America's Scariest Halloween Attractions

Every autumn a frightening fever sweeps the nation from, its biggest cities to its smallest towns. It's the annual opening of eerie exhibitions: Haunted houses, creepy mazes and frightening fairs. Abandoned prisons and decrepit cruise ships recreate scary scenes and tales of terror for chill seekers young and old to enjoy.

Each year there are new trends in the business of fear, including live performances by actors trained to terrify even the toughest customers. These attractions have morphed beyond the neighborhood haunted house and have become popular tourist destinations across the country.

Now, Travel Channel has picked America's most frightening haunts as portrayed in America's Scariest Halloween Attractions - get ready for an edge-of-your-seat spooky ride!

8.Queen Mary Long Beach, California

Ghosts have been reported on board only after she reached California. Many areas are rumored to be haunted. Reports of hearing little children crying in the nursery room, actually used as the third-class playroom, and a mysterious splash noise in the drained first-class swimming pool are cited. In 1966, 18-year-old fireman John Pedder was crushed by a watertight door in the engine room during a drill, and his ghost is said to haunt the ship.

The Queen Mary operates daily paranormal themed tours, some of which have theatrics applied for dramatic effect. Guests may also pay for private paranormal investigations, and are encouraged to document their paranormal experiences, if any. The ship also maintains a haunted maze and expands to multiple mazes during Halloween.

7.Pirates of Emerson Fremont, California

Pirates of Emerson has expanded into two locations - Fremont and Santa Cruz at the Boardwalk. Pirates of Emerson Invade the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk includes the Scaribbean Cove haunted attraction, Beneath the Boardwalk haunted attraction, Sand Trap Maze, 20 foot Spinning Tunnel, Fright Walk, and a Boardwalk ride wristband good for the five Boardwalk rides that are operating after 7 pm.

With the Boardwalk's pirate theme, Pirates of Emerson seems like the perfect October addition to the Boardwalk. Pirates of Emerson allows you to take a trip back in time to the 15th Century when pirates ruled the seas. The reincarnated pirates aim to terrorize you at every opportunity. There were a lot of people having fun on our visit and we made our way through them to get to the action and our first haunt.

6.Hangman's House of Horrors Fort Worth, Texas

This spooky house is located in Fort Worth, Texas, on I-30 Forest Park Blvd. The haunted house of Fort Worth will welcome its first victims on Friday, September 26th, and will be open on select evenings through Saturday, November 1st.

The Hangman’s House of Horrors in Fort Worth is the number one charity-benefiting haunted house in America. This house of horrors has recently been featured on the T.V. show “America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions,” on the Travel Channel. The show is a television special that showcases the nation’s top haunted houses. The Fort Worth Hangman’s House of Horrors has also been named by Family Circle magazine as one of the Nation’s “Halloween Hot Spots!” and it was voted “Best of Fort Worth” by Fort Worth Magazine readers.

This year the house of horrors is celebrating 20 years of fear and generous donations in the Fort Worth community. Their 2008 charities of choice are: the American Cancer Society, a Wish with Wings, Cenikor Foundation, Rocky Top Therapy Center and Safe Haven of Tarrant County. All the money that is raised will go to the local programs and services of Tarrant County.

5.Thrillvania Terrell, Texas

This Halloween attraction in Terrell, Texas has gained the recognition of being one of the premier Halloween haunted attractions in the United States. Thrillvania has been haunting Texas for almost 20 years and is set-up on over 50 acres of property east of Dallas. It features six different attractions, midway games, refreshments, and even a store. It is estimated that over 25,000 people visit this haunt every Halloween season.

Haunted Verdun Manor - Considered the main attraction of Thrillvania, Haunted Verdun Manor is modeled after the story of The Island of Dr. Moreau. The story goes that Baron Michael Verdun built this spooky mansion in 1901 on VooDoo Bayou to conduct an array of experiments on unaware travelers - turning them into human/animal hybrids. To make matters more interesting, Verdun happened to be a werewolf and his wife Lady Cassandra was a vampire. When word got out about the happenings inside the manor, an angry mob was assembled that murdered the couple and set the manor afire. Before his death, Verdun swore vengeance to anyone that ventured on the property.

4.Bates Motel Near Philadelphia

This years haunted hayride is bigger and better than ever, packed with more monsters, special effects and spine-tingling stunts to scare the living daylights out of you! The hayride is a 25 minute, heart pounding wagon ride through the deep, dark, haunted forest at Arasapha Farms, which is filled with ALL NEW incredible sets, computer controlled animations, and over 45 actors that creep out or fly over to spook even the bravest of souls. The Scaremasters at Bates Motel have been working all year to produce the best Haunted Hayride in the country. We’ve added a whole new trail, and more sets and explosions than ever before. See you're favorite ghouls and Zombies come to life as you travel through the haunted forest on one of our ten, digitally equipped hay wagons. Do snakes and chain saws scare you? Come find out at Arasapha Farm, The most frightening of the areas dark attractions. This ride is perfect for children and adults of all ages.

This is the scariest hayride on the east coast. In fact it was rated one of the top 13 haunted attractions in The United States by Rou Morgue Magazine, in 2005. Ranked in the top 5 haunted attractions in America by Hauntworld Magazine and USA Today.

3.Fright Factory Philadelphia

Fright Factory is entering its 8th season and it's scarier than ever! Fright Factory features three terrifying haunted attractions - Horror High, The Asylum, and NEW FOR THE 2008 SEASON - Village Of The Damned : Shipwrecked Souls.

Fox 29 Philadelphia selected Fright Factory as the scariest haunted attraction in the Philadelphia area. The Travel Channel featured Fright Factory as one of the eight scary haunts in the country in their special "America's Scariest Haunted Attractions

2.Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia

The Eastern State Penitentiary operates as a museum and historic site, open year round. Guided tours are offered during the winter, and during the warmer months, self-guided tours are also available. In addition, it holds many special events throughout the year. Each July, Eastern State offers a Bastille Day celebration, complete with a comedic reinterpretation of the storming of the Bastille and the tossing of thousands of Tastykakes from the towers (accompanied by a cry of "let them eat Tastykake!" from an actress portraying Marie Antoinette). In October, it offers a popular Terror Behind the Walls haunted house.

The facility has been kept in "preserved ruin," meaning that no significant attempts have been made for renovations or upkeep.

1.Chamber of Chills Bakersfield, California

This haunted attraction started as The Chamber of Chills in 2003 and has now grown to be one of the more critically acclaimed Halloween haunts in the United States. Now under the shortened name of The Chamber, this haunt was the creation of electrician, David Enloe, to follow his passion of scaring the crap out of people. Despite his trade, the haunt is purely actor driven and does not feature any mechanical props. Over 40 actors (including Enloe himself) get into "character" and dip into the shadows to wait for their "guests" who wander the 900-foot long, 15-minute haunt. In 2006, around 16,000 people toured the dark recesses of the attraction and more arrive each year. The Chamber morphed into an outdoor haunt at the parking lot of the Sam Lynn Ballpark in 2007.

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