Haunted Red Mill in Clinton, NJ: An Independent Visitor’s Guide
What the Haunted Red Mill event is, who runs it, the 2026 sessions the museum has published, and the 200-year history of the mill behind it.
The Red Mill in Clinton, New Jersey is one of the most photographed buildings in the state, and every October the museum that looks after it turns the grounds into a haunted attraction. This guide explains what the event is, how the mill came to be there, and where to find official dates and tickets.
We are not the official site
Red Mill Haunted Village (this website) is an independent publication. The Halloween event is produced by Red Mill Museum Village, which publishes dates, prices and rules on its own website. For anything time-sensitive, use the museum’s official Haunted Red Mill page. We do not sell tickets.
Quick facts
- What: Haunted Red Mill, a seasonal haunted attraction and the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year.
- Where: Red Mill Museum Village, 56 Main Street, Clinton, NJ 08809.
- Run by: Red Mill Museum Village.
- 2026 season: Friday and Saturday nights from October 2 through October 24, according to the museum.
- Tickets: sold through the museum’s ticketing page and at the door. See the official page for current prices.
Details last checked against the museum’s website on October 9, 2026. Schedules change, so confirm before you travel.
What the Haunted Red Mill is
The museum describes the event as a haunted attraction made up of several parts: a maze, a vortex, a terror trail, a hayride and sections of the Red Mill itself. It says a visit takes about 45 minutes. The museum also calls it its biggest fundraiser of the year, so ticket sales support the upkeep of the historic site.
We have not attended the event and this is not a review. Everything in this section comes from the museum’s own published description.
2026 dates and sessions, as published by the museum
| Session | When | Notes from the museum |
|---|---|---|
| Haunted Red Mill | Friday and Saturday nights, October 2 to 24 | Gate opens around 7 pm, once it is fully dark. Ticket sales close at 10 pm. |
| Happy Haunts | Saturdays, October 3, 10, 17 and 24, 10 am to 1 pm | The family-friendly daytime option. Listed at $35 per family (up to two adults and children under 18 at the same address), free for current members, sold at the door only. |
| LightsON! backstage tours | Thursdays, October 8, 15 and 22 | Tickets on sale from 6:30 pm, tours begin at 7 pm, last tour at 8:30 pm. |
Prices for the main evening event are listed on the museum’s ticketing page. Because prices and availability can change during the season, we link to the source instead of repeating them here.
Which session suits your group
The museum splits its programme into three kinds of visit, which is a helpful model for thinking about any haunted attraction:
- The evening event is the full haunted attraction, held after dark.
- Happy Haunts is the daytime session the museum labels family-friendly.
- LightsON! tours show the attraction with the lights on, which suits visitors who are curious about how a haunt is built but do not want to be scared.
If you are unsure how much scare your group will enjoy, read our guide to haunted house scare levels and try the Scare Readiness Calculator. For age guidance at this specific event, ask the museum directly.
A short history of the Red Mill
The building has had many lives. These dates come from the museum’s published history:
- c. 1810: Ralph Hunt builds the earliest section of the mill to process wool.
- 1828 to 1834: John Bray and John B. Taylor run the woolen mill and add feed, flour and stone plaster grinding. The Taylors are credited with renaming the town from Hunt’s Mills to Clinton.
- 1847: John F. Stiger and John A. Young buy the mill to grind flour and grist.
- 1848: The Mulligan brothers buy the neighbouring limestone quarry, which the family works for generations.
- 1873: Philip Gulick grinds grist upstairs and makes peach baskets on the first level.
- 1892: The Clinton Illuminating and Water Co. is set up on the mill’s second floor, powering the town’s street lamps.
- After 1905: Under the Tomson brothers the mill processes graphite, then talc, earning the nicknames Black Mill and White Mill.
- 1928: The mill is sold to the Clinton Water Supply Company and stops operating.
- 1960: A group known as the Red Mill Five buys the derelict building for $15,000 and volunteers begin restoring it.
- 1963: The Clinton Historical Museum opens to the public. The quarry is donated in 1964.
- 2002: The museum takes its current name, Red Mill Museum Village.
Today the museum describes a 10-acre site that includes the mill, the quarry buildings, a schoolhouse, a log cabin and a working blacksmith shop. You can see the same story laid out visually on our Red Mill timeline.
Planning your visit
General haunted-attraction advice applies here too:
- Buy tickets only through the museum’s own links, and screenshot your confirmation.
- Check the museum’s page on the day for weather updates.
- Wear closed-toe shoes and dress for an outdoor October night.
- Keep bags small and phones in pockets.
- Read the museum’s guidance on fog, lighting effects and age suitability before bringing children.
Our full guide to planning a haunted attraction visit covers timing, etiquette and accessibility in more depth, and the visit checklist tool builds a packing list for your group.
Frequently asked questions
Is redmillhauntedvillage.org the official Haunted Red Mill website?
No. This is an independent magazine about haunted attractions and Halloween. The event is run by Red Mill Museum Village, whose website is theredmill.org.
Where do I buy Haunted Red Mill tickets?
From the museum. Its Haunted Red Mill page links to the official ticketing site, and the museum says tickets are also sold at the door. We do not sell or resell tickets.
Is the Haunted Red Mill suitable for young children?
The museum runs a separate daytime session, Happy Haunts, which it describes as family-friendly. For the evening event, follow the museum’s own age guidance and warnings.
How long does the Haunted Red Mill take?
The museum says the attraction takes about 45 minutes. Allow extra time for parking and queues.
Sources
- Red Mill Museum Village: Haunted Red Mill (event description, 2026 sessions and ticketing)
- Red Mill Museum Village: History (mill and museum timeline)
- Red Mill Museum Village: home page (site description and address)
