Key Points
-
Jesse Tyler Ferguson reminisces about an unforgettable evening spent with the Glee ensemble at a Los Angeles haunted hayride.
-
On his Dinner’s On Me podcast, Ferguson confessed the Halloween event left him “truly traumatized,” and he even “began to weep” when the Glee cast proposed tackling a corn maze afterward.
-
He lightheartedly recounted to guest Jeff Hiller, “Amber Riley exclaimed, ‘Jesus Christ!'”
The worlds of Glee and Modern Family don’t typically evoke images of horror, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson prefers it stays that way.
The actor, best known as Modern Family‘s cherished Mitchell Pritchett, recently shared how the ensemble of the hit musical series drove him far beyond his limits when it came to frightening experiences.
Recounting the tale on a recent installment of his Dinner’s On Me podcast with guest Jeff Hiller from Somebody Somewhere, Ferguson explained, “Early in Modern Family‘s run, I found myself, for reasons unknown, on a haunted hayride with the entire Glee cast. I was genuinely traumatized, yet they were all eager to try the corn maze next.” He elaborated, “The hayride was plenty; at least you’re in a moving vehicle, so I felt somewhat shielded and stayed firmly in the middle. Figures emerged from the darkness with chains. It really shook me up.”
The yearly Haunted Hayride stands as a renowned Halloween tradition in Los Angeles, featuring an outdoor festival of spooky experiences. Its main attraction is the hayride itself — a leisurely journey on a hay-filled truck through various horror-themed landscapes, from eerie carnivals to insane asylums and chilling graveyards. Performers dressed in ghastly attire, brandishing terrifying props and uttering frightening threats, rush the truck to startle guests.
Despite enduring such a frightening ride, the youthful Glee cast remained keen to test their courage further in the corn maze.
Ferguson detailed, “There’s no safety net. They hand you a lantern and simply say, ‘Proceed.'” He recalled his reaction, “I kept saying, ‘I can’t do it. I just can’t.’ My husband, Justin Mikita, tried to reassure me, ‘It’s okay, just come.’ The entire Glee cast, without exaggeration, was pushing to go. That’s when I burst into tears.”
With “tears streaming down my face,” Ferguson recounted his retreat to the car. Looking back from the vantage point of 2026 (both Modern Family and Glee debuted in 2009), he and Hiller found humor in the past ordeal.
For your daily updates on entertainment news, celebrity happenings, and viewing recommendations, sign up for our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Ferguson quipped, “Amber Riley’s reaction was, ‘Jesus Christ.'” Hiller pictured Glee‘s Lea Michele urging Ferguson to “man up.” Ferguson then echoed the imagined taunt: “‘Take a lantern, get some guts!’ he envisioned Michele saying. ‘I absolutely refused. I wouldn’t do it.'”
Image: Amber Riley and Lea Michele in the 2009 ‘Glee’ pilot
Source: Carin Baer/Fox Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
Glee concluded its run on Fox in 2015, followed by Modern Family‘s finale on ABC in 2020. While Ferguson has never acted in a conventional horror film, he did feature in Elizabeth Banks’ survival horror-comedy Cocaine Bear in 2023.
Despite Ferguson not recalling Michele and Riley expressing discomfort with the scares, both actresses have generally avoided the horror genre. Exceptions include Michele’s appearance in the horror-comedy series Scream Queens (2015-2016) and Riley’s performance in the 2022 Lifetime thriller Single Black Female.
The complete discussion between Jeff Hiller and Jesse Tyler Ferguson is available on the Dinner’s On Me podcast, linked above.
The initial report can be found on Entertainment Weekly