Halloween in the USA 

Throughout the USA, Halloween is the second-largest commercial holiday following Christmas. In fact, in the lead up to the 31st, a figure north of 10 billion dollars is spent every year on candy, costumes, and attraction activities in the United States alone. In Canada, some $1 Billion is spent and celebrated in a similar fashion to their US neighbors. 

To help us get into the spirit of the spooky season, a staggering average of 36,000,000 Americans will visit a haunted house between September and October, each looking for the thrill of being terrified and will pay up to $65 dollars to get it. If you’re a Halloween junkie looking for the house that makes Freddie Cruger’s pad on Elm Street look cozy, then this is the article for you. 

How to choose your haunted house

Whilst there are plenty of decent haunted houses to visit across the country, you want to be sure it wasn’t a wasted trip and has the scare factor you’re after. 

To save any disappointment this Halloween season, we’ve pulled together a list of 252 haunted houses across the US and ranked them using 10 factors that make for the perfect haunted house experience, which includes: 

💵 Minimum cost 

👯‍♂️ The cast 

👗 The costumes

🤵‍♂️ The customer service 

🌌 The atmosphere 

⚡️ The special effects 

🎭 The theme 

👻 The scare factor 

💃 The entertainment and value

 

The top 10 haunted houses in the US 

Looking at every measurement listed above across all 252 houses, we’ve compiled below the ULTIMATE top ten. These are the best houses in the USA for overall enjoyment, convenience and experience, whilst still guaranteed to give you a spine-chilling thrill in the lead-up to Halloween. 

RANK HOUSE NAME STATE
1 Creepy Hollow Haunted House TEXAS
2 Purgatory Scream Park TEXAS
3 New Orleans Nightmare Haunted House LOUISIANA
4 House of the Occult at Lemp Brewery MISSOURI
5 Netherworld Haunted House GEORGIA
6 Terror on the Coast MISSISSIPPI
7 Statesville Haunted Prison ILLINOIS
8 Factory of Terror OH OHIO
9 13th Hour Haunted House NEW JERSEY
10 Reapers Revenge PENNSYLVANIA

 

1.Creepy Hollow Haunted House 

The ‘Creepy Hollow Haunted House’ in Texas takes the top spot. This non-profit house features three spine-tingling attractions, using unimaginably realistic special effects and costumes to provide a haunting experience. 

When it comes to trick-or-treat, Creepy Hollow delivers on both as all the proceeds go to good causes. Nice. 

2. Purgatory Scream Park 

In a close second comes the ‘Purgatory Scream Park’. Come visit the largest haunted house in Texas if you dare, with a 40-minute terrifying walkthrough, you’re guaranteed to become immersed in the Halloween fun.

3. New Orleans Nightmare Haunted House

Next up – ‘New Orleans Nightmare Haunted House’. With three main attractions to choose from, you’re guaranteed to leave with the hairs standing on the back of your neck. At this haunted house, you’ll find clowns, the walking dead, and even the Bogeyman to keep you up at night. 

4. House of the Occult at Lemp Brewery

Located underground, where no one will hear you scream, come face to face with demons, confusing mazes, and the pitch-black cavern of the occult in the ‘House of the Occult’ at Lemp Brewery’. 

5. Netherworld Haunted House

If monsters are your thing, then this is the house for you. Here, you can experience two attractions, including a 3D experience in a secret facility. And if that doesn’t sound horrifying enough for you, check out the Monster Museum featuring rare movie props that you won’t see anywhere else. 

6. Terror on the Coast

If you’re looking for a haunted house in the Mississippi area, then ‘Terror on the Coast’ is for you. Not only is it the largest haunted house in the area, but the realistic costumes and special effects will leave you frightened 

7. Statesville Haunted Prison

In this unique haunted house, visitors will enter an abandoned prison where prisoners have rioted, guards have fled and the darkness has seized control of the area. You will be forced to find your way through 23 maximum-security cells, and come eye to eye with 100 criminals that were too evil to die. 

8. Factory of Terror OH

The ‘Factory of Terror’ is one of the largest indoor haunted houses in the world. With the aim of manufacturing terrifying nightmares, this haunted house will take you through five spine-chilling attractions, measuring over a mile long. 

9. 13th Hour Haunted House

If you’re looking for an immersive experience, this is the haunted house for you. Make your way around three attractions, complete with special effects and movie-quality sets. This one is guaranteed to get your heart racing. 

10. Reapers Revenge

Last but not least, Reaper’s revenge. This haunted house will torture you with five intense attractions featuring clowns, cannibalistic mutants, and hayrides that will have you sweating with fear as you venture deeper into the realm of Reaper’s Forest. 

 

The top five scariest states

If you’re a big fan of the trick-or-treat month, then it may come as a bragging right to know you live in one of the spookiest states out of the 50 in the USA. Can you see yours? 

This was determined by looking at everything spooky within the area and seeing which states had the most frequently, highest rated attraction.  

Well done Ohio, you guys are truly terrifying.

RANK STATE NUMBER OF HAUNTED HOUSES
1 OHIO 34
2 INDIANA 28
3 PENNSYLVANIA 25
4 KENTUCKY 19
5 GEORGIA 17

 

1.Ohio 

The scariest state is Ohio, and if you’ve ever been, you’ll know what we mean. With a total of 34 haunted houses and home to one of the highest-rated – the ‘Factory of Terror’, this state is guaranteed to give you a fright. 

2. Indiana

Next up is Indiana, home of the famous ‘Fear Fair’. With a total of 28 haunted houses in this state, there’s fear on every corner throughout the Halloween period. 

3. Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania you’ll find a total of 25 haunted houses, featuring the highly-rated ‘Reaper’s Revenge’. Fright night is definitely popular for Pennsylvanians. 

4. Kentucky

Ranking 4th is Kentucky with 19 haunted houses in total, featuring the ominous ‘Devils Attic’, where you can enter the interactive horror film-themed house if you dare…

5. Georgia 

Home to the 5th best-haunted house, it’s no surprise that Georgia is named as one of the United States’ scariest states. With a total of 17 haunted houses in the area, you’re guaranteed a scary visit.

The places we would take a rain check on 

With the amount of choice available in the US for haunted house lovers and thrill-seekers alike, we wouldn’t feel right without letting you know which houses didn’t rank so highly (and because we wanted you to know we weren’t lying when we said we’d rated a whopping 252 houses – it took the data guy all day). 

RANK HOUSE NAME STATE
248 The Go-Go Scare Show WEST VIRGINIA
249 Deranged Haunt MICHIGAN
250 Bogies Haunted House KENTUCKY
251 Dr. Dekay’s House of Screams KENTUCKY
252 Frightmare Manor TENNESSEE

 

It’s tough competition in the US for the haunted house top spots, so whichever house you find yourself at this Halloween season, you’re guaranteed to be in for an unearthly experience. 

Go forth and be scared, and stay safe everyone. 

Happy Halloween.

 

Methodology

My Baggage were looking to find the spookiest and scariest destinations to visit this Halloween in North America. Individually ranked and concluded with a final ranking to crown the scariest haunted houses in the States. 

10 factors were analyzed that were agreed to make the perfect haunted house experience. This included: 

  • Minimum cost 
  • The cast 
  • The costumes
  • The customer service 
  • The atmosphere 
  • The special effects 
  • The theme 
  • The scare factor 
  • The entertainment and value 

 

All data was collected from this website. 

 

The scariest states were determined by combining the frequency of Halloween attractions that were the highest rated. 

About My Baggage

My Baggage is a door-to-door luggage shipping company, if you need to travel to any haunted house this Halloween why not send your luggage ahead and avoid the terrifying excess baggage fees at the airport. You can travel stress-free and not worry about your luggage ghosting you at the baggage reclaim.