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I am a huge fan of Halloween. Haunted houses, dressing up, and all of that is as much fun for me as an adult as it was when I was a child. America Haunts, the association of premier haunted attractions, has once again announced its picks for the best haunted attractions this year. It’s interesting to see so many changes from 2024 and it’s not too early to get your scare on.
Thrillvania Haunted House Park (Dallas Area, TX)
Thrillvania spans 50 acres of haunted woods and Gothic mansions, home to eerie icons like Baron Verdun and Lady Cassandra. In 2025, new horrors await in Sam Hain’s Hollow and The Marionette Room. Its free-roaming design makes the park feel like a living horror film and it’s too vast to explore in one visit.
Niles Scream Park (Niles, MI)
For 52 years, Niles Scream Park has kept scares fresh by rebuilding most attractions each fall. Spanning 44 acres with seven major haunts, 2025 adds The Lodge, Dust to Dust, and themed areas like a Krampus village and the Stranger Things house. Extreme experiences like Hooded and Black Out EXTREME push thrill-seekers to their limits, which makes Niles a bucket-list haunt that’s never the same twice.
Talon Falls Scream Park (Melber, KY)
Talon Falls Scream Park in rural Kentucky blends classic haunted hayrides with modern scream park thrills. For 26 years, it’s evolved to keep fans guessing. The 2025 hayride features a sawmill, meat factory, and mutant-filled cavern, while Flashlight Fright Nights plunge guests into darkness with only a beam of light. With three immersive attractions, Talon Falls offers a full night of fall fear and tradition.
Factory of Terror (Canton, OH)
Housed in a historic 160,000-square-foot foundry, Factory of Terror turns industrial grit into nightmare fuel. A three-time Guinness World Record holder, it features four haunted houses, five themed bars, and immersive sets built around real factory machinery. This year’s revamped Massacre on Mahoning brings new scares, blending horror and nightlife for a full evening experience.
The Dead End Hayride (Minneapolis Area, MN)
Dead End Hayride offers a hayride as the name implies, but it also has multiple micro haunted houses throughout the property and a Haunted Cornfield. Set in the creepy Minnesota backwoods, this attraction takes visitors on a terrifying journey through dark forests and desolate cornfields before plunging them into a labyrinth of fear. Attendance is around 90,000 each season.
Anthony’s Take: Only one of this year’s haunts also made the list last year. This year’s picks all look like they’re creepy and I wish I could fit visits into my crazy schedule. We were at Bran Castle two years ago for Halloween and found some old world scares in Transylvania. We’ll see what Halloween 2025 brings.
(Image Credits: Geerati via iStock, Thrillvania, Niiles Scream Park, Factory of Terror, and Dead End Hayride.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
