Field of Screams Wins Best Extreme Haunted Attraction

Located in Lancaster, Penn., Field of Screams encompasses four intense haunted attractions: Haunted Hayride, Den of Darkness, Frightmare Asylum and Nocturnal Wasteland. If that's not scary enough, thrill-seekers can participate in the one-night-only Blackout Experience, when the lights will be turned down, waivers signed and the intensity cranked up to terrifying levels.
Photo courtesy of Field of Screams

Unstable, Morgan Manor, CarnEvil of Torment and, new in 2015, Morngana's Escape are what await brave souls who visit Wisconsin Feargrounds this Halloween. At 55,000 square feet, it's one of the state's largest and most terrifying haunted attractions, and with a new escape room this year, it looks to be the scariest yet.
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Fear Grounds

This Halloween season, the popular Pennsylvania haunt Shocktoberfest will transform into Zombie World, a Jurassic Park-like theme park where visitors can observe zombies in a seemingly safe environment (but we know better, don't we?). Seven themed areas provide the thrills, and those adult guests looking for a more intense experience can take the Naked and Afraid Challenge, where they must sign a waiver and pass through Unknown 2.0 in nothing but their underwear. 2015 also brings an all-new escape room experience to Shocktoberfest.
Photo courtesy of Shocktoberfest

13 Stories Haunted House, located just outside of Atlanta, features five haunted attractions – 13 Stories, Ward B, Zombie Alley, Clown Haus and Sacrifice – spread out over 54,000 square feet. While all are sure to scare, the final area, Sacrifice, brings visitors face to face with their worst nightmares in an experience so physically and emotionally intense, participants must be over 18 years of age and sign a waiver before entering.
Photo courtesy of 13 Stories Haunted House

Visitors brave enough take on the haunts at Dead Acres Haunted Hoochie, located outside of Columbus, will be touched, grabbed and shoved during the self-proclaimed "darkest show on Earth." While there isn't an official age restriction, the gruesome nature of the scenes paired with an obsession for chainsaws means this one is certainly not fit for children.
Photo courtesy of Dead Acres Haunted Hoochie

Pennhurst opened in 1908 as a state school for the mentally and physically disabled and operated until it was shut down in 1986. Today, Pennhurst Asylum sets the scene for an epic haunted house inside the old administration building, using digital light and sound, high-tech animatronics and excellent actors to heighten the already creepy atmosphere. Many of the props are real – leftover equipment from the state school – as are the rooms (the morgue and shock treatment rooms), blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
Photo courtesy of Pennhurst Asylum

Hosted on Arasapha Farm just outside of Philadelphia, the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride features three spine-tingling experiences. Visitors start on a 25-minute haunted hayride with some 75 actors and 25 different scenes before proceeding into the Bates Motel and finish in a terrifying corn maze. Pyrotechnics, digital sound and lighting, extensive animatronics and a team of highly skilled actors make this one of the most intense haunted attractions out there.
Photo courtesy of Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride

Horror comes to Salt Lake City in the form of Castle of Chaos, a completely underground haunted attraction that lets visitors pick their level of "horror." Monster-Be-Gone and General Admission are for those who prefer a no-touch haunted house experience. Participants at the Hands-On Horror and X-Scream Hands On Horror levels must sign a waiver; the former allows the monsters to touch and grab participants and the latter to move them or even separate them from their group.
Photo courtesy of Castle of Chaos

Atlanta's Netherworld earned a nomination for Best Extreme Haunted Attraction for its incredible sets, animatronics, special effects and make-up created by professionals in the film and television industry. Thrill-seekers come from around the country to experience this warehouse-sized haunt divided into two themed areas: The Rotting and Vault 13 Unearthed. Expect all new thrills and chills in 2015.
Photo courtesy of Netherworld

Fear Fair, located in Seymour, Indiana, is a perennial favorite among horror movie fans thanks to its Fear Fair Film Fest, a frightening series of tableaux paying homage to Hollywood's creepiest moments. While details of the 2015 haunts have yet to be released, past installments have included Myctophobia, an 18-and-over experience on select nights where participants sign a waiver to go through the haunt alone.
Photo courtesy of Fear Fair