Under the suggestion of the editor-in-chief of Haunt World Magazine, the Travel Channel has gone out to find the spookiest haunted houses out there.  This is perfect for all you thrill seekers out there!

In Atlanta, Georgia, lies Netherworld, a thoroughly creepy and terrifying haunted house.  With over 175 actors in its employ, this experience starts in the parking lot.  Actors chase after visitors, using special gloves to bring up sparks off the blacktop.  They pride themselves on only using original characters – you’ll find no Freddys or Jasons here.

The Darkness in St. Louis is unique in that it combines science fiction with horror.  In this 20,000 sq.ft.

warehouse, complex animatronics are used to terrify along with a plethora of actors.  Some actors don “gillie” suits which look very similar to plants.  They crouch and spring on unsuspecting customers to illicit intense screams.  One particularly frightening room is the kids room, where the children have taken the parents hostage.  A small actor wanders around as a child, singing in a singsong voice “You’re gonna die.”

At Headless Horseman Hayride in Ulster, New York, the visitors know there can’t be anything more frightening than a real Headless Horseman.  This old farm owned by a former detective has over 500 folks on staff, with different side shows for the hayride each year.  What’s really terrifying is the use of real actors and real horses for the Headless Horseman.  The rider comes right up to you, ready to slash you with his sword.  And it’s just down the road from Sleepy Hollow, New York!

Cleveland, Ohio, is home to the 7 Floors of Hell, a seven-themed modular show.  27 semi trailers hook together to form this attraction at the Cleveland fairgrounds.  Its seven themes are an insane asylum, a total black out house, a mausoleum, a crypt, a house of nightmares, the butcher shop, and a psycho 3-D circus.

The Terebus brothers created Erebus in Pontiac, Michigan.  It holds the Guinness Book record as the largest haunted house in the world.  The premise is that you walk through time periods, old and new, with a mix of animatronics and puppetry along with actors that are there to scare you.  This is the first haunted house I’ve heard of where the actors are actually allowed to touch and grab the patrons.

Our last stop with the Travel Channel is at the Bates Hotel & Haunted Hayride in Gatesville, PA.  This site combines the frightening haunted house with an even scarier hayride.  The owner calls it a high scare, high startle attraction with lots of animatronics and professional pyrotechnics.  All the wood to build the sets comes directly from their farm and because of the hayride, the owners can pay the taxes and keep their farm going.  Hooray agriculture!