Watching a scary movie on Halloween is so lame. Instead, you should go out and mingle with the undead, ghosts, and ghouls as you get scared half to death at a haunted attraction. Today’s haunted houses, ships, mortuaries, and hayrides are nothing like the cheesy attractions at carnivals you might remember from your childhood. Nowadays, haunted attractions have benefited from the live talent that has left Hollywood as computers take their roles in horror movies. And they’ve also gone more high-tech with animatronics and movie-quality sets and sounds. [Reuters]
Find a haunted attraction in your area after the jump.
West Coast
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- The Seattle House of Horrors is open until Nov. 1. Expect to see “simulated animal carcasses in varying states of distress” since this haunted house is a testbed for Ghostride Productions, a supplier to haunted houses all over the world.
- The Scream Fair Haunted House at the Northwest Washington Fair Grounds has three haunted houses for the price of one. It’s open through Oct. 31.
- Callson Manor in the Sacramento area (Roseville at the Placer County Fairgrounds) is owned and operated by a professional animatronics prop designer. The set design as well as makeup and special effects will keep you immersed in this haunted world, where all five of your senses will be engaged. The attractions include the Callson Funeral Home, the Vampire’s Crypt, and The Deadlands. Callson Manor is open through Oct. 31, but is closed Monday through Wednesday.
- Pirates of Emerson Haunted Adventure in San Francisco is three acres of fright, using special effects, robotics, actors, realism, and animatronics. It features three attractions: The main haunt is a pirate ship and village, Pirates of the Deep in 3-D offers a tour of Davy Jones’ locker, and the Bilge Rat Maze features pulsating strobe lights. The attractions are open now, but are closed some dates, so check the website.
- Texas Screams is Las Vegas’ No. 1 Haunts where you can choose to frightened in the Hotel Fear, The Asylum, or both. The attractions are open now through Nov. 1, but is closed Monday through Wednesday. Check the site for the special schedule the week of Halloween.
East Coast
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- The “Scaremasters” at the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride promise that this year’s attraction is the scariest yet. Sit atop one of 12 digital sound equipped hay wagons as you travel through the haunted forests of Arasapha Farms in Glen Mills, PA. The forests are filled with new sets, computer controlled animations, and more than 50 actors that creep or fly. This attraction is open through the rest of the month and Nov. 1.
- Terror Behind the Walls in Philadelphia is a massive haunted house inside a real penitentiary that once housed Al Capone. Located at Eastern State Penitentiary, this attraction is sure to chill and thrill, as it was voted “America’s #1 haunted house” by AOL City Guide last year.
- Bayville Scream Park in Long Island, NY, has five attractions to scare you sh*tless this Halloween. They are the Bloodworth Haunted Mansion, Uncle Needle’s Funhouse of Fear in 3-D, the Temple of Terror, Curse of the Zombie Pirates, and Evil in the Woods. Unlike most haunted attractions, The Bayville Scream Park is open the weekend after Halloween, too.
- Blood Manor in NYC has insane residents that feed on blood and gore. Visitors will face their darkest fears as they travel through the Disgraceland and become the main course at the Zombie Cabaret. Blood Manor is open through Nov. 7.
- Come aboard The Haunted Ship in Quincy, MA, near Boston and Cape Cod. This ship served our nation for years, and is now the home of lost souls. Check it out until Nov. 1.
- Bennett’s Curse Haunted Attractions is reportedly the best haunt in the D.C./Maryland area. It tells the story of a group of warrior knights who after losing a battle are damned for all eternity at the Castle Bennett. There are also typical Halloween attractions like the House of the Vampyres and the Sanctuary of Insanity, which features the Dominion of Darkness, a “mind blowing maze and illusions which will take you on a psychological trip through a nightmarish sanctuary of rampaging psychopaths!” The attractions are open through Halloween.
The South
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- Netherworld Haunted House in the Atlanta area has been voted fourth of the top 13 haunts in the country by AOL. Here’s what reviewer Lauren Lamb wrote: “Enter Netherworld and you really have entered another world. It’s a dark, eerie underworld of dead and mummified souls ready to be awakened by you.” The attraction is open through Nov. 14.
- X-Scream Halloween in West Palm Beach, FL, has 63,000 sq. feet of terror, and last year’s attraction was voted one of the “13 Scariest Haunted Attractions in America” by the Travel Channel. This year there are six all new haunted themes, food games, sideshows, and live entertainment every night. You only have three more weekends, including this one, to experience the terror.
- The Mortuary Haunted House in New Orleans retells the legend of a mortician who needs a constant supply of life-saving blood to extend his own ghastly life. Those who enter his mortuary “will be tested and pushed to the limits of their sanity!” You can see if you have what it takes to escape from now until Nov. 14.
The Midwest
- The Aurora Illinois Haunted House in Chicago takes place in the Nightmares Basement of the Dead, a laundry basement that is haunted by a father and son duo who vowed to get revenge after being maimed while working at the laundry. Here, mutilation, horror, and gore reign supreme. The haunted house is open now through the end of the month.
- The Ohio State Reformatory’s Haunted Prison Experience in Mansfield, OH, is literally hell on Earth. The attraction has won several awards for being the best haunt and having the “Most Assaulting” soundtrack.
If you don’t see a haunted attraction in your area, don’t fret. Check out Haunt World for even more scary attractions.
Original by Annika Harris
