MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | Oct. 2
Morales Guilty, and Five Haunts Worth the Drive
Friday, October 2, 2026
WEEKEND WEATHER
Summer gets one last word today. Expect a high near 83°F under a mix of sun and clouds, with a 24% chance of a shower, mainly after 3 p.m. Tonight drops into the low 50s. So my brother-in-law, who has refused to close his pool, gets the last laugh one more time. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Then fall shows up for real. Saturday is the pick of the weekend: mostly sunny and around 70°F, a good day for holding a stein at arm's length (more on that below). Saturday night dips into the mid to upper 40s. Sunday turns cloudier, topping out in the mid 60s, with a 38% chance of afternoon showers. Monday comes back mostly sunny, in the mid to upper 60s, before an overnight low around 40°F.
GUILTY: JURY CONVICTS MORALES IN BAR SHOOTING
A Monroe County jury has convicted Matthew Morales in the 2024 shooting death of Henry Koroma Jr. at a Middle Smithfield Township bar, rejecting his claim that he fired in self-defense.
Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 30) and reached their verdict that evening. First Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski told the Pocono Record he was told of the verdict around 6 p.m. The Record reported it Thursday afternoon.
Morales, 33, of Tobyhanna Township, was found guilty of murder and two felony firearms charges: possessing a firearm while prohibited and carrying a firearm without a license. He shot Koroma once in the outdoor smoking area of My Place Bar & Grill on Milford Road on May 24, 2024, then fled the state before he was arrested in Utah.
The Case. During a trial that opened Sept. 22, jurors watched surveillance footage from three cameras at the bar, read texts between the two men, and heard Koroma's girlfriend testify that she overheard Morales threaten over FaceTime to stab him a month or two before the shooting. Morales took the stand Monday (Sept. 28) and told jurors he feared for his life after trying to leave a street gang called the Bloods. Under cross-examination by District Attorney Michael Mancuso, he agreed Koroma had no weapon in his hand when he was shot.
The Turn. On Tuesday (Sept. 29), co-defendant Raymond Batiste, 40, of Allentown, who had been on trial beside Morales for driving him away from the scene, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction charge and was sentenced to one year of probation. He then testified for the prosecution. Morales had told jurors he believed he'd been set up and was surrounded by six or seven people. Batiste said the only person he heard threaten Morales that night was Koroma himself, and that Koroma told Morales he was not going to shoot him.
What's Next. The Record did not report a sentencing date. We'll pass it along as soon as it's set.
THE DAILY RUNDOWN
Data Centers: Power First, Zoning Second. The state House Energy Committee on Wednesday (Sept. 30) advanced three bills aimed at data centers and your electric bill, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports. House Bill 2775, from Reps. Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna) and Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), would require a developer to apply for electric service before seeking zoning approval. It cleared the committee 26-0, and the Capital-Star reports the language will be amended again before a floor vote. House Bill 2828 would make data centers, not ratepayers, pay for the grid upgrades they need, and as amended would hold their backup generators to federal emission standards or tougher ones. House Bill 2755 goes after a perk you may be paying for without knowing it. Utilities that belong to a regional grid operator (here, that's PJM) collect a federal incentive that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Chris Pielli (D-Chester), describes as a 0.5% profit bonus paid by customers. His bill would make that membership mandatory under state law, which he says would end the bonus. Committee members told the Capital-Star they hope to get all three through the House and Senate in the eight voting days left in the session.
That first bill goes right at the kind of fight Monroe County has been having all year, where a township spends months on zoning hearings before anyone knows whether the power is even there. As of our Sept. 21 update, the conditional-use hearing on Smithfield Township's Gateway data center on Route 209 still had no new date.
ESU Officer's Hearing: No Word Yet. We said we'd report what happened at Thursday's preliminary hearing for Joseph P. Gallagher Jr., 40, the East Stroudsburg University police officer charged with 22 counts including rape of a child. As of Thursday evening, no outcome had been reported, and we could not confirm whether the hearing went forward or was continued. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We'll have it as soon as it's on the record.
FIVE BEST OF MONROE: HAUNTED ATTRACTIONS WORTH THE DRIVE
Full disclosure: Monroe County has exactly one haunted house with its own Google listing, and you can't make a top five out of one. So this week we're breaking our own Monroe-only rule. Four of these five are over the county line in Carbon and Lehigh counties, all within about an hour's drive. In our defense, the one we've got is a good one: Hotel of Horror has the most reviews of any haunt on this list, by a wide margin. I can vouch for it personally. My niece's fingernail marks from two years ago are still solidly implanted in my arm. Ranked by Google rating (as of Thursday), with review count breaking ties.
Devil's Last Laugh: Best Overall (4.8 ★, 107 reviews). The highest rated haunt on the list. Reviewers single out the jump scares, the actors' costumes and makeup, and a freak-show sideshow you walk through on the way in. One summed it up: "The effort and work put into this place is incredible!!"
3975 Long Run Rd, Lehighton, PA 18235
Halls of Horror: Best Set Design (4.7 ★, 216 reviews). A Palmerton haunt that reviewers praise for its props, its set designs and friendly actors. If you judge a haunt by how good it looks, this is your pick.
320 Delaware Ave, Palmerton, PA 18071
Hotel of Horror: Best Hometown Haunt (4.4 ★, 627 reviews). Our hometown entry. Two haunted houses, Hotel of Horror and Altered Nightmares, run through five floors of the Lake House Hotel, a building with more than 200 years of history, from the basement to the attic. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 1, roughly 6 or 7 p.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., $35 to $45. Reviewers who sprang for VIP tickets say it was worth the price, and a few mention cash only, so bring some just in case.
5105 Cherry Valley Rd, Saylorsburg, PA 18353
Waldorf Estate of Fear: Best Full Night Out (4.4 ★, 294 reviews). Set at Country Junction, home of the "World's Largest General Store," and the reviews read like a whole evening: a haunted house plus a corn maze, a hayride and an escape room, with food on site.
6325 Interchange Rd, Lehighton, PA 18235
Lehigh Valley Scream Park: Best Bonfire Hang (4.1 ★, 433 reviews). The longest drive on the list and the most social. The haunted hayride gets the most mentions, but so do the two big bonfires, the DJ, and wood-fired pizza and cocktails while you wait. Google lists admission at $50.
2951 Betz Ct, Orefield, PA 18069
GET OUT: THE WEEKEND ITINERARY
Thank you to the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau for sourcing our weekend lineups. Their events calendar did the legwork so you don't have to. Here are our picks:
Oktoberfest at Pint Size Park, Barley Creek Brewing Company, 1774 Sullivan Trail, Tannersville. Barley Creek's annual Oktoberfest brings German food and drink specials, live music, a pretzel toss, Hammerschlagen, and a bounce house for the kids. The main event is the steinholding contest, a qualifier in the Pennsylvania Steinholding Championship series: fun heat at 3:30 p.m., qualifying heat at 4 p.m., $20 to enter (stein and beer included). Sat. 10/3, 1 to 8 p.m. Free admission.
Pinkalicious, The Musical at Sherman Theater, 524 Main Street, Stroudsburg. A family musical about a girl who eats so many pink cupcakes she turns pink. Sat. 10/3, doors at 2 p.m., show at 3 p.m. Tickets $19 to $27.22 at the Sherman box office.
Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers at the Shawnee Playhouse, 552 River Road, Shawnee on Delaware. The Neil Simon comedy about what it means to grow older, directed by Sarah McCarroll with a cast drawn from the Poconos and the surrounding area. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 11; showtimes vary, so check before you go. $25 adults, $20 seniors, $16 ages 17 and under, plus fees. Meal-and-show tickets are available. So support community theater: these are our neighbors on that stage.
Xtreme Queen at Mount Airy Casino Resort, Event Center, 312 Woodland Road, Mount Pocono. A Queen tribute band that recreates the group's 1985 Live Aid set, costumes and all. Sat. 10/3, 8 p.m. $30.15. Ages 21 and up.
Saturday is the day to be outside. Have a great weekend, Monroe County.