Haunted Happenings
Are you seeking a bone-chilling ghost tour? A walk through a haunted house? A visit with goblins or skeletons? Or perhaps you simply aspire to enjoy an array of Halloween festivities. Options abound throughout the region. Here are just a few from which to choose.
US Ghost Adventures
usghostadvantures.com • 816-722-7363
This organization sponsors haunted ghost tours in 100 cities across the country. In our region, such tours are offered in Atlantic City and Old City Philadelphia. All tours are described as kid-friendly with ghost stories that are age-appropriate for the whole family.
Tickets for both locations: $26 adults; $17 for children under 13. Advance Bookings Recommended
The Paranormal Museum
Paranormal Books and Curiosities, 621 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park, NJ
732-455-3188 • www.paranormalbooksnj.com
Enter this popular Asbury Park Museum and bookstore and learn about the history and intrigue of the paranormal and much more. The museum, established in 2008, features an array of unique and mysterious artifacts from haunted places and a collection of items, such as Ouija boards and eerie dolls. Visitors to the museum step inside a supernatural world and explore the paranormal. And the walking ghost tours (offered Thursday through Sunday evenings) held through mid-November, fill up quickly. The tours relay true stories that took place on the town’s infamous boardwalk.
According to owner Kathy Kelly, the museum was the first of its kind to open in the country. She recently opened another location in Cape Cod with co-owner Adam Berry. “Our popularity comes from our longevity and authenticity,” said Kelly of the Asbury Park destination. “People connect with what we do because we are fully invested in creating an authentic and approachable experience. In addition, we take the subject seriously, but not ourselves, so it’s also fun. Paranormal is a tent pole in Asbury Park, a must-visit location because we are stitched into the fabric of the community.” Kelly elaborated that their ghost tours are grounded in history (actual events from the past) and first-hand experiences. “People continue to have and share their paranormal experiences, which add to and change our tours.”
Other upcoming events include the annual Jersey Devil Fable Festival, beginning on October 10 with the Jersey Devil Film Festival and continuing through October 11 with a street festival on Mattison Ave.
Ghost Tour Tickets: $25 for adults; $20 per child (under 12). Advance Bookings Recommended. For more information on booking a museum or ghost tour, visit https://paranormalbooksnj.com.
Atlantic City Ghost Tours
Aces to Ashes: Apparitions of Atlantic City Boardwalk Ghost Tour
Meet at Rainforest Café, 2201 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Walking tours are held nightly year-round at 8 p.m. and last for one hour. Guests meet outside the Rainforest Café on the boardwalk and visit multiple locations, including the Warner Theatre, Caesar’s Atlantic City and Bally’s Casino.
The venue’s website describes Atlantic City Ghosts as “an authentic, chilling experience that strives to make sense of the unexplainable.” Based on real-world portrayals of hauntings and well-documented history, it is said that participants are sure to have a once-in-a-lifetime chilling experience.
For information or to book a tour, visit www.usghostadventures.com/atlantic-city-ghost-tour/
Old City Philadelphia
Philly Ghosts Phantoms of Philadelphia Tour
Meet at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Washington Square Park, 217-231 W Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
Haunted ghost tours are held nightly year-round and take guests through historic landmarks said to be steeped in grief and despair. The one-hour tours begin at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. The tour takes guests through the historic area and landmarks in the City of Brotherly Love. There’s also a haunted pub crawl.
According to Jandie A., a senior support specialist with U.S Ghost Adventures, “in both Atlantic City and Philadelphia, guests will hear captivating ghost stories from the city’s best local guides as they share tales of notorious spirits and eerie hauntings. They will stroll through haunted city streets after dark and uncover local legends from infamous witch trials to little-known tragedies, murders and scandalous events.”
For information, www.usghostadventures.com/philadelphia-ghost-tour.
Haunted Haddonfield Walking Tours
Haddonfield Historical Society
Greenfield Hall, 343 Kings Highway East, Haddonfield, NJ 08033
856-429-7375 • www.haddonfieldhistory.org
A local favorite and back by popular demand, the Haunted Haddonfield walking tours will be offered again on the following Fridays and Saturdays: October 10 and 11, 17 and 18 and 24 and 25. Tours start at 7 p.m. and participants meet outside Greenfield Hall. Groups are capped at 40 people and walk through the Baptist Church cemetery.
The one-hour tours are based on the stories in author William Meehan Jr.’s two volumes of “Haunted Haddonfield.” Many of the stories are from the lives of deceased Haddonfield residents. Some have been passed down through generations of families. According to the historical society’s Board of Trustees, “Bill was an accomplished researcher, writer, and public speaker with several published books and magazine articles. He sadly passed away in December 2021 after a long illness. With the blessing of his family, we have continued the Haunted Haddonfield walking tours that he led for over 20 years. We are forever grateful for his generosity.”
Tickets can be purchased online at www.haddonfieldhistory.org or through the historical society’s office. Price is $20 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under. It is suggested that participants bring flashlights and wear comfortable shoes. Each walking tour has a limited number of participants, so those interested are encouraged to register in advance. Private tours can also be arranged ahead of time.
Creamy Acres Night of Terror
Creamy Acres Farm, 448 Lincoln Mill Road, Mullica Hill, NJ
856-223-1669 • www.nightofterror.com
Night of Terror at this Mullica Hill farm is considered one of the Northeast region’s scariest Halloween destinations. This 100-acre complex features half a dozen bone-chilling attractions where visitors will come face-to-face with zombies, attack dogs, chainsaw-wielding maniacs and killer clowns. There’s also the sought-after haunted paintball hayride.
HGTV named Night of Terror as one of the scariest destinations for haunted houses in the Northeast, second only to the event in Salem, Massachusetts, home to the famous witch trials of the 1690s. And the Ride of Terror has been described as the best haunted hayride in the Garden State.
Night of Terror is offered on weekend nights and more through October.
Visit www.nightofterror.com for specific times, prices and to purchase tickets.
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
2027 Fairmount Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 236-3300 • www.halloweennights.org
Inside the walls of this once-operational 10-acre prison, a National Historic Landmark, those seeking the thrill of fright can find it during the wildly popular Halloween Nights. Described as a “Halloween Festival of Epic Proportions,” the event was totally reimagined in 2021 and introduces new features each year.
Offered on select evenings through November 8, Halloween Nights features five haunted houses, live entertainment, themed bars and tours of the long-abandoned cell blocks and yards. Haunted houses include Delirium, Big Top Terror, Machine Shop, Nightmares and The Crypt.
“Each season of Halloween Nights is the result of months of creativity, planning and innovation, and every year we push ourselves to go further,” said Erin Davis, director of Halloween Nights. “For 2025, we’ve raised the stakes once again with Dark Tides and Apocalypse Pass, two all new experiences that redefine the scale and intensity of the festival.”
In addition, this year’s event showcases expanded food and beverage offerings, a redesigned event flow and enhanced sets and characters. “This year’s event will deliver our most immersive, cinematic and unforgettable Halloween Nights yet,” said Davis. “From the moment visitors step through Eastern State’s front gate, they’ll be transported into a world of spectacle and surprise.”
For those intrigued with the past and the storied criminals that once occupied the former prison, award-winning exhibits include those about mass incarceration and its history in the United States. There’s also an audio tour, “The Voices of Eastern State,” featuring the voices of people who were incarcerated at the prison and those who worked there.
The penitentiary, with vaulted, skylit cells, closed as an active prison in 1971. According to easternstate.org, the prison, “known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, was the world’s first penitentiary, designed to inspire penitence, or true regret in the hearts of prisoners.” Eastern State imprisoned nearly 85,000 inmates in its long history, including “Scarface” Al Capone and “Slick Willie” Sutton.
According to their website, proceeds from Halloween Nights ticket sales will support the “preservation of Eastern State and their mission to preserve America’s first penitentiary, advancing public understanding of the criminal justice system.”
For information or to purchase tickets, visit www.halloweennights.org
Learn more about Eastern State Penitentiary at www.easternstate.org
