We asked the BuzzFeed Community for the scariest haunted house attractions in the world. Here are the scary results.
1. Basement of the Dead — Aurora, Illinois
In the '60s, a boiler in a suburban Illinois laundry company exploded, burning two maintenance workers. They went missing, and a year later, other employees began to disappear, their bodies found in the river nearby. The building closed and was never used again...until now. Good luck.
2. Labyrinth of Fear — Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan
Okay, this place is messed up: There used to be a hospital at the foot of Mt. Fuji, but business went south when staff started stealing patients' organs — and this building is *that* hospital. There are even pitfalls and traps to make the whole experience even freakier, which designers have dubbed "horror harassment."
3. Fear Factory — Salt Lake City
This 100-year-old factory is a paranormal hotspot and horrifying haunted house attraction. Literally every fear you could ever have comes to life here, and here's the worst part: You can’t shake that dreadful feeling that real, horrific events happened here.
4. McKamey Manor — San Diego
This place is pretty controversial, because it describes itself as “an audience participation event in which you live your own horror movie.” They even warn you not to wear expensive clothes or bring anything that can’t get ruined.
5. Lost Souls Alley — Kraków, Poland
Holy shit — this place is a mix between a haunted house and an escape game. You're handed a weak flashlight, travel with a small group to try to escape this absolutely horrifying indoor maze, and be prepared: You WILL scream.
6. The Ghoullog — North Conway, New Hampshire
The Ghoullog does a complete redesign every single year, which is an insanely creative way to have people come back. Oh, and if being grabbed is not your thing, stay back: You have to sign a waiver saying it's okay for cast members to touch you.
7. Netherworld Haunted House — Atlanta
Whichever of the two haunted houses you choose, you’ll be surrounded by plague-stricken, undead spirits who are trying to drag you into their underworld of painful suffering. Take a deep breath, it's about to get rough.
8. Halls of Horror — Palmerton, Pennsylvania
They’re allowed to touch you, and if you pay extra money, you get the ~blood experience~, which involves getting covered in fake blood. Palmerton describes itself as "hardcore," and not for the faint of heart.
9. Fright Nights at Walibi Holland — Biddinghuizen, Netherlands
There are a few different haunted houses to choose from, but the spookiest might be the Hollywood Mansion, where they re-enact horror movies. You'll see horrifying villains like the Saw doll on his bike, and demons in pig masks running around. HAHA, NOPE.
—m4d5
10. DementedFX — Holyoke, Massachusetts
From the moment you walk in, this place makes sure to scare the shit out of you. Each year they have an intricate storyline, and the best part is, the haunted house gets even more horrifying as you go deeper and deeper into the haunt.
11. Haunted Plantation — Waipahu, Oʻahu, Hawaii
The Haunted Plantation insists this is more than a haunted house — it’s an entire haunted village. It’s so brilliantly terrifying that it’s been featured on the Syfy network as well as the Travel Channel.
12. Enigma Haunt — Boca Raton, Florida
You can choose from three haunted houses, including one about a girl who opened a portal to the demon world and is now stuck there. Uh, screw that.
—Heather Groeneveld, Facebook
13. Woods of Terror — Greensboro, North Carolina
The Woods of Terror claims that the actual bodies of people who perished in the 1940s still lurk in the forest, now known as a “purgatory for spirits.” Now, some seriously pissed-off ghosts haunt the land.
—Katie Martin, Facebook
14. PennHurst Asylum — Spring City, Pennsylvania
Most of the artifacts in this hospital-themed haunted asylum are from the original administration building, dating back to the early 1900s. C'mon, that's just terrifying.
15. McCall's Haunted Farm — Moriarty, New Mexico
The McCall family owned this farm for years, until the city built a highway through it and the family disappeared. Rumor has it that Mr. McCall slaughtered his wife and kids, which makes walking around this place at night extra comforting, no?
16. Shocktober — Leesburg, Virginia
Set in historic Carver Mansion, there are two areas to explore: first, the upstairs and main floor of the mansion, and then the pitch-black basement that supposedly holds a door to underground caverns. Seems safe.
17. Haunted Hornet — Alameda, California
A Navy vessel called the USS Hornet was sent to the Bermuda Triangle on a confidential mission in the '70s, and after it returned, some creepy shit began happening aboard. Set on the actual Hornet itself, this bloody haunted house gets inside your head.
—Barbara Barron and Kellee Butler, Facebook
18. Nightmares Fear Factory — Niagara Falls, Ontario
You've seen the endless hilarious photos of people getting horrified at Nightmares Fear Factory, but possibly the scariest thing about this place is that what happens inside is such a huge secret that you just have to see it for yourself.
—Mallory Amanda, Facebook
19. Brighton Asylum — Passaic, New Jersey
Brighton used to hold violent patients in the 1940s, which is scary in and of itself, but supposedly there are events that happened here that "are still waiting to be fully uncovered." WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!
20. Haunted Hoochie — Pataskala, Ohio
Only adults are allowed at this beyond haunted attraction that has insane amounts of gore — and some of the gore is real. They advise on their website that it may not be suitable for “immature audiences OR mature audiences.” Have fun.
21. The Mortuary — New Orleans
It was a funeral home back in the day, and now serves as a haunted house during the fall. Its tales of horror started in 2007 with the stories of a mortician who learned how to become immortal, and every year The Mortuary adds a new, terrifying chapter to its rumored history.
22. Loftus Hall — Wexford, Ireland
Hands down one of the most haunted places in the whole of Ireland, what makes Loftus Hall's Halloween and year-round lockdown events so horrifying is the fact that it's an actual ghost ground with spirits looking for revenge. NO THANKS!
—Jessica Coffey, Facebook
23. And Eastern State Penitentiary — Philadelphia
This haunted house will make you nope the hell out, because the boundaries here are few, if any: You can be grabbed by the actors, separated from your group, and even sent into secret passageways, ALL BY YOURSELF. UM, NO. BYE!
CORRECTION
Woods of Terror is in Greensboro, North Carolina. A previous version of this post misidentified the state.