This fall, Fayetteville once again transforms into a nightmare realm of horror as Backwoods Terror Ranch makes its much-anticipated return. Hosted at Sweet Valley Ranch, this immersive haunted attraction invites thrill-seekers to step into the terrifying world of Dr. Frederick Surgeon, a man whose obsession with immortality and genetic manipulation plunged him into madness. From Oct. 3 through Nov. 1, visitors can brave three heart-stopping haunted attractions that promise to push fear to new limits.
Let’s set the scene with the legend of Dr. Surgeon. The legend begins with Dr. Frederick Surgeon, a once-prominent plastic surgeon in Connecticut during the late 1800s. Known for pushing the boundaries of science, Surgeon’s unorthodox treatments eventually led to his exile from the medical community. Obsessed with eternal youth, he uprooted his family to Fayetteville, where he purchased a sprawling property, now known as Sweet Valley Ranch.
Here, Surgeon’s reputation as a visionary cloaked his darker pursuits: experiments in cross-species gene splicing, not only between animals but also between humans and beasts. As local suspicions mounted, he opened an asylum under the guise of caring for the mentally ill. The screams that echoed from his estate no longer drew concern; after all, who questions the cries of the insane?
But with failed experiments came mounting bodies, and the surgeon needed help concealing the evidence. Enter the Delamorte family, a sadistic clan from Texas who operated the property’s slaughterhouse. Together, Surgeon and the Delamortes wove a tapestry of horror that would haunt Fayetteville for generations…