Haunt Your Halloween at These Spooky Attractions in the South

With two haunted attractions, four mini escape rooms, food trucks, midway carnival games, fire and sideshow performers, and more, owner Sarah Linginfelter says they want first-time guests to feel overwhelmed from the moment they pull up in the parking lot at Dead Man's Farm Haunted Attraction in Philadelphia, Tennessee.

Fire Ball Express Fire Performance and Side Show at Deadman's Farm; photo courtesy of Deadman's Farm

"We want them to feel the excitement when they see all the colorful lights coming from the midway, flames shooting 20 feet in the air from the fire breathers and music from our DJ booth that keeps people moving.

Then, they will hear the screams coming from the attraction and watch the fog from our fog machines roll across the entrance and the grounds. And they'll experience these things before they walk through our main gates."

Born out of an idea in 2008 as Linginfelter and her husband, Jeff, had big dreams of bringing a haunted house to East Tennessee ("haunted houses were a fun rite of passage growing up in the fall, but we realized those had mostly fallen by the wayside"), came to fruition in 2009 in Lenior City and was so popular that a larger area was needed. And so, in the summer of 2019, they settled on a farm in Philadelphia and named it 'Nightfall Acres' to honor their root in nighttime entertainment and celebrate the sunset views from the new farm.

Monster lurking on Deadman's Farm; photo courtesy of Deadman's Farm

As for those who are easily scared, Linginfelter hopes they will open themselves up to experiencing something that could get their blood pumping while still knowing they are perfectly safe.

"There's no greater laughter among friends than when one or more of them have a great fright, and then they come down from the scare and relax together."

October 3-4, 9-12, 16-19, 23-26, and October 30 - November 1; special event days, October 11, 19, 26 and 31; times and prices vary.

Read on, if you dare, to discover more spooktacular haunted attractions around the region.

Touted as "America's Biggest and Longest Haunted Screampark," Creepyworld in Fenton, Missouri, boasts 13 different indoor and outdoor haunted attractions in one location. Yes, that's lucky number 13. Enjoy living out nightmares through the newly updated Haunted Hayride and the new Monster Mansion.

Crave more? Check out the combo ticket to both Creepyworld and The Darkness (20 minutes away), or the Ultimate Scarefest Scream Pass with Secret Bar Experience, which includes a combo ticket as well as access to the Darkness Secret Horror Bar Experience and a ticket to Creepyworld Hayride.

October 3 -5, 10-12, 16-19, 23 -31, and November 1-2; times and prices vary.

Discover what terrifying madness or spine-chilling being, or maybe both, lurks in the dark shadows of Cave Springs, Arkansas' Asylum Haunted House's corridors. Oh, and for that loud pounding you hear in your ears? That's your heart anticipating the next terror you'll come across.

Oct. 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, and Oct. 30-Nov. 1; ticket window opens at 7 p.m., prices vary.

It's common knowledge that whenever clowns are involved, it's a combination of evil and frightening. It is precisely that at Scream Hollow Wicked Halloween Park's "Sinister Circus" in Smithville, Texas. That is just one of the five thrilling, terrifying haunted attractions that await you at Scream Hollow Wicked Halloween Park.

October 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, and October 30 - November 2; times and prices vary.

If you fear the dark, you can face that fear head-on at The Lost Hollows in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Beginning with a hayride, you are deposited onto the Deadly Pines trail that winds through the woods; however, as you make your way through, be on guard because you never know what or who you might come across.

October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, and October 31 -November 1; 6 p.m. (lines open) - 11 p.m. (last shuttle); $30 per person; Fast Pass (go to the front of the shuttle and trail lines) $50.

Terror on the Coast in Gulfport, Mississippi, brings a unique type of haunt to the South. Situated in an old warehouse, the largest haunted house in Mississippi boasts 43 rooms featuring props from shows and films made in the region.

October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 23-25 and October 30 - November 1; Winter of Terror, Dec. 5-6, 12 -13, 19-20; doors open at 6 p.m., followed by the attraction at 7 p.m.; $25 per person, $35 for Fast Pass.

Have you ever had that nightmare where you are in a never-ending hallway? You can experience something similar firsthand at Atrox Factory Haunted Attraction, which claims to be the largest indoor haunted attraction in the Southeast, in Leeds, Alabama. Meander through 1/4 mile of twisted hallways with chilling surprises.

October 3-4, 9-12, 22-26, 29-31, and November 1-2; Atroxmas, December 12-14; times and prices vary.

Zombie Farms in Winterville, Georgia, invites you to learn about the history of "Camp Smiley" and a camper named Simon, both guaranteed to have you thinking differently about camps and dark woods. The 3/4-mile is complete with all sorts of frightening and creepy things that'll keep you up for the next few nights after visiting.

October 4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 31, and November 1, 7-8; 7:30 -10 p.m., prices vary.

The self-described mini-horror theme park, Sir Henry's Haunted Trail in Plant City, Florida, boasts not one, not two, but three haunted trails and a haunted hayride. Oh, there are also two escape rooms and more, including a common area where ghastly creatures of the night wander around, so be careful who or what you may bump into.

October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24-25 and October 30 - November 1; times and prices vary.

According to Booger Jim's Hollow in Blacksburg, South Carolina, the haunted attraction is based on the legend of Booger Jim. There are three main attractions: a Clown House, a Doll House (both sound equally creepy), and a haunted trail. Be warned; the attraction also states upfront that this is an intense experience (however, 'no-touch' medallions are available for purchase.)

October 3-4, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, and October 31 -November 1; times and prices vary.

Six attractions, each with distinctive macabre themes, such as "Killers in the Corn" and "Carny Crypt," and numerous creepy monsters comprise the Haunted Forest at Panic Point in Youngsville, North Carolina. Choose your level of scare and see if you can make it out or through without screaming (too much.)

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through October 26, Thursday - Saturday, October 30 - November 1; times and prices vary.

You know you're at a good haunted attraction when there's a rescue phrase you can yell out if you feel as if it's more than you bargained for. Red Vein in Ashland, Virginia, offers four hair-raising haunts to explore.

October 3-4, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, and October 31 -November 1; times and prices vary.

For 25 years, Skeleton's Lair in Scottsville, Kentucky, has brought the haunts to the greater Bowling Green area. The attractions include a haunted hayride and a spine-tingling "Doomsday Doll Factory." Be sure to check out their special event weeks: October 10 -11 and 17-18.

October 3-4, 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, and October 30 - November 1; times and prices vary.

Immerse yourself in the many thrills and chills at Miller's Nightmare Haunted Farm in Lewisburg, West Virginia. It all begins at the Dark Midway as you wait your turn to scream your heart out at the "Hag's Hut," "Miller Manor and Blood Shed" or the "Infected Crop and Demented Forest," or all three.

October 3-4, 10-11, 17-18, 24- 25, 31, and November 1; gates open at 6:30 p.m.; prices vary.