
When your little ones are small, Halloween is all about dressing up, parties and candy. But as kids get into the pre-teen and teenage years, scary Halloween attractions hold the most appeal. Below are some of New Jersey’s super scary spots that will give you nightmares and some big-time scares.
Fright Fest
Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson
Fright Fest is back! This massive NJ staple took a year off, and opted for the scaled-back Hallowfest, but is now back in full force. During the day, there are treats for the kids. After dark, the zombies come out for Fright Fest fun. New this year, you’ll see Xpedition Dino: Survival, a haunted maze where you’ll have to avoid blood-thirsty dinos and The Lab, another maze with a secret laboratory of experiments gone wrong.
Brighton Asylum
2 Brighton Ave., Passaic
This legendary horror spot is dubbed “The Scariest Place on Earth.” An interactive haunted house is filled with custom special effects with moving sets, actors and animatronics. You can add on escape rooms and axe throwing, or if you’re really brave book the Twitching Hour, an after-hours experience where you can explore the “spiritually active parts” of the asylum with ghost hunting equipment.
Bloodshed Farms Drive-Thru
2919 US-206, Columbus
In your car… no one can hear you scream? You’ll be driving through some of the most terrifying displays and have your vehicle visited by some truly twisted creatures on weekends in October. This year, you can purchase the Psycho-Pass Upgrade, which lets the actors touch and interact with passengers.
Viva Las Vengeance
One Garden State Plaza, Paramus
This new VR experience next to the Garden State Plaza is recommended for ages 13 and up. Guests will step into the Netflix film Army of the Dead” and fight off hordes of zombies. No one jumps out at you physically, but once you’ve got the VR headset on, the undead creatures will be clawing right at you. Be warned: the gore is pretty realistic.
Night of Terror
Creamy Acres Farm, Mullica Hill
This farm is home to the largest Halloween park in New Jersey every weekend in October. The expansive farm has six terrifying attractions, zombies, attack dogs, killer clowns and even a haunted paintball hayride during which visitors can tag live actors and moving props with paintballs.
Halloween Haunt
Dorney Park, Allentown, PA
During the day, Dorney Park is filled with adorable Peanuts characters for the Great Pumpkin Fest, but at night it transforms into a truly scary haunt. Hundreds of ghouls and zombies roaming the park might be scary enough for some, but there are also attractions like Blackout, a dark candy factory and CarnEVIL, with some terrifying clowns, and many creepy mazes for you to brave… if you dare.
Field of Terror
831 Windsor-Perrineville Rd., East Windsor
Billed as New Jersey’s premier haunted attraction farm, you’ll find the Killer Kornfield, the Haunted Hayride to Terror Town, Timmery Manor and the Creepy Carnival Paintball Ride. (There’s also a family-friendly flashlight maze for a less scary Halloween experience.)
Scare Farm
120 South Branch Rd, Hillsborough
You’ll get three haunted attractions for the price of one at this park. Brave Creepy Hollow, the Paranoia Walking Trails and the Slay Ride. Creepy Hollow will tell you about Elias Atrum, a killer who doesn’t like guests to leave the cornfield, Paranoia will have you walking on sacred burial grounds and the Slay Ride will take you through even more genuinely terrifying scenarios.
Farm of Horrors
Schaefer Farms, Flemington
Walkthrough 200 acres of fright during 45 of the scariest minutes of your life! The scares begin with a haunted hayride that will “scare the YELL out of you”! You’ll then take a trek through the “Trail of Terror,” and be forced to find your way back through the MassAcre Maize. The final nightmare is the Carnevil of Chaos.
Sleepy Hollow
Haunted Acres, Newtown, PA
If abandoned gardens and crypts are your thing, this scary place should be at the top of your list. You’ll first venture into The Hollow, where you’ll encounter crypts and catacombs and an expansive cemetery. In The Field, you’ll find the ruins of a bewitched village.
Scary Rotten Farms
151 Brick Blvd., Brick
This farm has three scary halloween attractions including Sinister Sneed’s Chaotic Carnival of Chaos. Blackened The Plague experience may hit scarily close to home as townspeople suffer high fevers and become delusional and violent.
13th Hour Haunted House
105 W Dewey Ave, Wharton
Pick your scary Halloween poison at this spot. There’s a haunted house, escape rooms and haunted hatchet throwing (for ages 13 and up). This haunted house has two floors of entertainment with rooms decorated like movie sets to enhance the thrills.