If you're looking for a little controlled terror this Halloween — whether that's getting chased through an old warehouse, wandering a former prison after dark, or investigating alleged paranormal activity along the canal — here are four places around Philly worth getting scared at.
🎩 Lincoln Mill Haunted House and Ghost Tours (Manayunk)
This deeply story-driven, actor-heavy, immersive experience begins in a historic Main Street textile mill. As the story goes, flood damage from Hurricane Ida exposed a secret, tortuous chamber and revealed a history of tormented workers. Co-founder Jared Bilsak told me he and fellow co-founder Brian Corcodilos created new rooms, characters, and scenes for this season.
They also launched the Ghost Tours of Manayunk this year, working with paranormal investigators and psychic mediums to uncover dark stories along the Manayunk Canal and Towpath. Every guest gets an electromagnetic frequency reader to detect unusual activity on the 75-minute tour.
🤡 Fright Factory (Pennsport)
This 120-year-old South Philly warehouse is so scary that the director of “Terrifier 2” and “Terrifier 3” actually filmed scenes here. The 25,000-square-foot attraction is divided into three distinct themes: Industrial Nightmare, South Side Sanatorium, and Fright Factory Unholy. I’m scared just watching the trailer for this season.
👹 Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary (Fairmount)
The Halloween Nights immersive experience takes over Eastern State with five haunted houses — The Crypt, Machine Shop, Big Top Terror, Nightmares, and Dark Tides — plus historic tours, bars, lounges, and live entertainment. Of course, you can always take a daytime guided tour of the historic prison, which comes with some goosebump-inducing stories of its own.
🏥 Pennhurst Asylum (Spring City, Chester County)
The memory of walking through this creepy former hospital as a teenager will haunt me forever. And if the trailer for this season is any indication, the theatrics, acting, makeup, sets, and props have advanced to max spooky in the last two decades. The current experience includes four attractions — Pennhurst Asylum, Pennhurst Tunnels, The Morgue, and The Catacombs — spread across the sprawling property outside of Pottstown.
