News Flash

“Trick or Treating with the Headless Horseman” and free candy are part of the fun in store for visitors to “Haunted Horse Rides” with spooky sights and gentle frights at the historic Hampton Carousel from Tuesday, October 5 through Halloween, Sunday, October 31, 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. The carousel is closed on Mondays.

Operated by the Hampton History Museum and located in Carousel Park, Downtown Hampton, the Hampton Carousel will be decorated for the season of ghosts and goblins, with costumed carousel staff giving candy to visitors. The finely carved and painted horses will also be decorated, with one of the horses occupied by the infamous Headless Horseman.

Entry to the carousel pavilion and Halloween candy are free. Rides on the carousel are just $1. 

Hampton Carousel
Built in 1920, the carousel is completely restored to its original beauty and housed in its own weather-protected pavilion on the city’s downtown waterfront. It is one of only 170 antique wooden merry-go-rounds still existing in the U.S. Hand crafted by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for the Buckroe Beach Amusement Park, Hampton's Carousel is a whirling tribute to the skill of its creators. 

After untold numbers of young and old enjoyed the carousel over its 65-year tenure, it was put in storage with the closure of Buckroe Beach Amusement Park in the mid-1980s. It was moved and restored at its current location in Carousel Park on Settlers Landing Road in Downtown Hampton in 1991.  It still boasts its original mirrors and oil paintings, as well as 48 intricately decorated horses.  Rising and falling to the strains of the original band organ, many of these carousel horses are so finely carved that the veins in their necks and legs are visible. Special hours are available for groups or special occasions. 

The carousel will close for the winter on December 31, 2021, and reopen for the season on April 1, 2022.

The Hampton Carousel is located at 602 Settlers Landing Rd. Tickets on sale at the Hampton History Museum and at the Hampton Carousel. For more information, call 757-727-1102.