Here’s Your Guide To The Scariest Haunted Houses In The U.S.

With Halloween just days away, you still have time to check out some of the best haunted houses out there. Maybe you’re going for scary, or maybe you’re going for fun, but rest assured—there’s the perfect haunted house out there for everyone (including ghosts and goblins).

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Of course, we’ve already suggested Halloween costumes for you (and your kids… and the whole family), but now it’s time to get down to business—getting scared.

Any guesses as to where the scariest haunted houses in the U.S. were, according to a study by Halloween Express? Or the most popular? Or the most fun?

We’ll tell you, but first, how was the study done?

Halloween Express conducted the study via Instagram posts. They looked at keywords people used in their posts, including the #HauntedHouses hashtag, as well as words like “scary” and “fun.”

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Halloween Express

First things first, according to the research, who had the most haunted houses? Looks like New York tops the list, with Utah and New Hampshire not far behind.

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Halloween Express

Interesting, huh?

Okay, but now let’s break it down further. Here were the most popular haunted houses in the country.

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Halloween Express

There were the “most popular,” but then there’s also the “most real,” aka the haunted houses that take place in truly scary (and allegedly haunted) places. Oftentimes, these have reputations for visitors seeing ghosts and hearing paranormal activity, even when it’s not haunted house season. See if you’ve been to any that made the list.

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Halloween Express

Just because there may be actual ghosts in the “real” haunted houses, that may not make them the scariest. Here’s what Halloween Express found in terms of places that’ll send chills up and down your spine.

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Halloween Express

Of course, some people prefer a “fun” haunted house versus a scary one.

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Halloween Express

And which were the most well-“liked”?

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Halloween Express

I happened to go to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville, Kentucky, a few weeks ago, and I can definitely attest to it being scary-yet-fun. But let me tell you—touring the non-haunted house part of the sanatorium via moonlight was even scarier than the actual haunted house. “Ghost Hunters” and other renowned ghost experts have been known for doing paranormal investigations there, as well, and have found spook-tacular ghostly evidence.

But back to my visit. If you look closely, it looks like you can see some skulls in the souvenir picture we received.

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Natalia Lusinski

I know—right?!

Whether or not you believe in ghosts and scary beings or not, ‘tis the season, so you still have time to check out a haunted house or two (or more, if you just can’t get enough)—like the people in the findings from Halloween Express. I know we will.

Photo by Sean MacEntee

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About the Author
Natalia Lusinski
In addition to Simplemost, Natalia is an ongoing writer for Bustle (sex, dating, relationships, and money), HelloGiggles (pop culture and news), The Delite (feel-good stories), and Don’t Waste Your Money (yep, money issues!). You can also find her writing in the L.A. Times, the Chicago Tribune's RedEye, xoJane, Elite Daily, Scary Mommy, Elephant Journal, and Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies, among other publications. She has a Ph.D. in couch-surfing, having spent four years sleeping on over 200 L.A.-area love seats and sectionals, all in an effort to whittle down her student loan debt. She still loves couch-surfing in other cities, too (hint, hint).

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