Halloween entertainment around the country ranges from goofy to gory. See the listings below, complete with our Skeleton Key for intensity. After all, haunted houses are fun. Night terrors afterward? Not so much.
Thrills, Gills, and Chills, The Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Get your share of critter-jitters at this family-friendly event. The kids can mask their fear as they come face-to-face with the toothy grin of a shark or the haunting stare of an alligator. Keepers will share creepy facts about these real-life monsters, while costumed divers perform death-defying feats in the tanks of doom.
Intensity: No bones about it. Bring the whole crew in costume and enjoy the spirits of the season — sea-style!
Zionsville Ghost Walk, SullivanMunce Cultural Center, Zionsville, Ind.
History, and the dead, come alive during this 45-minute guided tour of the shadowy area known as The Village. You'll make ten stops to hear different spooky ghost stories based on historic events. Tragic tales and murky mysteries highlight each stop. The ghostly guide guarantees fun, and there are plenty of tasty treats along the way.
Intensity: One skeleton — a little one, at that. The storytellers, and the spooks, are sensitive to the little ones.
Howl-O-Ween at Great Wolf Lodge, Williamsburg, Va.; Traverse City, Mich.; Mason, Ohio; and other locations
Visitors to these indoor water parks will find special Halloween activities, including a spooky bedtime story each night in the Grand Lobby. Your grandchildren may visit barely scary, or very scary rooms, follow trick-or-treat trails where colorful characters lurk, and create witchy arts and crafts.
Intensity: One skeleton and a femur. The stories may be spooky, but all end happily, and the crafty witches and goblins are firmly in the "cute" camp.
Scare U Ghoul School at Balloon Manor, Greece, N.Y.
Where do you turn, and how gingerly do you step, in a 10-room haunted house that’s made entirely of balloons? This year’s theme — a frightfully funny monster college that includes classes in Inhumanities and Anti-Social Studies. This is a haunt with a heart: Proceeds benefit Teens Living With Cancer.
Intensity: Two skeletons. And that’s only if you’re the type to jump when a balloon pops. Definitely family friendly.
Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, L.A.
Eight-legged insects and their webs are spotlighted in flashlight tours of Spider Pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Guides lead chill- seekers through the darkened den of icky arachnids. Children can trick-or-treat in the museum galleries or enjoy Spider Cinema in the Pavilion courtyard.
Intensity: Two skeletons with fleas. If creepy crawlies don’t rattle your bones, then the scares here won’t bug you.
Tweetsie Railroad Ghost Train, Blowing Rock, N.C.
Engineer Casey Bones takes riders on a mystery trip through the Tweetsie Railroad theme park with chills and thrills at every turn Friday and Saturday nights in October. Afterward, children can choose to go traditional trick-or-treating through the park, or maneuvering through 13 spooky rooms in the Haunted House.
Intensity: Three skeletons. Skip the haunted attractions if the grandkids are skittish. The Creepy Carnival scares up enough fun for all.
Haunted Overload and Corn Maze, Coppal House Farm, Lee, N.H.
Hundreds of grinning Jack-O-Lanterns greet you as you enter this creative attraction, which combines a family-friendly corn maze with an intense, outdoor haunting experience. The maze can keep little ones busy while you battle the demons in what Hauntworld named one of the scariest attractions of 2008.
Intensity: Four skeletons for Haunted Overload; one for the corn maze. Daytime tours of the attraction — sans lurking goons or leaping monsters — are available for the little, or skittish, among you.
Shadowlands, Mesa, Ariz.
A terrifying trio of interactive experiences centers on the legend of the Benandanti, a secret society formed in the 17th century to combat evil. Visitors become part of the creepy tale as they explore murders of the past century in The Revenant; experiment with a new breed of evil in The Chamber; and cross time to destroy evil before it begins in The Wrath. It's like stepping into a video game.
Intensity: Five skeletons. Not recommended for children 8 and younger. Goosebumps guaranteed for your tween and teen grandchildren.
The 13th Gate Haunted House, Baton Rouge, La.
Not one, not two, but 13-theme nightmares await you when you cross through the 13th Gate. Before you escape its clutches, you'll crawl through a crematory oven, cross a shaky bridge over hundreds of slithering snakes, and challenge the Angel of Death. Descend to the depths in an ancient freight elevator and just try to escape the Insane Asylum. This attraction earned the top spot on Hauntworld's list.
Intensity: Five skeletons. Bring the young ones at your own peril. The surreal sets, scary monsters, and disturbing challenges are the stuff of nightmares. Older kids will be howling.
Terror Behind The Walls, Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
All your senses will be shackled as you make your way through this transformed prison. There's no escaping the fright as you're put through an intense intake by growling guards (complete with animatronic props and digital sound) then get caught in Lock Down where prisoners run amok through Cellblock 12. The Experiment, a 3-D presentation, was voted the favorite attraction of last year's visitors to this abandoned prison.
Intensity: The skeletons have left the building. Children younger than 7 aren't permitted on site for good reason. Family Nights allow kids, ages 7 to 12 to tame the haunts by telling them, "Monster be good!"
For more Halloween travel ideas, read Halloween in Hershey and Ghost Tours: A Scary Trio.
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