Halloween, it’s that time again. The air is cooler, the leaves are changing and Halloween is right around the corner. The kid’s are picking their Halloween costumes and the adults are planning for the parties.
However, if you are tired of trick or treating and are looking for something different to spice up your Halloween this year, here is a list of 5 of the best and scariest Haunted House Attractions around the U.S.
5 Best Scariest Haunted House Attractions:
- The 13th Gate
- Indy Scream Park
- Dead End Hayride
- Terror Behind The Walls
- Scream-A-Geddon
The 13th Gate Number one on our list of best haunted houses is located in Baton Rouge, LA, and is noteworthy for it’s ultra realism. During it’s Halloween season this 40,000 square foot attraction employs over 160 professional actors, 40 crew members, and a crew of special effect makeup artists, all with award winning Hollywood experience.
From crawling through a crematory oven or standing on a creaky bridge overlooking over 100 live snakes, this team works together to create a truly frightening and one of a kind experience.
Also, while down in Louisiana, go down to New Orleans and face Necropolis 13, another fright fest created by the same team at the 13th gate.
Tips:
- Beat the crowds, skip Saturday nights and come early in the season
- Wear proper footwear, there is a lot of walking AND running from the ghouls.
- Hotels in the area feature special pricing, so you can plan an overnight trip to the Gate.
Indy Scream Park Number 2 on our list is located just 30 minutes outside Indianapolis, Indiana. This attraction features several different settings, set up to scare the daylights out of you. They are open 7 nights a week, now til HALLOWEEN.
The attractions, Zombieland: Unchained, Pandemic: Mutation, Backwoods, Brickmore Asylum and Rage 3D are all outside. The Scream-A-Geddon indoor attractions are Blackpool Prison and Bedlam 3D.
You don’t want to miss these scary, thrilling, fright-fest haunting attractions.
You will start by going through 2 outdoor sets: Monster Midway, which features Monster inspired carnival games. Next is Backwoods, where you will wander by the Tate family, where you will experience their horrors first hand and try not to become their next victim.
Zombieland: Unchained will lead you through the ruins of civilization with hundreds of zombies waiting to make you their next meal.
Brickmore Asylum gets you behind the walls of an asylum where no one escapes from and the patients roam freely.
Rage 3D is an assault on your senses, where you will descend into craziness and the lines of reality and fiction blur.
Pandemic: Mutation where a genetic research facility has had an accident and it has unleashed an uncontrollable contagion. This is an interactive set and you could be grabbed, held back, put into hidden rooms or removed from your group. Indy Scream Park is a must for anyone looking for the ultimate Halloween horror experience.
“This year, we’ve really outdone ourselves,” said Jon Pianki, marketing director of Indy Scream Park. “We’re not only bringing in more monsters and scares, but actor-matronics. These life-like, robotic props will be incorporated throughout our attractions, giving our visitors the best experience possible.”
Indy Scream Park is dedicated to delivering an unforgettable experience with indoor haunted attractions, many outdoor haunted attractions and a Monster Midway which provides an outdoor space full of games, bonfires, carnival-like food and beverages. The Monster Midway will also have beer and wine available from Coors, Dogfish Head, Bud Light, Sun King Brewery and more.
About Indy Scream Park
Founded in 2010, Indy Scream Park is Indiana’s Premier Halloween Event. It features several Haunted attractions plus a haunted Monster Midway perfect for food, drinks, games and thrills. It serves tens of thousands of patrons every year. For more information, please visit: Indy Scream Park.
Tips:
- Dress accordingly, some attractions are outdoors.
- Limited # of tickets sold each night, buy tickets early (and for best price)
- Tickets, VIP, and Parking passes can be purchased online, print them off for quicker entrance.
- Check them and buy your tickets early
Dead End Hayride, makes our list at #3, it is part of Pinehaven Farm, located 30 miles north of the Twin Cities.
Although Pinehaven is a family favorite, most of the year, do not bring the kids to the Dead End Hayride. At night, what it unleashes, is far from kid friendly. The hayride starts with a tractor pulled wagon that goes through 40 acres of forest where you will pass by several haunts.
Every stop was created with great attention to detail from the set design to the special effects. At the end of the ride you are left off to follow a trail back through the forest, past all the freaks and outcasts you had witnessed getting there. At the end of the Sunnyvale Asylum, the feature haunt of this attraction, build from the ground up to be terrifying and realistic as possible.
The front gate and many of the interior features are from real asylums. And if that is not enough you will have to walk through the Site 66 Haunted Cornfield to get back to your car. A twisting trail cut through tall cornstalks with a chainsaw maze at the end tha twill get you running in terror!
Tips:
- Dress accordingly, attraction is outside
- Closed toed shoes are recommended
- Food and Drink vendors are on site
- ATM on site
- Credit Cards accepted
- You can buy a Fast Pass online
- Tickets are less expensive and lines shorter on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Terror Behind the Walls, The # 4 spot is located in The Eastern State Penitentiary, a real prison located in Philadelphia. It houses 6 different experiences, each with it’s own storyline.
This abandoned prison is said by many to be really haunted. Haunted or not, this 11 acre site forms a perfect backdrop for a frightful night.
It’s only entrance even fits the bill. It looks like an old castle straight out of a your favorite horror movie. The 6 attractions include Lockdown, which takes you through cell block 12, where crazy inmates, deranged guards will chill you to the bone.
Infirmary is located in the prison’s psychiatric ward.
Detritus takes you through cell blocks from the 1800’s. In the Machine Shop attraction, the special effects masters have created a creepy environment by mixing sounds and special effects that will leave you shivering.
The next is a new attraction added in 2015, Quarantine 4d is a visual treat for all your senses.
The last is Breakout, where you are put in the middle of a prison riot and breakout where you will watch prisoners use anything , including yourself, to aid in their escape.
Tips:
- You can wear a glow in the dark necklace if you want to be a participant in the action
- You can take it off to just watch the mayhem
- Must wear closed toed shoes
- No heat, so wear warm clothes
- Purchase tickets online to beat the lines
- The Penitentiary is a national landmark, all proceeds go to maintain the building
Scream-A-Geddon, the last on the list is located at the edge of a forest, between Orlando and Tampa.
It is built around a Monster Midway with horror themed carnival games, from the midway you can choose from 5 haunts.
Two of the Haunts are inside, Pandemic and Bedlam 4D. Pandemic is set in a lab where experiments have gone horribly wrong. Bedlam 4D is based on a Cannibal Clown theme where Killer Clowns chase you through a series of maze like passages that will leave you scared and completely disoriented.
The other side of the midway consists of 3 outside haunts. The Deadwoods is a walk through a forest controlled by a murderous family. You will wander from building to building as you are stalked by this insane brood.
The Infected, takes you through a maze of tents, fields and buildings with a different horror around every corner.
Last, is the centerpiece of the entire attraction. Scream-geddon pulled out all the stops for the Cursed Hayride. This ride will take you through a complete western town. This town isn’t Bonanza! It Is populated by undead residents who have gone completely mad by their immortality. Gun battles, including Gatling guns, along with horrific sights and some incredible action will surely top off your evening of horror at Scream-geddon.
Tips:
- Dress for outdoor activities
- They accept credit cards, ATM is also onsite
- Tickets are available online, buy early for a better price and to beat the lines
So, if you have lost your Halloween mojo, pack your bags and visit one or more of these awesome, frightful screamfests. Being chased by a hungry zombie or a deranged prisoner is a sure way to get your Halloween wings back in action.