The 7 Scariest Haunted Houses In New England And the 3 Scariest In the Country

So you're looking for the scariest haunted houses in New England, huh? Or maybe you want to kick it up a notch and see where the scariest haunted houses in America are. We have you covered on both fronts below.

I think it's a fascinating thing to see hordes of people come together at night to dish out money to be scared to the point of losing control of pitches of shrieks or even worse, control of bodily functions (yuck). Have you ever wondered why we do this? What those who love getting scared terribly get out of the whole situation? Dr. Olubunmi Olatunji, who is a leading psychology professor at Vanderbilt University, says that scary or thrilling experiences release dopamine into the brain. Some enjoy this feeling, those are us thrill-seekers. Some don't, you probably don't see them running the haunted house circuit for thrills.

The professional American haunt industry is a multibillion-dollar business with nearly 2,000 haunts open each year and over 12,000,000 customers attending those attractions. So to say that Halloween season haunted houses are big business would be an understatement.

Now that we understand the why's of the enjoyment of getting scared, let's look at the WHERE.

These are the 7 scariest haunted houses in New England. Some might be a lengthy road trip but if you're a scare or thrill fanatic, the tank of gas to get there might be worth it. We'll finish off by giving you the 3 scariest haunted houses in the entire country. These would be loooooonnnnnggg road trips.

In addition to the 7 haunted houses we'll obviously give you the address to punch into your GPS or phone and a quick little blurb on each place - plus links when available so you can go get all the info about each place that you can handle.

Alright boys and ghouls, let's go get scared!

WHERE: 1235 Bedford St, Abington, MA 02351

Guests rave about the Hollywood quality make up, hair and costumes. One year they did a haunted hotel theme that still has people talking.

LINK

WHERE: 20 Orchard Way, Lee, NH 03861

Scare fanatics appreciate the amount of effort that goes into the scares here, and the amount it changes year aftyer year. Many people come from far away and make the trip just for this place.

LINK

WHERE: 804 Dyer Ave, Cranston, RI 02920

Even people who don't scare easily admit to getting scared here. Some even get lost in rooms for longer than anticipated. Eeek!

LINK

WHERE: 530 Main St, Holyoke, MA 01040

The best review I saw on this place said "Got Scared, got scared, an oh yeah got scared." LOL  The effects and animatronics here are very good.

LINK

WHERE: Hope, Rhode Island

This haunted attraction has grown leaps and bounds over the years. They have a pretty loyal fanbase you comes back year after year.

LINK

WHERE: 60 N Plains Hwy, Wallingford, CT 06492

This is a 45 minute walkthrough! (And that's a previous year, it could be even longer this year.) That's a long time to be scared. I love it.

LINK

WHERE: 12 Simon St, Nashua, NH 03060

Those who know say THIS is THE attraction to go to if you're in New England in the fall. I don't want to give anything away, but it's a super fun scare time!!

LINK

WHERE: Livingstone, New Jersey

They're known as "NY’s Largest and Most Interactive Haunted Attraction!" but it's in New Jersey. They'll scare you so bad you'll have no idea where you are apparently.

WHERE: Lockwood, Illinois

A haunted prison? Alright, I'm already scared. Great start.

WHERE: Stone Mountain, Georgia

Scarier than Jake "The Snake" Roberts - who was also billed from Stone Mountain, Georgia. Watch out for Damien in there.

WHERE: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This was called Terror Behind the Walls for years and known as one of the scariest haunted locations in the country. Name change? Still scary AF.

WHERE: Denver, Colorado

To liken this to the internet phenomenon 'Hot Ones' (if you watch), this haunted attraction is "Da Bomb." Very scary. It's #1... so... obviously.