Every fall, haunted attractions rise from the dead after a year-long rest. And each year, haunted houses, hayrides and trails find a new and creepier way to scare Marylanders.
Don't want to spend an arm and a leg? Check out Kim's Krypt in Essex. Looking for a combination of fear-filled attractions and family-friendly amusements? Bring the family to Frightland in Delaware. Want to be so scared you'll be have nightmares until New Year's? Visit Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary.
Check out our top picks for the area's best haunted attractions.
Bennett's Curse
Address: F7967 Max Blobs Park Road, Jessup
*NOTE: This is the last year for the haunted house at this location, as the property is slated for development.
Open: Through Nov. 1
Hours: 7-10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 7-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; Special Halloween week hours: 7-9:30 p.m. Oct. 27-29, 7-10 p.m. Oct. 30, 7-11 p.m. Oct. 31 and Nov. 1
Price: $30; $45 speed pass; $60 VIP
Highlights: Bennett's Curse launched two new attractions for 2014: the Medieval Underworld and the Inferno 3D.
Bennett's Curse co-owner Allan Bennett said the Medieval Underworld is an expansion on a previous attraction called House of the Vampyres. It will include more intense scare tactics and new technology.
Bennett described the all-new Inferno 3D as a trip through the Inferno itself. "We wanted to replace our prior show, Zombie Kingdom in 3D, because we felt zombies have hit their saturation point in the entertainment market, and we like to be cutting-edge and continue to evolve and offer our guests a unique experience they can't find anywhere else," he said. "... The immersive 3D [attraction] takes you into a world bursting with color, as guests experience the most terrifying creatures and monsters, along with various punished souls, while they traverse through the famous circles of punishment in the Inferno including wrath, gluttony, greed and more."
More information: info@bennettscurse.com, bennettscurse.com
Field of Screams Maryland
Address: 4501 Olney-Laytonsville Road, Olney
Open: Through Nov. 1
Hours: 6:30-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 6:30-9 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, starting Oct. 12
Price: $15-$25 for individual attractions; multi-attraction packages available starting at $45. Group rates also available.
Highlights: Field of Screams Maryland presents Scream City, a "multi-haunt" with four attractions in one location. The Trail of Terror offers 35 minutes of suspense as you walk through a haunted forest where a farmer was tortured.
The Lusion Manor attraction is a tour through what used to be an orphanage in 1933 and has since become a place of horror. Hades' Hayride takes you through haunted cornfields, while Paintball Apocalypse allows you to battle zombies by shooting them with glow-in-the-dark paintballs.
"We change a third of our haunt over every year," Ramez Fahmy, a senior manager at Field of Screams Maryland, said. "[This year] we have new rooms in the house and on the trail, and the entire hayride is almost new. New stations overall include the embalming room, mausoleum, witch's den, butcher's house, horror prison, chemical factory and others."
More information: 240-366-7273, screams.org
Frightland
Address: 309 Port Penn Road, Middletown, Del.
Open: Through Nov. 1
Hours: 6-9 p.m. Friday, Sunday and Nov. 1; 6-10 p.m Saturday
Price: $20-$35; $50 VIP. Group rates available.
Highlights: Delaware's Frightland opened its eight haunted attractions on Sept. 26.
"People came out in record numbers [the first] weekend," Phil Miller, one of the owners of Frightland, said in a press release. "Interest in Halloween seems to grow every year. I think people are looking for a fun night out that's a little different ..."
Attractions include a haunted barn, a zombie prison, a haunted hayride, a cemetery, an old mansion and more.
In addition to its fear-filled features, Frightland offers family-friendly carnival amusements like rides, games and concessions.
More information: 302-838-0256, frightland.com
Jason's Woods
Address: 99 Stehman Road, Lancaster, Pa.
Open: Through Nov. 8
Hours: 7-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 7-9 p.m. Sunday
Price: $25-$50 (cash only at gates); group rates available.
Highlights: Jason's Woods in Lancaster, Pa., features six attractions. For 2014, the theme is "Experience the Change...the New Beginning."
"We have revamped and updated the entire show and added two new attractions, the Zombie Apocalypse and the Fields of Fright Corn Maze," Jason's Woods production manager Damian Schlegelmilch said.
The Carnival of Fear attraction has been completely redesigned as well, according to Schlegelmilch. "The Carnival was completely overhauled with new scares and an entirely new maze through the dark, dingy corridors of the big top," he said.
"Our classic Lost in Jason's Woods walking trail remains a favorite as you are essentially alone in deep dense woods, surrounded by unknown and malicious creatures," Schlegelmilch added.
More information: 717-872-5768, jasonswoods.com
Kim's Krypt
Address: 431 Eastern Blvd., Essex
Open: Through Nov. 2
Hours: 7-10:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Oct. 30
Price: $20; $30 VIP
Highlights: Whether your phobia is clowns, chainsaws or creepy dolls, Kim's Krypt promises to give guests something to make their hair stand up.
"We have added a bug room, complete with eerie creepy critters to make your skin crawl, a dark maze with a spark fence and more claustrophobic interactive experiences for each customer," Kim Yates, owner of Kim's Krypt, said.
New for 2014, Kim's Krypt Haunted Mill is now open, located at 5932 Colonial Valley Road in Spring Grove, Pa. Attractions include Maw's Crazy Maze, House of Eyes, Terror Trail and The Haunted Mill.
"You could say Kim's Krypt Haunted Mill is a haunter's dream come true. With all of the historic mill workings still in tact, the creep factor is truly haunting."
More information: 410-391-7726, kimskrypt.com
Legends of the Fog
Address: 500 Carsins Run Road, Aberdeen
Open: Through Nov. 1
Hours: 6:30-9 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 30; 6:30-10 p.m. Friday and Nov. 1; 6:30-11 p.m. Saturday
Price: $25-$30; fast pass and group rates available.
Highlights: Legends of the Fog offers three haunted attractions: the Sinister Circus, the Haunted Hayride and Carsins Manor.
"Based on a 1930s early American sideshow, the Sinister Circus twists traditional spectacles into sinister renditions of ... bearded ladies, strong men, high-flying performers and circus animals," Patrick Barberry, co-founder and general manager of Legends of the Fog, wrote in an email to The Baltimore Sun.
Next, guests board the Haunted Hayride, which takes them across the devastated, fog-ridden land to Carsins Manor.
"Every year, Legends of the Fog completely renovates one of its attractions," Barberry wrote. "This year, Carsins Manor is now completely indoors and spans 5,000 square feet ... double the square footage [of] last year. The house is built like a labyrinth, and no guest will get the same experience."
More information: 410-879-8277, legendsofthefog.com
Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary
Address: Eastern State Penitentiary; 2027 Fairmount Ave., Philadelphia, Pa.
Open: Through Nov. 8
Hours: 7-11 p.m. select Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 7 p.m.-midnight Friday and Sunday; 6:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday
Price: $19-$45; group rates and specials for kids and students available
Highlights: Terror Behind the Walls takes place at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary, which housed notorious criminals including Al Capone. The Machine Shop attraction is all-new for 2014. According to Terror Behind the Walls' website, Machine Shop is "the most interactive attraction in the history of the event."
More information: 215-236-3300, easternstate.org