Halloween is the holiday that allows you to test your limits. Seeking out scary experiences is fun, right? Right? Whether the attraction be a reportedly haunted location or an orchestrated haunted house, visiting these spooky places is always a hoot. Here are some of the scariest places to visit in Pennsylvania this Halloween.
- Hansell Road in Buckingham
Christian Guthier/ Flickr Hansell Road is one of the creepiest and most mysterious haunted locations in the state of Pennsylvania. Visitors to the site spot strange lights in the woods… Some describe them as lanterns, other describe them as burning eyes that glare at them from the darkness. You might feel like the ghostly glare is following you even long after you drive speedily away from Hansell Road…
- Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia
Martin Pilat/ Flickr Eastern State Penitentiary is the grandfather of modern day prisons. The first prison in the United States to introduce the horrors of solitary confinement, many infamous criminals were kept and even exiled here. It’s a creepy enough place to visit for most of the year, but during the Halloween season you can go there and take a haunted tour.
- The Cult House on Cossart Road in Chadds Ford
The Cult House of Beaver Valley/ Facebook Colloquially known as Devil’s Road, Cossart Road is one of the most notorious locations in the greater Pittsburgh area. As you can see, the trees bend away from the street as if trying to escape a ghoulish presence. Hidden in the woods is a large, abandoned white mansion with a mysterious history. Some say it was home to cult activities, inbreeding, and torture.
- Bates Motel in Glen Mills
Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride/ Facebook Do you enjoy it when monsters jump out from behind furniture and scream in your face? While this is not an experience we often seek within the walls of our own homes, for some reason this time of year encourages us to fork over cash to have this experience in haunted houses. Bates Motel is one of the scariest, most heart-stopping haunted houses in the state. Check out a walk-through video of this terrifying attraction. Bates Motel was rated #1 best haunted house in America by Hauntworld Magazine!
- Pennhurst State School and Asylum in Spring City
Thomas/ Flickr Many unfortunate people died at Pennhurst hospital after suffering greatly. A few months ago we wrote a post about Pennhurst, which was the subject of a documentary after it was shut down. Overcrowded conditions and atrocious mistreatment of patients by the hospital staff led to a long, drawn-out legal battle and tons of media coverage. This time of year, Pennhurst is turned into a haunted house. Visiting will give you a good scare and a good opportunity to get a peek at the interior of a historic building.
- Gravity Hill in Bedford
Wikimedia Commons Gravity Hills are a strange, unexplained phenomena that manifest in various places throughout the world, and we’re lucky enough to have one of our own in Pennsylvania. Leave your car in neutral on this hill and it will begin to roll… uphill! How bizarre. Is it being pushed by ghosts? Probably.
- The Catacombs Restaurant in Lancaster
Bube’s Brewery Restaurant Website I know that this isn’t quite fitting with the rest of the haunted/abandoned/haunted house-esque entries on this list, but maybe you want a creepy Halloween location where you can sit down and enjoy dinner. Lucky for you, Bube’s Brewery in Lancaster has built a restaurant that is literally in catacombs! Enjoy your delicious meal underground and contemplate the possibility of never seeing sunlight again.
- The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia
istolethetv/ Flickr Haunted attractions are cool and everything, but sometimes you want to go see something incredibly terrifying that you can verify is actually… there. The Mütter Museum is perfect for fulfilling such desires! The museum is an extensive collection of medical artifacts that range from the intriguing (the tallest skeleton on exhibit in North America) to the downright disgusting (tumors preserved in jars.) Yum!
- Field of Screams, Mountville
Field of Screams/ Facebook Field of Screams is one of the top-rated haunted attractions in Pennsylvania. It’s home to a variety of attractions, including Frightmare Asylum, the Den of Darkness, and something called the… Nocturnal Wasteland. I might never sleep again, and that’s just from reading the description on their website.
- Trundle Manor in Swissvale (Pittsburgh)
Trundle Manor/ Facebook See that? That is a taxidermy squirrel fish. They are a naturally occurring species in Trundle Manor, a house filled with oddities and artifacts that you wouldn’t imagine in even your weirdest dreams. Erring more on the side of creepy than downright SCREAM-worthy, Trundle Manor is the perfect place to ring in Halloween.
Anything you’d add to this list? Share in the comments below.
Christian Guthier/ Flickr
Hansell Road is one of the creepiest and most mysterious haunted locations in the state of Pennsylvania. Visitors to the site spot strange lights in the woods… Some describe them as lanterns, other describe them as burning eyes that glare at them from the darkness. You might feel like the ghostly glare is following you even long after you drive speedily away from Hansell Road…
Martin Pilat/ Flickr
Eastern State Penitentiary is the grandfather of modern day prisons. The first prison in the United States to introduce the horrors of solitary confinement, many infamous criminals were kept and even exiled here. It’s a creepy enough place to visit for most of the year, but during the Halloween season you can go there and take a haunted tour.
The Cult House of Beaver Valley/ Facebook
Colloquially known as Devil’s Road, Cossart Road is one of the most notorious locations in the greater Pittsburgh area. As you can see, the trees bend away from the street as if trying to escape a ghoulish presence. Hidden in the woods is a large, abandoned white mansion with a mysterious history. Some say it was home to cult activities, inbreeding, and torture.
Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride/ Facebook
Do you enjoy it when monsters jump out from behind furniture and scream in your face? While this is not an experience we often seek within the walls of our own homes, for some reason this time of year encourages us to fork over cash to have this experience in haunted houses. Bates Motel is one of the scariest, most heart-stopping haunted houses in the state. Check out a walk-through video of this terrifying attraction. Bates Motel was rated #1 best haunted house in America by Hauntworld Magazine!
Thomas/ Flickr
Many unfortunate people died at Pennhurst hospital after suffering greatly. A few months ago we wrote a post about Pennhurst, which was the subject of a documentary after it was shut down. Overcrowded conditions and atrocious mistreatment of patients by the hospital staff led to a long, drawn-out legal battle and tons of media coverage. This time of year, Pennhurst is turned into a haunted house. Visiting will give you a good scare and a good opportunity to get a peek at the interior of a historic building.
Wikimedia Commons
Gravity Hills are a strange, unexplained phenomena that manifest in various places throughout the world, and we’re lucky enough to have one of our own in Pennsylvania. Leave your car in neutral on this hill and it will begin to roll… uphill! How bizarre. Is it being pushed by ghosts? Probably.
Bube’s Brewery Restaurant Website
I know that this isn’t quite fitting with the rest of the haunted/abandoned/haunted house-esque entries on this list, but maybe you want a creepy Halloween location where you can sit down and enjoy dinner. Lucky for you, Bube’s Brewery in Lancaster has built a restaurant that is literally in catacombs! Enjoy your delicious meal underground and contemplate the possibility of never seeing sunlight again.
istolethetv/ Flickr
Haunted attractions are cool and everything, but sometimes you want to go see something incredibly terrifying that you can verify is actually… there. The Mütter Museum is perfect for fulfilling such desires! The museum is an extensive collection of medical artifacts that range from the intriguing (the tallest skeleton on exhibit in North America) to the downright disgusting (tumors preserved in jars.) Yum!
Field of Screams/ Facebook
Field of Screams is one of the top-rated haunted attractions in Pennsylvania. It’s home to a variety of attractions, including Frightmare Asylum, the Den of Darkness, and something called the… Nocturnal Wasteland. I might never sleep again, and that’s just from reading the description on their website.
Trundle Manor/ Facebook
See that? That is a taxidermy squirrel fish. They are a naturally occurring species in Trundle Manor, a house filled with oddities and artifacts that you wouldn’t imagine in even your weirdest dreams. Erring more on the side of creepy than downright SCREAM-worthy, Trundle Manor is the perfect place to ring in Halloween.
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