Now that the season of ghosts and goblins has officially arrived and the last nail has been hammered into summer's coffin, it's time to start planning your trips to the best haunted houses Northeast Ohio has to offer this Halloween season.
In no particular order:
1.) Escape from Blood Prison
This hellish nightmare is Ohio's only haunted house set in a real prison. Blood Prison isn't your typical haunted house. Visitors can pay a small fee for a "touch pass" that ups the fear factor, but buyer beware, the inmates and clowns hidden inside won't just jump out at you — they will grab, shake and startle you, too.
Blood Prison runs Thursdays through Sundays and is open until Nov. 4.
Location: The Ohio State Reformatory, 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield.
2.) 7 Floors of Hell Haunted Scream Park
Billed as "Cleveland's premiere haunted house," the park is one of the top-rated haunts across the nation and features seven different haunted houses at one location.
There's always a reason to return to Hell — the park changes nearly half of its houses each year to give visitors new ghastly experiences.
The park is comprised of the following attractions: Chaos, House of the Dead, Phobia, Mental Ward, Catacombs, The Butcher Shop and The Basement.
It's open Friday and Saturday nights until Nov. 3. It's also open Sunday, Oct. 21, Thursday, Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 28.
Location: The Cuyahoga County "Scare" grounds, 19191 Bagley Road, Middleburg Heights.
3.) The ExFEARience
This grisly group of six attractions is located at Eastwood Field in Niles, making for one convenient night of terror.
Visitors will arrive first at The Guest House haunt before making their way through to the rest of the attractions. The other scare houses include The Hunted, Isolation, Eastwood Estate, The Factory and Thorne Funeral Parlor.
Isolation, in particular, isn't for the faint of heart. It's a sensory deprivation experience that will have you using your hearing, touch and smell to navigate its twisting corridors to the end.
The ExFEARience runs Thursdays through Sundays until Nov. 3.
Location: 111 Eastwood Mall Blvd., Niles.
4.) BLOODVIEW
This haunted house takes scaring people to the next level. The house is built and staffed by The Legion of Terror — an improvisational horror acting, makeup and special effects production company.
Bloodview is touted as more than a simple haunted house — it's a living, breathing experience.
Your walk of terror begins with The Gore House and continues through the Badlands of Bloodview, Babydoll Island, The Freak Show, The Chapel, Our Old Town and finally into the Main House.
The best part? All proceeds go to various charities.
Bloodview runs Thursdays through Sundays until Nov. 3.
Location: 1010 Towpath Road, Broadview Heights.
5.) CARNIVAL OF HORRORS
Two words: Killer clowns.
The Carnival is home to four haunted houses — Fun House, Wicked Woods, Insane Asylum and Freakshow ( in 3D Terrorvision).
Click the picture below to see a sneak peek of the terror that awaits you.
Open Fridays through Sundays until Oct. 28.
Location: Blossom Music Center, 1145 West Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls.
6.) THE HAUNTED SCHOOLHOUSE and HAUNTED LABORATORY
This attraction has been a mainstay in Akron for years and years, comprised of two separate haunts in one convenient location.
The Haunted School House puts visitors inside the narrative of a creepy librarian with a taste for magic and dark dungeons. She invites you to take a walk among the ancient tomes and dive into some truly horrific stories.
The Haunted Laboratory puts visitors face to face with Dr. Guttenheim — a mad scientist with a penchant for meddling with DNA. Can you escape from his lab and the terrifying creatures within?
Outside of the two haunted houses, visitors can enjoy food, beer and various shops. But beware, dangerous monsters are known to still be on the loose...
Open Thursdays through Sundays. For a full listing of additional days click here.
Location: 1300 Triplett Blvd., Akron.
7.) LAKE "EERIE" FEARFEST
Fearfest is an aptly named collection of six haunted houses grouped together at the Ghostly Manor Thrill Center in Sandusky.
Fearfest was ranked one of the top 10 Great Haunted Attractions by Forbes in 2016. The houses feature a host of "demonic children, living dolls, the possessed and all sorts of creatures," that according to Forbes helped land the Sandusky icon squarely on the top 10 list.
Fearfest is open Friday through Sundays until Oct. 28.
Location: 3319 Milan Road, Sandusky.
8.) HAUNTED HYDRO DARK ATTRACTION PARK
This haunted house has been a mainstay of Fremont for 29 years. This year the park has three new attractions — The Asylum, House of Crazies and The Condemned Carnival.
Open Fridays and Saturdays and some Sundays through Nov. 3. Click here for specific event dates.
Location: The Dark Park is located at 1333 Tiffin St., Fremont.
9.) FOREST OF SCREAMS
Haunted houses and mazes not your thing? Then head to Medina for a haunted hayride and a jaunt through a gigantic forest filled with monsters and who-knows-what lurking behind every twist and turn.
If you decide you're brave enough and want another scare, then you can check out the Mortuary House, a former funeral home with an evil caretaker who may never let you leave.
The Forest of Screams is open Fridays through Sundays. For a full listing of hours and dates, click here.
Location: 1662 Medina Road, Medina.
10.) HAUNT at Cedar Point's HalloWeekends
HalloWeekends has something for everyone, but if you're looking for some real thrills, the scares come after dark with HAUNT.
HAUNT comes alive with terrifying mazes and outdoor scare zones — and that's not even including the actual haunted houses like the Slaughter House, Fearground Freakshow or Zombie High School, to name just a few.
For a full list of the creepy attractions at HAUNT, click here.
HAUNT runs Friday and Saturday nights until Oct. 27.
