed attraction in Diamond Hill Park. This year the same Saturday is split across at least six venues in four towns, and most of them charge nothing at the door.

Our team at Kira Greene follows how these community calendars change from season to season across Cumberland, Lincoln, Smithfield and North Smithfield. If you're curious how this kind of local character shows up in what homes on your street are worth, request a complimentary market consultation and we'll walk you through it.