The first haunted hayrides were exactly what they sound like: a tractor pulling a wagon through a dark field while volunteers in bedsheets jumped out from behind trees. Admission was two dollars. The experience lasted ten minutes. The special effects were a flashlight, fake cobwebs, and somebody's teenage cousin in a rubber mask. Today the […]
Six Flags America's Fright Fest ran annually from 1999 through 2024 at the park's 500-acre campus at 13710 Central Avenue, Bowie, Maryland 20721 — for 25 years, the DMV's largest theme-park Halloween event. Haunted houses, scare zones, costumed performers, and roller coasters running in the dark defined fall evenings for generations of Maryland families and […]
ScareHouse is one of the most acclaimed haunted attractions in American history — a Pittsburgh institution that earned endorsements from Guillermo del Toro and Elijah Wood, won the Haunted Attraction Association's Top Haunt award in 2023, and pioneered the extreme immersive-theater horror format with its infamous creation, The Basement. For over 20 years, ScareHouse defined […]
Valley of Fear and The Original Haunted Hayride returns for its 36th season at the Phoenix Sport Club, 301 West Bristol Road, Feasterville, PA 19053, running select nights from September 25 through November 1, 2026. The attraction features three experiences — The Original Haunted Hayride (named "Hayride of the Year" by Halloween Haunts 365), Miles […]
Hundred Acres Manor — Pittsburgh's largest and most extreme haunted attraction — runs September through early November 2026 at 1 Hundred Acres Drive, Bethel Park, PA 15102, spanning over one mile of walk-through horror across six themed sections. Named one of the best haunted houses in America by Forbes, USA Today, BuzzFeed, the Travel Channel, […]
Pennhurst Asylum is a haunted attraction staged inside the real, formerly abandoned buildings of the Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, Pennsylvania — and the 2026 season opens Friday, September 25, running Fridays and Saturdays through November 7, with Sundays added in October. Four haunted attractions plus a new 2026 experience are staged […]
Markoff's Haunted Forest operates fall 2026 at 19120 Martinsburg Road, Dickerson, MD 20842 — deep in rural Montgomery County, about 40 miles northwest of DC and 55 miles west of Baltimore. The attraction features three experiences: The Haunted Trail (a hike through the dark forest), The Town (a wagon ride to an entirely separate scare […]
Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary returns for its 35th season, running select nights from October 2 through November 7, 2026 at 2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130. The event transforms the 10-acre abandoned prison into a sprawling nighttime festival featuring five haunted houses, historic tours, themed bars, live performances, and more than 200 performers […]
Shocktoberfest — Pennsylvania's premier haunted scream park — opens September 25, 2026 and runs select Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights through early November near the PA Turnpike in Sinking Spring, Berks County, about 10 miles west of Reading. The ticket booth opens at 5:00 PM, attractions begin at 7:00 PM, and SPOOKtoberFest (the family-friendly alternative) […]
