Eastern PA's Top Halloween Haunted Houses And Spooky Attractions

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Halloween is just around the corner, and spooky season is about to descend upon the Keystone State.

The night air has a foreboding touch of summer's end, the trees start to thin and colors turn, and, as Ray Bradbury wrote in "The October Country," "the noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay."

Tickets are now on sale for haunted houses and attractions around the greater Philadelphia area. Here are a few of the best.

PENNHURST ASYLUM

After decades of existence as a magnet for teen mischief, Pennhurst Asylum (1205 Commonwealth Drive, Spring City) reopened a few years back as a haunted house.

The results have been impressive. Pennhurst is the only haunted attraction where the walk to the house might be more frightening than the house itself. After navigating dark country roads and parking in a grass field, visitors must walk down a dark and wooded lane to approach the gates of the abandoned asylum. After the "haunted" portion of the tour is complete (featuring a new attraction, 'The Morgue,' in 2018) there is a chance to walk through historical exhibits outlining the past of the property and modern efforts to preserve it.

For tickets and details, see here.

BATES MOTEL

Bates Motel in Glen Mills was recently listed among the top 13 best haunted attractions in the nation by Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, also known as the Queen of Haunts. In her list, Arnett-Bequeaith put the Bates Motel at No. 4. "In an area with lots of haunt choices, they have found a way to rise above the pack with acres of relentless scares from the hayride trail of terror to the Bates Motel," she wrote in 2021. "They even have axe throwing and a zombie laser hunt."

Tickets.

EASTERN STATE PENITENTIARY

The popular prison-turned-museum in Philadelphia that housed gangster Al Capone is reopening for yet another season. Halloween nights will feature 15 attractions, including two haunted houses, which can be bypassed by those wanting a less scary experience. Also included is a 3D fun house, two immersive walkthrough experiences, three live performances, four themed bars and lounges, and special effects like laser shows and large-scale video projections.

Tickets.

SELMA MANSION

Take a different tact and dive into the paranormal at Selma Mansion in Norristown, which is the subject of year-round "expert" inquiries and investigations. Various fall events include psychic readings, lectures, nighttime "investigations" of the mansion, and haunted tours.

Tickets.

SLEEPY HOLLOW HAUNTED ACRES

Brave guests will have the chance to experience three haunted attractions at Sleepy Hollow Haunted Acres. There's the Sleepy Hollow Hayride, the House in the Hollow — described as "quite possibly the most haunted house in Bucks County" — and the Field of Fright.

Tickets.

THE VALLEY OF FEAR

Feasterville's Valley of Fear, which boasts "America's most horrifying woods," includes four attractions: a haunted hayride; The Facility: Extreme Maze; ScaryTales; and the Zombie Escape Room Adventure.

Tickets.