Let The Haunt Season Begin: Top 10 Destinations for Haunted Attractions & Halloween Fun, Haunt Season Kicks Off September 12 in Major Markets Across the U.S.

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Let The Haunt Season Begin: Top 10 Destinations for Haunted Attractions & Halloween Fun

~Haunt Season Kicks Off September 12 in Major Markets Across the U.S. ~

 

WINNETKA, Ill., September 9, 2015 – Americans love to be frightened and that has never been more evident than this year as demand across the country by thrill-seeking enthusiasts has led to the Haunted Attraction Association (HAA) officially designating September 12 as the official kick-off of “Haunt Season.” Haunted attractions will begin to open their doors and start the scares that will last through mid-November – many concluding with a celebratory spook the weekend of Friday, November 13.

 

“Halloween season is not just October anymore,” said Haunted Attraction Association (HAA) President John Eslich.  “People get a thrill out of being scared and want to jump into the spirit of the season. Our members are stepping up the scares as well and this year’s haunts are taking the guest experience to the next level. We’re seeing members create even more groundbreaking interactive experiences and pulling out all the stops to provide a ghoulish good time. And, with Friday the 13th falling in November, we’re looking forward to an extended eerie season.”

 

Below is a sampling of top destinations around the United States offering spooky fun this fall:

 

NORTHEAST

 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The City of Brotherly Love is well known for its history, arts and culture, but every fall Philadelphia becomes a Halloween hot spot.  Among the must-see attractions is Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary – a massive haunted house featuring six attractions inside a real abandoned prison. To celebrate its 25th season of scare, Terror Behind the Walls unveiled the most ambitious redesign in the history of the event with two groundbreaking new attractions.

 

New for 2015, Shocktoberfest, just a short ride from the city in Reading, PA, has transformed into Zombie World, the zombie version of Jurassic World where guests can view zombies up close but in a safe and secure environment. The haunt also redesigned the Unknown Haunted House to bring customers the Unknown 2.0, the next level of fear. Lastly, the haunt has created the Prison of the Dead Escape; an escape room experience located in a 50,000 square-foot prison themed haunted house that requires guests to escape from multiple rooms.

 

Shocktoberfest and Frightland in Middletown, DE offer scary hayrides and are located just a short drive from the city.

 

While in town, guests can refuel at Eulogy Belgian Tavern, where locals come for the area’s largest beer selection. For a truly haunting experience, guests make a reservation for the “coffin room” – a small room in the back of the second floor where three coffins double as tables.

 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

One haunt-filled city is not enough for Pennsylvania. Across the state, Pittsburgh offers a large number of major haunts; two top ones being The Scarehouse and Haunted Expedition.

 

Dr. Margee Kerr, PHD and Staff Sociologist at The ScareHouse studied the science of fear extensively and has developed a house to appeal to bring the shrills. In addition to two new attractions for 2015, guests will once again enjoy the mysterious halls of The Summoning, an elaborate haunted attraction set entirely in October 1932 and explores a hidden world of secret societies, arcane rituals and demonic visitors.

 

Haunted Expedition is the Pittsburgh area’s newest haunted attraction where guests will board the haunted hayride to visit a town trapped in the 1920s and tormented by demons. Guests will also visit with the deranged townspeople in three interactive, scary mini-shows.

 

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Located on a 35-acre family farm in Mountville, Field of Screams is a one-stop shop to satisfy the craving for fear while experiencing high impact attractions all in one place. Attractions include the Haunted Hayride, the Den of Darkness Haunted Mansion, the Frightmare Asylum Haunted Hospital and the Nocturnal Wasteland Haunted Trail.

 

More Haunts in Pennsylvania:

 

TRI- STATE AREA

 

Albany, New York

Located just a short drive from Albany, guests can get their fright on at Night Terrors Haunted Farm. The haunted hayride drives through oversized buildings and wooded scenes straight from a nightmare. The haunted corn maze leads guests through detailed sets and across a suspension bridge that leads straight to a clown-filled freak show. A new attraction for 2015 puts visitors into a military exercise where they will battle zombies and become part of “the show.”

 

More Haunts in the Tri-State Area:

 

MIDWEST

 

Detroit, Michigan

Located 16 miles west of Detroit, Hush Haunted Attraction offers a journey through the “Hush Corporations Detroit Experiment Facility.” This year visitors will return to the sealed doors of the Corporation and explore what’s left of it while navigating collapsed ceilings, overgrown trees and vines and flickering dungeon. The experiments spearheaded by Dr. Phun and his group of scientists have escaped and mutated.

 

To continue on the spooky quest, visitors can dine at The Whitney. For nearly three decades, diners have reported seeing apparitions, hearing clanging dishes when no one is around and having their place settings rearranged by an unseen entity.

 

Wabash Valley, Illinois

New for the 2015 season is the Sheer Terror Haunted House, the darkest show to ever descend upon the Wabash Valley and four times the size of the old home haunt. The new show, FREAKSHOW, is preparing to open its curtains to all willing and unwilling guests and have guests go face-to-face with macabre sideshow oddities featuring evil magicians, mimes and clowns. Also new this year is a 3D, blacklight portion where visitors can see if they can escape the twisted halls of fear.

 

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Considered by many to be the number one, must-see haunted house in America, Wisconsin FearGrounds is located in Waukesha, just outside of Milwaukee. Visitors can experience three times the terror by entering Morgan Manor, the cornerstone of the trilogy of terror – three haunted houses, all in one location.

Afterwards, visitors can enjoy a drink back at Milwaukee’s Shaker’s Cigar Bar before daring to sign up for a ghost tour of the establishment.  Over the years, many staff members and customers have been scared away from Shaker’s by their spiritual encounters.

 

More Haunts in the Midwest:

 

 SOUTH

 

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Nightmares return to Lookout Mountain for the 12th year as Ruby Falls hosts the annual Haunted Cavern, with a new theme in 2015 – a double feature. The two haunts include one in the mind of a mad man and one underground in the deepest cave accessible to the public in the United States where victims will encounter deadly creatures of the night.

 

For those that make it out in one piece, a tour of historic Chattanooga is encouraged. Guests can step through the shadows and discover the chilling and ghastly tales with a walking tour led by Chattanooga Ghost Tours. The tour takes visitors through the historic and haunted streets in search of the countless ghosts rumored to haunt the city.

 

 

Boca Raton, Florida

For 2015, Enigma Haunt has new, never-before-seen terrors that will leave visitors breathless. The two-floor indoor haunt will bring horrifyingly real dimensions to visitors: The Abyss and Realms of Terror. The haunt has an outdoor staging area, The Pit, that’s designed to twist the imagination of those awaiting entrance. The haunt offers mind-numbing panic that makes visitors question what is real and give all those who enter an entertaining night of sheer horror.

 

The Abyss features a blackout maze like no other; ready to push the patron’s other four senses to the razor’s edge. Realms of Terror has themed chambers that will traverse dimensions that play on people’s most vivid nightmares through horrifying smells and creatures.

 

More Haunts in the South:

 

WEST

 

Fresno, California

For those in the mood to truly embrace the spirit of Halloween, a trip to the quiet town of Fresno is recommended. For an old-time feel, Hobb’s Grove offers warming fire pits, peddlers and entertainment. The Grove’s ticketed attractions include The Hollows haunted forest, the haunted hayride into Shadow’s Keep and the horrible Hobb Home haunted house. There’s also a tour of the Hobb Family Home, where patrons must first pass through the eerie family graveyard.

 

 

More Haunts in the West:

 

 

 

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About The Haunted Attraction Association

The Haunted Attraction Association, the only official association in the haunt industry, serves as the voice of the haunted attraction industry.  Our mission is to promote our worldwide network of haunted attractions including Haunted Houses, Haunted Hayrides, Scream Parks, Mega-Haunts, Halloween Festivals, Haunted Outdoor Trails, Corn Mazes, and Amusement Park Halloween Events. In addition our goal is to protect our customers through education and networking of our members.  Visit www.hauntedattractionassociation.com or call 888-320-8494.  To find a haunt near you go to http://hauntedattractionassociation.com/haunt-finder/.

Like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hauntedattractionassociation and follow HAA on Twitter to see the Official Halloween Countdown at https://twitter.com/HAAHaunts.

, www.louhammond.com

 

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