Orlando’s theme parks go all out for Halloween, making the “City Beautiful” one of the country’s top destinations for fright-lovers. But there’s more scary to this city than what’s inside the theme parks. Below you can find some of the area’s top haunts, where you can get your fright on and experience a little more of what makes Orlando so special come Halloween.

For those seeking a more kid-friendly Halloween check out one of our previous articles of things to do in September in Orlando which offers 2 kid-friendly themed Halloween attractions.

Article originally written on Oct. 14th, 2014. Updated on Aug 28th, 2019.

A Petrified Forest

Located in Altamonte Springs just outside Orlando’s city limits, A Petrified Forest is in its 12th year of bringing a whole new level of scary to eager visitors. A Petrified Forest is well-known in the Orlando-area for providing serious bang for your buck (tickets start at just $15 per person), and is located outside in a forest complete with a chill-inducing, creepy cornfield.

Groups are let in only 6 at a time to provide the ultimate scare experience, and characters are given the freedom to change the routine, so you never experience the same terror twice! With extras like mutant laser tag and total eclipse night (where you have no lights and a single glow stick for the entire group), this haunted house experience is a can’t miss night of fright.

• Opening Night Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, 7:30 pm
• Kids Day, Sat. Oct. 12th, 9 am – Noon
• Special Needs Night, Wed. Oct. 16th, 7:30 pm – 10 pm
• Total Eclipse Night, Wed. Oct. 30

Check out our Orlando vacation home rentals.

Mortem Manor

Open all year around and named one of the “Scariest Haunted Houses in America” by the Travel Channel, this is a must to check out.  Starting at $15 per person you can take a journey through two floors of Mortem Manor, a Victorian themed attraction with live actors, special effects, and animatronics that are sure to scare even the bravest soul.

Oh and did I mention that for $5 they will even let you experience being buried alive in total darkness … if that does not scare you, I am not sure what will.  Located in Old Town, Kissimmee.  Go check it out.

Orlando’s top haunted houses are amazing!

Scream-A-Geddon

Starts at $24.95 if you buy online, add $5 if you buy them at the door.  This place offers 6 different themed attractions in one location:

• Rage 3D
• Zombie Paintball Assault
• Demon’s Revenge
• Blackpool Prison
• Dead Woods
• Infected Ground Zero

For 2019, they have added Bonzo’s Beer Garden.  According to them, Bonzo the killer clown used to live a life of blood, carnage and gore.  But was hard pressed to make a living killing off the clientele.  So he found a second passion to bloodshed and mayhem: craft beer brewing. He persuaded (at knife point!) all the local craft beer brewers to bring their wares to his little beer garden.  Be afraid … Be very afraid.

• Open weekends in September 2019
• Open all of October
• Closed on the first weekend of November

Legends: A Haunting in Old Town ( Closed Down)

Legends: A Haunting in Old Town replaced the hugely popular “Grimm House” in Kissimmee, which closed late last year. This year-round haunted house follows the story of Archibald Ashdown and his sons, undertakers who moved to Old Town in 1889. The Ashdowns laid plenty of people to rest over the years, but unfortunately, many were still alive at the time, and they now haunt the Legends location.

This haunted house is one of the most unique in the area, with the Ashdowns greeting guests as they arrive to assure them nothing is “out of the ordinary” in their humble funeral parlor, but of course, this notion is dead wrong! Tickets are just $15 per person, with separate 90 minute tour available for $20.

The Shallow Grave (closed for 2019 but will be back for 2020)

This fan-favorite, independent scare attraction was dreamt up by a local man, his wife, and mother and has become one of the top Orlando destinations for fright-seekers wanting something a little different from Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. Inside an anonymous industrial warehouse interior awaits the hatchet-faced Thaddeus Van Buren, an undertaker turned cannibal with a penchant for dragging screaming victims through the packed waiting room. Guests tour Thaddeus’ home and business, from the kitchen to the murderous morgue and ghoulish graveyard.

The mazes in this haunted attraction are actually said to rival or exceed the mazes at Universal Studios in most respects, making this scream factory definitely worth a look. Tickets are $15 per person, per haunt and a $25 combo ticket grants you access to both of the Shallow Graves popular haunts.

Have you been to any of the haunted houses on our list? How was it? Are there any other haunted attractions you think should be on our list?