Hauntworld Top Thirteen Haunted Houses 2006
By Hauntworld Magazine Staff
Hauntworld.com the WORLDS #1 Haunted website and leading industry magazine is proud to announce our 13 best haunted houses and top 5 amusement park haunted events for the 2006 Halloween season. Our list of the best haunts in the United States represent a very wide variety of attractions from professional haunted houses, hayrides, home haunts to even haunts on steamboats.
So now prepare yourself for the most ghoulish attraction you can visit this October listing them off backwards from thirteen to number one. Coming in at #13 we have a split decision with two haunts tying for the most unique places to build a haunted house…first up we have USS Nightmare a haunted house built on a turn of the century steamboat. There are several haunts now built on boats from Nautical Nightmare to a haunted event build in the bowels of the famous Queen Mary. But USS Nightmare takes our prize tied with another unusual haunt built in the most unlikely of locations…inside semi track trailers. In Vegas locations are impossible to find so haunters reverted to taking old semi truck trailers and turning them into haunted houses. The best of the best is two owned and operated by Rich Strelak…haunts built in truck trailers and Steamboats. These are truly unique locations and they come into a tie at number 13.
At number 12 we have our first home haunted house…yes this haunted house is built inside and outside of their home in New Hampshire. This is by far the most elaborate home decoration anyone could conceive…this event has more care and attention to detail than 90% of professional haunted attractions and they hit our list at number 12.
Coming in at number 11 is a MASSIVE haunted event in Cleveland, Ohio called ‘Seven Floors of Hell’ due to the fact it features seven different haunted houses. Attention to detail, tons of animations, and creativity abound at 7 Floors of Hell. This might be the longest haunted house by linier walking feet in the United States. Coming in at number 10 is a haunt that claims it’s the longest indoor haunted house in the nation…Erebus haunted house is known as being one of the most unique attractions in the industry. Erebus is not like any other attraction as they touch the guests, monsters try to eat the customers and if you survive this attraction - it’s just barely! We’ve all heard the slogan ‘If you Survive’ and at Erebus they actually mean it.
Hitting our chart at #9 is another new entry: Dead Acres of Columbus, Ohio. Dead Acres has some of the most incredible attention to detail of any haunt in the nation. This attraction is both indoors and outdoors in the elements. Dead Acres is one of those haunts flying under the industry radar screens but not anymore. Ben Armstrong of Netherworld haunted house says this is one of the best he’s even seen.
Our next haunted house at #8 is another home haunt of sorts…Dr. Lady Horror Hotel in Chatfield, Ohio. This is truly a home haunted house because Laura and David Lady live inside the attraction year around, every day of the year with their cobwebs, monsters, and blood dripping from Bela Lugosi’s fangs. Horror Hotel is probably the most unique attraction in the industry, and owned and operated by a real life Adam’s Family. The attention to detail at Horror Hotel and the museum style sets are unlike any other attraction in our industry. Although their haunt is inside their haunt its still a professional attraction that charges guests for a tour.
Lucky number seven is Fright World of Buffalo, New York…Fright World features five different haunted houses all inside one massive 50,000 square foot building. All five attractions are original, clever and downright bone-chilling scary. Next on our list is Shocktoberfest in Reading, Pennsylvania, which features three haunted attractions including a 3D maze, a massive haunted prison and one of the best haunted hayrides in the industry. Shocktoberfest also produces other events on the property such as a major Christmas attraction. There is no question that Shocktoberfest is one of our industries best operated and most successful haunted houses.
Now we’re down to our top five haunted events…at #5 we feature Rocky Point Haunted House owned and operated by the legendary Cydney Neil. Rocky Point to some is known as the best haunted house in the nation. However, this will be Rocky Points last season. Rocky Point features over 50,000 square feet of realistic Hollywood based themes, sets and scenes featuring tons of real props from real movies. The best part of Rocky Point is the Hollywood make up artists they employ each October, who transform normal teenagers into realistic terrifying monsters.
Bates Motel hits our list at #4 because of their awesome hayride that features more pyrotechnics than a KISS concert. Bates Motel located just outside Philadelphia is more than just a haunted house it’s a massive haunted event with arguably the best haunted hayride in the industry. At #3 is The Darkness, which was ranked #3 by AOL.com last year as one of the “most scary” places in America. We posed the following question to the industry: Name your favorite haunted houses. The Darkness turns up on nearly everyone’s list thanks to its unmatched scenic design. Every single inch of The Darkness is themed, with 100+ animations, 50 live actors, and over 40 realistic Hollywood quality sets The Darkness hits our list at #3. The Darkness spends over $150,000.00 each year simply renovated the sets from the previous season. The Darkness has been featured on AOL, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and even NFL Network came to The Darkness to shoot footage. If you’re even in Saint Louis stop by and visit the all-new Darkness.
Now our top two attractions…at number 2 we have Netherworld of Atlanta, Georgia. We had an opportunity to visit Netherworld last November and what else can be said but AWESOME. They buy standard animations and props from the same vendors but they re-create them, re-invent them, and make anything inside unique, creative and horrific. Additionally they might have the best make up crew in the industry, creating monsters so life like even Rick Baker might not be able to tell the difference. When you add up all the parts of Netherworld you have one of our industries best haunts.
Drum roll please…the number one haunted attraction for the second voting year in a row is ‘Headless Horseman’ in Ulster, New York. Headless Horseman gives guests that authentic Halloween event feel, being outdoors, a galloping headless horseman prowling around, an incredible haunted hayride, massive corn maze, several haunted houses and more Halloween gift shops than anywhere else in the WORLD. Headless Horseman is just the total haunted package and they take our top prize again.
There are many other deserving haunted houses, hayrides, home haunts, and attractions out there and with future lists we just may feature them. Our goal was to find a diverse group of attractions from home haunts to the biggest of the big mega haunted events and roll them all into one list. We featured over nine new entries with this year’s list of best haunts and we hope you visit them this October and learn why they made Hauntworld.com top 13 haunted house list for 2006.
Top 13 List with Haunt Name, City, State and Website address.
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Haunted Overload, Exeter, New Hampshire www.hauntedoverload.com |
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Seven Floors of Hell, Cleveland, Ohio
www.7floorsofhell.com |
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Erebus Haunted House, Pontiac, Michigan www.hauntedpontiac.com |
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Dead Acres, Columbus, Ohio
www.deadacres.com |
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Horror Hotel, Chatfield, Ohio groups.msn.com/thelatedrladyshow |
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Fright World, Buffalo, New York
www.hauntedbuffalo.com |
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Shocktoberfest, Reading, Pennsylvania www.shocktoberfest.com |
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Rocky Point Haunted House, Salt Lake City, Utah www.rockypointhauntedhouse.com |
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Bates Motel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania www.thebatesmotel.com |
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The Darkness, Saint Louis, Missouri
www.scarefest.com |
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Netherworld. Atlanta, Georgia
www.fearworld.com |
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Headless Horseman, Ulster Park, New York www.headlesshorseman.com |
Hauntworld Top Five Amusement Park Haunted Events 2006
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Hauntworld Top Thirteen Haunted Houses 2004
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The Darkness, Missouri www.scarefest.com |
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Pirates of Emerson, California www.piratesofemerson.com |
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Ravens Grin Inn, Illinois www.hauntedravensgrin.com/ |
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Terror on the Fox, Wisconsin www.terroronthefox.com |
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Terror Behind The Walls, Pennsylvania www.terrorbehindthewalls.com |
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House of Shock, Louisiana www.houseofshock.com |
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Bates Motel, Pennsylvania www.thebatesmotel.com |
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Netherworld, Georgia www.fearworld.com |
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Edge of Hell, Missouri www.kcbeast.com |
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Thrillvania, Texas www.thrillvania.com |
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Rocky Point Haunted House, Utah www.rockypointhauntedhouse.com |
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The Beast, Missouri www.kcbeast.com |
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Headless Horseman, Ulster Park, New York www.headlesshorseman.com |
