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| Photo: Steve Truesdell |
It's the beginning of October, and that means it's the season to stand in line outside a building blasting pulsating, industrial music and then paying to have for some creep come up behind you and scream bloody murder. But enough about downtown St. Louis! It's haunted house season, and a local haunted house has again made the top five this year, according to a group that ranks such emporiums of fake blood and dead babies.
From
Hauntworld.com ("The Internet's #1 Haunted House Website") comes this year's rankings, and "The Darkness" in Soulard comes in at No. 4 on the list ("The Beast" in Kansas City comes in at No. 3.)
Haunted houses are big bloody tributes to kitsch horror movies, magnets for fans of Rob Zombie films and those who can rank the sequels in the
Saw franchise by the torture scenes. And while the black-lights, foam skeletons and swinging pig carcasses slightly shock the senses, it's usually the dark-robed employee who jumps out from a corner that really wets your pants. That's why, despite all the
didn't these people ever grow up!? inner-monologues one has while passing by a haunted house, they still seem to rake in the cash each October.
Here's a rundown of the 13 best, or worst, as it were, haunted houses in the country:
13. Graystone Manor - Killen, AlabamaWhen visiting this southern haunted house, be sure to stop by
Dead Debbie's, which apparently is one of the few haunted houses with a dedicated eatery. If you don't die of fright, the chili cheese fries, deep-fried candy bars and mozzarella sticks will be sure to kill you in a few decades. And yes,
Killen, Alabama is a real place.
12. Headless Horseman - Ulster Park, New YorkThis
haunted attraction is about 100 miles north of New York City and has fully embraced social media -- check out the
dead bird Twitter logo -- as well as traditional methods of reaching customers, like chasing them during haunted hayrides.
11. Dead Acres - Columbus, Ohio The best haunted house websites show pictures of real people actually shrieking in horror at the plastic monsters.
Dead Acres boasts this on its website, which should tell you all you need to know about the confidence these Buckeyes have in their ability to scare you: "What makes dead acres so bad ass?
We set out to stand out. Dead Acres is a full sensory assault."
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| Newspaper article from House of Shock website. |
10. House of Shock - New Orleans, Louisiana The guys who run House of Shock -- already located in one of the spookiest cities in America -- have been featured on the Travel Channel and Fuse TV for their haunted house. It thankfully includes some bizarre
satanic altars in addition the same-ol'-same-ol' grouping of slaughtered innocents and brain-hungry zombies. There's also an impressive multi-media stage show: "Performed 2-3 times nightly, this ornately choreographed performance is highlighted with live actors, stunts, music, video, state of the art lighting, pneumatic effects and more pyrotechnics than a full on rock concert!"
9. Bayville Screampark - Long Island, New YorkWe can't confirm reports that
Dee Synder is behind that pig mask, but this
New York haunted theme park has a "several-hundred-thousand-dollar" facade, and that's just the outside. It's operated by the same company that owns the
Jekyll and Hyde Pub in New York City, and while the latter is a bit of a tourist trap, the theme park comes in at a strong No. 9. And
they're hiring.
8. Haunted Schoolhouse - Akron, OhioEven the Haunted Schoolhouse's website will make you jump -- it still uses that
technology trick of yesteryear. This Ohio theme park has been around for 36 years and is likely the only thing scarier than a layoff in this former industrial hub.
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