By Ted Thornhill
Copyright independent
A wickedly good time is guaranteed at these attractions.
That’s because, in time for Halloween, they have been named as America’s five best haunted theme parks for 2025 by America Haunts, the national association of “premier haunted attractions”.
The organization declares that these destinations “go beyond Halloween thrills” — that they’re akin to “cultural rites of passage”.
Step inside, and you’ll be in a “sprawling playground of fear and theatricality that tests courage and transforms ordinary nights into extraordinary stories”.
While the parks are spread around the country, they do have one dead-scary common thread — graveyards. Cemeteries heighten the tension, said America Haunts, “and remind us that everyone ends up underground eventually”.
Read on for the full list of America’s top nightmare nerve centers… if you dare.
Fifty acres — 50! — of haunted woods and Gothic mansions form the backdrop of sprawling horror theme park Thrillvania.
This year, fiendish new features at the Texas park include Sam Hain’s Hollow — where scarecrows stalk — and The Marionette Room, inhabited by “puppets that twitch with lifelike menace”, according to America Haunts.
Commenting further on Thrillvania’s inclusion on the list, America Haunts said: “Thrillvania’s free-roaming design lets guests wander at their own pace, making it feel like stepping into a film where every corner could be the final scene. It’s not just a haunted house — it’s a labyrinth of nightmares too vast to cover in a single visit.”
The shocks are guaranteed at Niles Scream Park, even for regulars.
Each fall, 60 to 70 percent of the attractions at this Michigan hub of horrors are redesigned and rebuilt, meaning that even veterans never know what’s waiting.
This year, eerie additions such as a Gothic cathedral, a Krampus Village, and a Stranger Things-inspired house will all make their debut.
There are extreme challenges, too, from Hooded — a blind sensory gauntlet — to Black Out Extreme, which is billed as a test that “overloads all five senses”.
America Haunts said: “Niles Scream Park has perfected the art of surprise. It’s never the same nightmare twice.”
Talon Falls lurks in the woods in rural Kentucky and is praised for “reinventing itself to keep pace with thrillseekers’ imaginations”.
Its haunted hayride is one of the mainstay attractions, and for 2025 includes a sawmill, meat factory and a cavern crawling with mutants.
Go on a Flashlight Fright Night, and the woods go dark, with visitors forced to navigate armed only with a beam of light. “Every rustle might be something waiting to pounce,” said America Haunts, which added: “With three attractions on-site and immersive design praised by fans as ‘top-notch’, Talon Falls delivers a full night of fear, community, and fall tradition.”
Set inside a historic automotive foundry, the Factory of Terror, spread over 160,000 square feet, “forges terror on an industrial scale”, said America Haunts.
The Ohio park is a three-time Guinness World Record holder for the “longest indoor haunted attraction” and boasts four haunted houses, five themed bars, and entertainment zones.
America Haunts added: “Its nightlife vibe encourages guests to linger, transforming the evening into both a horror show and a social event.”
The Dead End Hayride immerses visitors in a Midwestern horror experience on an “epic scale”, according to America Haunts.
Every three minutes, a wagon launches along a mile-long trail patrolled by 250 blood-curdling characters and lit up by fireballs, glowing pumpkins and pyrotechnic spectacles.
Some fans even travel across the country to have their blood curdled here — or build an entire vacation around the Minnesota mecca of the macabre — a testament to Dead End Hayride’s power to petrify.
America Haunts said: “Massive sets immerse riders in a narrative that’s equal parts cinematic and primal.
“Now in its 15th year, the Dead End Hayride thrives thanks to more than 500 seasonal staff and a dedicated following that views it as a must-experience bucket list haunt.”