So sit back, and get ready to be frightened!

1. Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride and Pennhurst Asylum Haunted Attraction

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride is located deep in a 200-year-old forest full of overgrown trees creating the ultimate dark trail. Guests will be on edge even before ever entering the first scene. Combined with a digital custom soundtrack, pyrotechnics and continuous scares throughout the ride, this hayride attraction is sure to create an ultimate haunt experience. Additionally, The Pennhurst Asylum is one of the scariest haunted attraction sites in the world, mostly due to its setting – located in a 100-year-old, abandoned mental institute. The building itself will instill real fear and true horror in even the bravest of souls. The Asylum has been investigated by professional ghost hunters and featured on Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters several times and found to be truly haunted.

2. The Darkness

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, The Darkness rests inside a 100-year-old, two story warehouse and includes three attractions in one location. Experience two floors of fright with high tech animations, special effects, amazing scenes, over 50 live actors and much more.  The Darkness also includes Terror Visions in 3D haunted house with crazed, insane clowns. Lastly exit through the all new Monster Museum with real like horror movie props from movie like Saw.

3. 13th Gate

Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 13th Gate features levels of detail, set designs, and effects combined with outstanding actors and incredible makeup effects that can only be compared to the likes of Hollywood. With over 13 different indoor and outdoor fright zones that includes haunted asylums, claustrophobic cellars, a real snake-infested Louisiana swamp and much, much more, 13th Gate make this huge scream factory a top haunt on anyone’s list. New for 2011 is Necropolis 13, a 40,000 square foot New Orleans style cemetery complete with over 400 zombie-infested crypts and mausoleums.

4. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses

Located in Ulster Park, New York, Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses is situated in the historic New York Haunted Hudson Valley and offers a second-to-none haunted scream park that features a massive corn maze, 6 haunted houses, a haunted hayride, side shows, 5 gift shops, 4 eateries, and even professional actors riding around as the Headless Horseman himself. The property incorporates over forty-five acres of naturally landscaping that includes foreboding woods, surreal ponds, and fruit orchards and in which night falls, provides the perfect setting for the ultimate haunting.

5. Netherworld Haunted House

Located in Atlanta, Georgia, Netherworld Haunted House has long been recognized for their originality of innovative scares and unique characters. Netherworld features an over-the-top production that many in the industry consider to be the top horror attraction in the country. Created by film and television professionals, Netherworld is also noted for its unique themes, stunts, costumes and sets and has been featured on everything from Travel Channel to The Today Show. It was even used as a filming location for the movie Zombieland.

6. Cutting Edge Haunted House

Located in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, Cutting Edge Haunted House is located in a 100-year-old abandoned meat packing plant in a section of Fort Worth historically dubbed as “Hell’s Half Acre.” The meat packing equipment is still in use, but now provides service for a two-story human processing area. Realistic looking human mannequins are hoisted up to the second level and brought through the entire meat packing process until the conveyor system brings the butchered corpses back to the first level. It takes visitors an average 55 minutes to explore Cutting Edge Haunted House who recently earned a Guinness World record as the “World’s Largest Walk Through Haunted House.”

7. 13th Floor Haunted House

Located in my very own city of Phoenix, Arizona, 13th Floor Haunted House is an intense, graphic, theatrical show that will take guests on a gut wrenching ride of visceral thrills and psychological horror. Featuring 60,000 square feet of shocking twists and horrifying turns, The 13th Floor  features over 100 performers, amazing costumes, and horrifying thematic experiences that rival television and film in the scope and scale of its production.

8. The House of Torment

Located in Austin, Texas, The House of Torment combines two haunted houses, The Reckoning and Cursed, into to one scary experience. The Reckoning is an apocalyptic saga that transports guests to a devastated city that has suffered through alien invasions, virulent out breaks and ample amounts of destruction. This house features massive movie quality sets, giant animatronic monsters, aerial stunts, thrilling special effects, and nonstop action. Cursed is an immersive experience taking guests on a journey through a haunted island where blood thirst savages attack and zombie pirates stalk the living.

9. Erebus 4 Story Haunted Attraction

Located in Pontiac, Michigan, Erebus 4 Story Haunted Attraction features unique scares that you can’t see anywhere else.  With over 30 years in the haunted house business, they are masters at creating elements that will grab you, bite you, and even land on top of you.  New for the 2011 season, is the War of the Worlds section where a war between humans and aliens is raging.

10. Asylum Haunted House / 13th Floor

Located in Denver, Colorado, Asylum Haunted House / 13th Floor is actually a combination of four haunted houses – Asylum, 13th Floor, Bloodshed and Zombieland, each with its own story line and scare factors. The frights begin in Gordon Cottingham’s Hospital for the Mentally Insane, The Asylum. Much deeper and darker than the previous levels, the Asylum is a damp and musty place infested with spiders, rats, snakes, and the endless screams of the tortured souls. And if that is not enough scare for you already, hold on to your hats as there re three additional haunted houses to follow.

11. The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse is one of the most detailed haunted houses you will find in the nation, featuring Hollywood style animatronics, sets, actors and make-up.  Classified as haunted, The Dent Schoolhouse was an actual school although with a grizzly past. Originally opening in 1894, guests will learn of the true story of its murderous janitor, Charlie, and why locals have often referred to the school’s basement as “hell’s basement.”

12. 13th Floor Haunted House

13th Floor, San Antonio Haunted House from Vishwanand Shetti on Vimeo.

Located in San Antonio, Texas, 13th Floor Haunted House is housed in a 105 year old historic building and spans 40,000 square feet across 3 stories. Guests are take through several levels of horror starting from the depths of its decrepit, underground basement.  Through the wickedness of its massive gothic cemetery and into its horrifically haunted hotel, 13th Floor patrons will experience a barrage of special effects, animatronic monsters and impeccably detailed sets.

13. Nightmare on the Bayou

Located in Houston, Texas, Nightmare on the Bayou is located directly next to Houston’s oldest graveyard and features 15,000 sq. feet of hauntedness. Nightmare on the Bayou is entering its 12th year in operation and has grown bigger and better every year. 2011 features newly designed scenes, Hollywood quality props, professional animatronics and dozens of crazed actors whose sole purpose is to scare you to death.

Based on either your own experience or from the videos above, which haunted house do you feel is the scariest of them all? Let us know in the Comments section of this post.

Credit to Hauntworld.com for original list and descriptions.

So, if you like me are a fan of haunted houses, here are thirteen you will not want to miss.

1. The Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Bates Hotel and Haunted Hayride starts off with a 20 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 50 actors that creep out or fly over to spook even the bravest of souls.

After the hay ride, you’ll want to check in at The Bates Hotel. Filled with high-tech special effects, digital sound track, and computerized lighting, The Bates Motel takes Halloween to the next level of horror… up close and personal! The Bates Motel is a no holds barred, high action, haunted house not intended for children under 8 or people with heart conditions. With incredible detail, and stellar acting, the Bates Motel is one of the best haunted houses in America.

2. The Darkness

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, The Darkness was voted as one of the scariest haunted houses in America by USA Today, Hauntworld.com, AOL.com, Yahoo.com, Ask.com, and Fangoria Magazine, and has been featured on Modern Marvels, National Geographic Channel, Travel Channel, Today Show, Fox News, and many, many more.

The Darkness is totally renovated each year and pushes the limits of reality. It is beyond a haunted house as it creates the experience of placing yourself in the middle of a big budget horror movie where you are the star of the movie.

3. Headless Horseman

Located in Poughkeepsie, New York, The Headless Horseman incorporates over forty-five acres of naturally landscaped property that includes foreboding woods, surreal ponds, fruit orchards and more. It has been named number 1 Hayride in America by American Airlines Magazine, as well as number 1 Haunted Attraction in the country by Haunt World Magazine, also receiving top ten national rankings from CNBC, AOL, USA Today, Fangoria Magazine and “named #1 on the Planet by The New York Daily News”.

Headless Horseman is a theatrical experience like no other!  The attraction includes a one mile hayride, a labyrinth style corn maze, five professionally created haunted houses, four food concessions, as well as Ghoulish Gifts, Magic Moon Gifts, Scarewear and Witchy Woman gift shops.

4. Netherworld Haunted House

Located in Atlanta, Georgia, Netherworld Haunted House is not only one of the scariest haunted houses in Georgia and the Southeast, but one of the top haunted houses in the Nation. For 14 years this intense, cutting edge, multi story, multi attraction haunted event has thrilled and terrified visitors…regularly garnering national attention from the likes of CNN, AOL, the Wall Street Journal, and Hauntworld Magazine. Created by film and television professionals, Netherworld is also notable for its custom movie quality special effects, amazing actors, unique themes, and extremely detailed sets.

5. The Cutting Edge

Located in Forth Worth, Texas, Cutting Edge is filled with terrifying live actors, amazing special effects and incredible monsters. Celebrating its new Guinness World Record, this intense, multi-story, multi-themed haunted attraction is widely considered to be one of the best haunted houses in the nation, full of chilling detail and unbelievable scares.

Located in a 100-year-old abandoned meat packing plant in a section of Fort Worth historically dubbed as “Hell’s Half Acre,” the Cutting Edge is built upon a foundation of fear. Meat packing equipment from the Old West is still in use, but now it is a two-story human processing area. Realistic looking human mannequins are hoisted up to the second level and brought through the entire meat packing process until the conveyor system brings the butchered corpses back to the first level. It takes visitors an average 55 minutes to explore Cutting Edge.

6. House of Torment

Located in Austin, Texas, House of Torment is one of the most cutting edge haunted houses in America offering a horrific experience like no other and featuring three unique attractions offering patrons a variety of dynamic experiences.

The first attraction guests must brave is Nightmare Mansion, a theatrically driven horror escapade that takes customers through the macabre and demented experiments of an early 20th century physician, Dr. Incubus.  Second is House of Torment’s main event, Revenge of the Immortals.  This nightmare takes customers deeper into the post apocalyptic wreckage of a war torn city where infected mutants, an abomination army, and predatory immortals prey on the living.  The 3rd and final attraction is a festival filled with entertaining atmosphere, large animations, and highly detailed monsters rounding out the average nightly staff at just under 100 people.

7. Kersey Valley Spookywoods

Located in Greensboro, North Carolina, Kersey Valley Spookywoods is a Halloween attraction park by night and offers hours of family bonding during the day at the Maize Adventure and Kersey Valley Zipline.  Spookywoods features over 130 live monsters, ghouls, goblins, zombies, sophisticated animations, high tech special effects, and much more.

8. The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Dent Schoolhouse  offers movie quality sets, intense detailing, and first-rate animatronics all inside an actual haunted schoolhouse from 1894.  You’ll experience the story of the murderous janitor and how the school came to its grizzly demise.  The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse will shatter your fond memories of school and replace them with horrific, haunted nightmares of school-age days. With a cast of 50 plus monsters and award winning make-up artists, the crew of Dent will be happy to “school you” in fear!

9. 13th Gate Haunted House

Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 13th Gate Haunted House offers 40,000 sq. ft.  of indoor and outdoor chills and thrills that will take you on a journey through 13 frightening themed indoor/outdoor sets where your worst nightmares come true.  Award-winning scenic artists, set carpenters, lighting and sound technicians, and special effects artists are just a few of the many crew members that make The 13th Gate the ultimate haunted experience.

10. The Asylum

Located in Denver, Colorado, The Asylum is brought to you by the same creators of the 13th Floor Haunted House and Nightmare Factory. As the storyline goes, within the walls of the legendary Nightmare Factory a hidden passage was unearthed. This passage descended two levels into Gordon Cottingham’s Hospital for the mentally insane – The Asylum. Much deeper and darker than the previous levels, the Asylum is a damp and musty place infested with spiders, rats, snakes, and the endless screams of the tortured souls.

11. Erebus Haunted House

Located in Pontiac, Michigan, the haunt capital of the world, Erebus opened its doors in 2000 and has consistently gained recognition as one of America’s top haunts.  Erebus is known for the way it engages its victims in an all out scare assault.  Because they personally manufacture nearly all of their major effects, guests are guaranteed a unique experience as they advance through the terrifying, four story labyrinth of dark, dank, dingy passages where your fate is unknown.

12. Nightmare on the Bayou

Located in Houston, Texas, Nightmare on the Bayou features several animations, sets, special effects, and acclaim actual ghost haunting.  It’s built right next to one of Houston’s biggest and oldest haunted graveyards, so to have supernatural visitors drop by from time isn’t unusual.  Nightmare on the Bayou features one of America’s largest Halloween costume shops, Party Boy, located directly next door.

Bonus: 13. Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween Haunt

Located in Beuna Park California, each year around Halloween time, the famous Knott’s Berry Farm transforms itself into “Knott’s Scary Farm.” While not your typical stand-alone “haunted house,” Knott’s annual Halloween Haunt does continue to be the leader in theme park Halloween events offering a whopping 13 haunted mazes, seven hair-raising shows, three horrific scare zones and 1,000 roaming monsters roaming throughout the entire park.

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There you have it! Did I miss any of “the best of the best?” If so, please do share with us additional top notch haunted house attractions around the country in the Comments section of this post.

The goulish festivities will take place on Wednesday through Sunday nights from Sept. 24 through Oct. 31 (except for Sept. 29).

The king of Halloween events will feature 13 mazes scattered throughout the park, with construction currently underway in backstage areas. New for 2010 is as follows:

• Sleepy Hollow Mountain – featuring the headless horseman legend with ghosts, ghouls, witches and goblins (replaces the Pyromaniax theme on the Timber Mountain log ride)

• Virus Z – replicates a small town overrun by infected cannibals, zombies and blood-thirsty corpses (replacing the Quarantine maze in Fiesta Plaza)

• Fallout Shelter - the insane residents haven’t seen the sun since the Atomic Age (replaces the Alien Annihilation 3-D laser-tag maze near Reflection Lake)

Returning from last year are the following mazes:

• Black Widow’s Cavern
• Club Blood
• Cornstalkers
• Dia de los Muertos (in 3-D)
• Lockdown: The Asylum
• Slaughterhouse
• Terror of London
• The Doll Factory
• The Labyrinth
• Uncle Bobo’s Big Top of the Bizarre (in 3-D)

One of the best things about the Haunt is the haunted areas of the park where you never know what is going to pop out at you. Referred to as “scare zones, the haunted areas include The Necropolis, with Victorian Steampunk vampires haunting a city of the dead (replaces The Gauntlet scare zone in Camp Snoopy), Carnevil (in the Boardwalk area), and Ghost Town (in the Wild West area).

Also returning for 2010 is the ever popular “The Hanging” pop-culture comedy revue plus several other eerie and entertaining shows.

Seeing that I haven’t been to a “Haunt” for a few years and also the fact that there are two new coasters at Knotts I have yet to ride, I may very well make plans to attend this year. If you want to go to the best of the best in Halloween attractions, then make plans to attend the 38th Annual Halloween Haunt at Knotts Berry Farm.

Disney has even put together a commercial done in classic animation inviting guest to visit the parks during the Halloween season.

Here is the commercial via YouTube.

And a list of additions, events and activities.

Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy

Space Mountain joins the lineup of holiday ride overlays along with the Haunted Mansion Holiday that has ran for several years now. A new soundtrack and visual effects will be added to provide a creepy ride through outer space.

Halloween Screams Fireworks

Disneyland’s new pyrotechnic show will perform nightly throughout HalloweenTime.

Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party

This after-hours costume party at Disney’s California Adventure is popular with kids of all ages. The younger set will enjoy meet-and-greet opportunities with the Disney characters, craft and activity stations, live entertainment and dancing, and of course a park full of trick or treat stations. Older visitors will appreciate short lines for most of the major attractions.

Tickets are $32 to $42 per person, depending on which night you attend and when you purchase your tickets. The 2009 event dates are October 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 & 31.

Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders can purchased tickets now through the Passholder Web site. All other visitors can purchase tickets through the event Web site. Parking for one standard vehicle is included in the ticket price.

Disney’s Happiest Haunts Tour

The Halloween-themed tour is offered at the Disneyland Resort during the HalloweenTime promotion, with tour starting daily at 4:30 and 4:45. The tour includes stops at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Haunted Mansion Holiday. The tour concludes with reserved viewing area for the new Halloween Screams fireworks show, and includes a souvenir and a Halloween-theme treat.

Tickets are $64 per person ages 3 and older, and a 20% discount is offered to Deluxe and Premium Annual Passholders, AAA members and Disney Visa cardholders. Call 714-781-4400, or purchase tickets in person at City Hall or the Tour Gardens inside Disneyland, or at the Guest Relations Lobby in DCA.

Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup

Woody and Jessie will return to the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup, where you can participate in crafts projects and watch live pumpkin carving demonstrations.

HalloweenTime at the Disneyland Resort runs September 25 to November 1, 2009.

“The (Alien Intelligence) Agency reported that a gigantic spaceship has landed inside Hong Kong Disneyland with signs of alien life detected onboard,” the park said in a press release announcing the added attraction for the upcoming Halloween.

Some other attractions, such as the Main Street Haunted Hotel and the Demon Jungle, will also return to the theme park to be part of the Halloween events. Together with the Glow in the Park Halloween Parade and the Space Mountain — Ghost Galaxy, they are expected to bring scary and spooky sensation back to the park around Halloween.

Disney villains including pumpkin men, gatekeepers and pirates will also appear at the Scary Photo Fun locations and Mickey will also put on spooky Halloween costumes.

The Haunted Halloween offers will be starting one week earlier this year, with special evening tickets available at 228 HK dollars (29 U.S. dollars), said Frederick Chan, director of marketing for the park’s Hong Kong business.

The “Ghost Galaxy” Space Mountain overlay, which originally premiered at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007, features a new soundtrack and ghostly and ghoulish projections inside the darkened roller coaster building.

The Halloween-themed fireworks show, hosted by “Master of Scaremonies” Jack Skellington of “Nightmare Before Christmas” fame, will include nods to Disney villains.  Many of those villains including Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians), Captain Hook (Peter Pan) and Queen of Hearts (Alice in Wonderland) will also be wandering the theme park, signing autographs and passing out treats.

Across the way at Disney’s California Adventure, “Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party” will run on Oct. 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 and 28-31. The separate-admission event — which includes games, music and a Disney character parade — lets costumed children trick-or-treat throughout the park.

New for 2009:

• Uncle Bobo’s Big Top of the Bizarre in 3-D replaces Killer Clown Kollege (under Xcelerator)

• Terror of London featuring Jack the Ripper and Dr. Jekyll replaces 13 Axe Murder Manor (in Mystery Lodge)

• Dia de los Muertos in 3-D featuring a Day of the Dead theme replaces Lost Vegas (at the bumper cars)

• The Asylum updates the existing maze as a high-security penitentiary for the insane (backstage near Ghostrider)

Returning mazes from 2008:

• Alien Annihilation 3-D laser tag
• The Labyrinth
• Slaughterhouse
• Club Blood
• Cornstalkers
• The Doll Factory
• Pyromaniax
• Black Widow’s Cavern
• Quarantine

If you are like me and love haunted houses, Knott’s “Scary” Farm’s Haunt is a must do. It is in fact one of the best “haunted” attraction on the planet. UltimateHaunt.com, a tribute site to the event describes it as such.

Not for the weak at heart, Knott’s Scary Farm is an extreme take on all of the senses. The lighting, fog and music throughout the entire park make it incredibly hard to focus on what lurks in the shadows. To find out what is lurking in the shadows is for only the brave at heart.

The mazes and attractions leave no room to run. You are set bait, put right into the action. Visiting the Haunt is like participating in a first-rate horror film, except you are not quite convinced that it is only a movie – that somehow the actors are the characters and that you are caught right in the middle of it. Knott’s Scary Farm is the most fun you will have being scared.

Although I could not find any information yet, keep a watch on the official Knott’s Berry Farm site for more information.

It is no different this year and Lorren Au, a staff photographer at the Orange County (CA) Register recently captured some of this Disney Halloween magic on film. I have inserted a few select photos below for your enjoyment.

Ghastly-green pumpkins located outside the Haunted Mansion.

Crews work around a giant Mickey pumpkin located on Main Street.

Haunted Mansion Holiday is inspired by "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Skeletons celebrate "Dia de los Muertos" (Spanish for Day of the Dead) at Disneyland.

60 unique Jack'o'lanterns were to be added to "The Halloween Tree" in Frontierland.

A display at Woody's Halloween Roundup at Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch.

If you enjoyed these then you’ll enjoy plenty more photos as well as an article to coincide with them at Orange County (CA) Register. The best thing to do however is to visit the park during this time of the year. Halloween and Christmas are wonderful times to see the parks transformed into holiday splendor.

Related: Book your dream Disney vacation at Expedia.com!