Scary Sights in the City
The most famous and frightening of all Philadelphia Halloween experiences is Eastern State Penitentiary (22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue), the nation’s first and most haunted penitentiary. Each fall, this crumbling giant is transformed into one of the “Top Ten Haunted Houses” in the country voted by AOL and the Travel Channel. “Terror Behind the Walls” takes you inside this eerie building filled with its own paranormal activity for a haunted house adventure unlike any other. Line up outside its massive walls as deceased inmates and guards prepare you for your intake – a walk through the Processing Center to meet the warden. Then, make your way to Lock Down where the cell blocks in this abandoned prison are no longer empty. Venture into 13 Rooms and tread through the kitchen, mess hall and morgue, where scares beyond your wildest imagination will emerge at any moment. The Experiment is a 3D madhouse where the prison doctor performs an unruly experiment with the help of his new “visitors.” The final fright, if you’ve made it this far, is the Night Watch. You’ll make your way through the dark prison halls with just one small flashlight. This attraction is not for the faint of heart!
Laurel Hill Cemetery, located in the gorgeous Fairmount Park, is one of the few cemeteries in the country deemed a National Historic Landmark. Its beautiful landscape and rolling hills are filled with gardens and sculptures. During the Fall, you’ll learn not everything here is quite so pretty. You have the chance to experience “Dining With the Dead” on October 27. This BYOB dinner at the Cemetery Gatehouse includes a Halloween tour of the cemetery. For the spookiest of events, visit Laurel Hill on October 28 and 29 for Halloween Flashlight Tours featuring the “Not Ready for the Afterlife Players.” Walk among some of Philadelphia’s most restless souls as you hear their stories from accomplished local actors.
The Ghost Tour of Philadelphia is a creepy candlelight walking tour of Independence Park and Society Hill. Start at Signers Garden (5th and Chestnut streets) and venture through this historic neighborhood with cloaked storytellers who take you to some of Philadelphia’s most haunted places. Hear the chilling tales from the lost souls of Colonial times. Walk through St. Peter’s Cemetery, where a former vice president and eight Native American chiefs rest for eternity. And step into Library Hall, where it is speculated that Benjamin Franklin’s ghost may still visit. Plague, pestilence, heroes, and traitors will have you clutching your oil lamp and hoping that chill is just the wind.
Enjoy terrifying tales from haunted Philadelphia on the Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour. Stroll the cobblestone streets of Historic Philadelphia (tour departs from Cosi Restaurant at 325 Chestnut Street, corner of 4th and Chestnut streets) as you visit 20 scary sites as you listen to spellbinding stories and terrifying tales of the supernatural. Watch out! You may run in to one of the legendary ghosts or spirits that inhabit Independence Hall, Carpenters' Hall, or Pine Street.
REGIONAL FRIGHTS
Throughout October, the Bates Motel is a high-action haunted house that uses high-tech special effects, a creepy digital soundtrack and computerized lighting for an extra frightening effect. The hayride is a 20- minute, heart-pounding wagon ride through the deep, dark, haunted forest at Arasapha Farms, which is filled with incredible sets, computer-controlled animations and more than 50 actors that creep out or fly over to spook even the bravest of souls. This gripping attraction is located in Glen Mills, PA about 40 minutes outside of the city.
HorrorFest at Shady Brook Farm
Before it became a working farm, Shady Brook was the site where a mad man tortured people to death to fulfill a pact with the devil--a pact to present human sacrifices in return for wealth and power. Located just 45 minutes from the City in Yardley, PA, this horror-fest encompasses four thrilling attractions: the Hayride of Horror, Barn of Horror, Alien Encounter and a “Deadtime Stories” corn maze in the pitch dark. For those who scare easily, Shady Brook Farm also offers a tamer option called PumpkinFest. The admission price includes hayrides to the pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkins, inflatable amusements, live entertainment on Saturdays and Sundays, Barn of Horror, Jr., themed play areas, a straw maze, barnyard animals and more!
