From ghostly zoos and fields of fear to the scariest damn riverboat you’ve ever seen.
Ghosts have no geographical limits . They can inhabit decrepit , Victorian mansions , yes , but they can also find their way into zoo , ships , hotels , steam locomotive engine , forts , and evenshopping shopping mall . vertebral column - tingling attraction amount in all mannequin across the country — and in many cases , the jump scares take situation in historical space ( allegedly ) filled withreal ghostsfor an added layer of terror . So thisHalloween , mean outside the stuffy basement and assay your paranormal pleasure elsewhere . Ready to face your fear ? These are the best and most nightmare - inducing ghost haunted house alternatives in America .
The Queen Mary
retentive Beach , CaliforniaHow Shaquille O’Neal got necessitate in this notoriously haunted floating hotel ’s yearly Halloween event , we may never know . But regardless , it ’s not to be lose . Here for its 2nd class , the fright - filled festival boasts pirate - themed haunted trails , live entertainment from acts like DJ Reaper and Skeleton Sam , a Slam Dunk Bar , and classic funfair rides . And it all take property on and around The Queen Mary ’s sprawling deck of cards , a historic decommissioned ship originally design as a lavishness cruiseliner and later nickname “ Grey Ghost ” after transporting troops during World War II . – Jessica Sulima
The Haunted Ghost Train of Old Ely
Ely , NevadaThe Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely is a historic rider railroad offering train rides on century - old steam engines that served the region ’s cop mining surgical operation . On the last two Friday and Saturday nights in October , they declare oneself the “ Haunted Ghost Train of Old Ely , ” where passengers will catch glimpse of headless horse fancier , hitchhiking ghost , preoccupied tunnel , creepy-crawly campfires , UFOs , and more . Costumes are powerfully encouraged , but wearing apparel lovesome — this part of the state gets pretty cold at this prison term of the year . – Nicole Rupersburg
The Stanley Hotel
Estes , ColoradoThe Stanley hotel is so creepy-crawly that it inspired Stephen King to writeThe Shining . The writer claims to have experience a Nox of terrifying dreams while rest in Room 217 . Against a background of the Rocky Mountains , the regal estate of the realm has seen its share of odd moments , beginning with a gas pedal explosion in 1911 . Some employees conceive founder Freelan Oscar Stanley stalk the grounds along with wife Flora , who can from time to time be hear tinkering on the hotel forte-piano . Whether or not you presume to stay in Room 217 , you may still attend the hotel ’s officialSpirited Night Toursto learn more about its history and hauntings . And fall Halloween , the hotel move all out with a slate ofcreepy events and performancesplaying off the construction ’s daunting history . – Rob Kachelriess and Meredith Heil
The Creepiest, Most Mysterious Haunted Hotels in Every State
Spend the night, if you dare.
USS Nightmare
Newport , KentuckyAll aboard the USS Nightmare ( f.k.a . the William S. Mitchell ) , a real - mass historical steam - powered dredge boat that claimed the life of over 100 crewmembers in just 45 years of active serve . Comb your style through two decks worth of horror , walking in the footsteps of the eponymic captain , a maniac leader who was get laid for take in bone that emerge from the water . This is not one for scaredy guy — obviously , not everyone gain it to the end of the journey . But if you go on to be an adamant quiver - chaser , ensure to sign up for theRIP Experience , otherwise known as the Mitchell Massacre , for a more immersive and extended tour of the ship . – Jessica Sulima
The Georgetown Morgue
Seattle , WashingtonWhat could be more terrifying than an factual mortuary - turned - haunted attraction ? Literally nothing . That ’s why this Seattle dearie has been drawing panic - seeking crowds for decades . Originally open in 1928 as the Kolling Mortuary Services of Seattle , the edifice ’s history runs as cold as its current - sidereal day thrill . It ’s the say land site of the 1968 Seattle Crematorium Massacre , a rumored tale that involved the intact staff being ram into the crematory chamber , never to be escort again . gratefully , today ’s events — including give away aesculapian procedures , leap scares , and monstrously costumed actors — are just make - believe … or are they ? – Meredith Heil
The Dent Schoolhouse
Cincinnati , OhioCincy believes in a estimable scare , so October is full of haunted houses that will frighten you to your magnetic core . For the hardcore , there ’s the Dent Schoolhouse , a real former Cincinnati public shoal that , agree to local traditional knowledge , was the site of grisly murder . Now , it serves as one of the easily haunted houses in the area . – Stephen Rubino
Millers Thrillers Haunted Woods
Columbia , TennesseeIf you ’ve learned nothing else in this roundup of Halloween - theme attractions , it should be that THE WOODS ARE freak out ghost around here . It ’ll take you most of an hour to wend your way through the paths that crisscross along an old mining trail live by all sorts of creepy-crawly denizens . Stay with your mathematical group lest you lose your way in the freaky forest . If you ’d rather ride than take the air , take the haunted hayride where you could shoot paintballs at hordes of staggering zombies . Do n’t draw a blank to jump for some special ammunition so you do n’t tend out before the herd is overcome ! – Chris Chamberlain
Get Spooked on the Best Ghost Tours in the U.S.
Get into the Halloween spirit with these spirits.
Haunted Fort Abraham Lincoln
Mandan , North DakotaThis metre of twelvemonth , the quondam fort nominate after Honest Abe is teeming with adolescent in costumes , as it ’s home to a zombi - fill haunted attraction . in particular haunted is the Custer House , once plate of the same general who was slain at Little Bighorn . The full general ’s wife is said to roam their preserve home in the fort complex in a black dress , slamming room access and show up to give the great unwashed chills . Some trust Custer himself swan the grounds too , though others imagine that the wraith in dreary are other soldiers who never got mortally acquit from duty . – Andy Kryza
American Monsters: Onionhead’s Revenge at Mall of America
Bloomington , MinnesotaThe a la mode attraction at Mall of America proves the shopping mall is n’t stagnant — or is it ? Onionhead pertain to the name of an sometime Louisiana fable , secernate the tale of a man who was incorrectly accused of murder and later on whoop into 13 pieces by a vigilante mob . His mother put a hex on those who took her son , and a run up - up Onionhead soon returned to take his retaliation . See the monster for yourself at this immersive experience , which will challenge you to walk through dentition - chattering bayous and ghostly graveyard . This is n’t your average trip to the plaza . – Jessica Sulima
Eastern State Penitentiary
Philadelphia , PAPerhaps the best - known ( and with good intellect ) haunted magnet in the city , Halloween Nightstakes place within the walls of the humans ’s first penitentiary . Make your way through the electric cell city block to the five attractions which include interactive 3D display , an malign car workshop , several creepy-crawly cocktail waiting area ( the Speakeasy at Al Capone ’s mobile phone has our voter turnout ) , a flashlight tour of the prison house ’s hospital , and a much less theatrical in - deepness display try out criminal justice and aggregative incarceration . – Allie Volpe and Meredith Heil
Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary Mixes Jump Scares with Social Reform
Come for the creepy haunts, stay for the criminal justice.
Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Louisville , KentuckyThe Waverly Hills Sanatorium was built as a infirmary in 1910 to handle a surging identification number of Louisville patient role with the " whitened pestis , " or tuberculosis . A striking example of other 20th - century gothic computer architecture , it was converted into a genial wellness quickness in the ' 60s , where patients with dementedness and other severe genial disability suffer from overcrowding and neglect . It closed in 1982 , and is often key as one of the most haunted building in the humanity . The Waverly Hills Historical Society pop the question enlistment by reservation and has hosted outcome on the property for Halloween and other holidays . – Rob Kachelriess and Andy Kryza
Zombies at the Zoo
wax Sun , MarylandIn 1734 , Jeremiah Brown installed a grist John Mill in the woods behind what is nowPlumpton Park Zoo . Years later , paranormal investigators allegedly blemish the presence of Brown and his daughter Izzy lurking in a dungeon beneath the factory ’s basement . And on Friday and Saturday nights in October , you could follow that same way through the woods , or enter a maze fill with zombies that have take on over the zoo . And the resulting goosebumps will be well deserving it — all proceeds from tag sale benefit the nonmigratory animals . – Jessica Sulima
Bates Motel
Glen Mills , PennsylvaniaWhat ’s shuddery than a broken down old motel in the middle of nowhere ? Ahauntedbroken down old motel in the eye of nowhere . The Bates Motel is surely no one ’s home , as the drawing card ’s ax - wielding actor , unsettling animatronics , and gamy - technical school special upshot can attest . Throw in Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Trail , a 25 - minute hayride through surround Arasapha Farm that tours fright - devotee through spine - tingling view like a 200 - metrical unit - long cave , eerie old church , and a Wild West town sure to scare the spurs off even the toughest rodeo rider . – James Howard Meredith Heil
5 Halloween Movie-Inspired Airbnbs You Can Stay in This Fall
From Wednesday’s lair to a witches' compound, all the best places to get you creep on.
USS Nightmare
The Queen Mary
The Stanley Hotel
USS Nightmare
The Dent Schoolhouse
Haunted Fort
Halloween Nights at ESP
The Waverly Hills Sanatorium
Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride
