Haunted Happenings
The Region Offers Quite a Mix
By Jan L. Apple
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.
The Paranormal Museum – Paranormal Books and Curiosities
621 Cookman Ave.
Asbury Park, NJ
732-455-3188
https://paranormalbooksnj.com
Advance Bookings Recommended
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 legendary 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 Fall Festival beginning on October 10 with the Jersey Devil Film Festival (ticket purchase required) and continues through October 11 with a street festival (free admission) on Mattison Ave.
Ghost Tour Tickets: $25 for adults; $20 per child (under 12). For more information on booking a museum or ghost tour, visit https://paranormalbooksnj.com.
US Ghost Adventures
usghostadvantures.com
Advance Bookings Recommended
Call or text 816-722-7363
This organization operates haunted walking tours and haunted pub crawls in 220 locations across the country. In our region, tours are offered in Atlantic City and Old City Philadelphia. All are described as kid-friendly with ghost stories that are age-appropriate for the whole family.
“US Ghost Adventures is a disabled veteran-owned small business that hires local storytellers and historians in all of our locations,” explained Kelli Bloomquist, public relations and communications director for US Ghost Adventures and Tourism. “The tours focus on community lore and haunted history, but there are no jump scares.”
Tickets for both locations: $26 adults; $17 for children under 13.
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.
“On the Atlantic City walking tour, guests will learn about the haunted past of the city including shipwrecks, haunted hotels and the war-time hospitals that still echo with visitors,” said Bloomquist.
The venue’s website describes Atlantic City Ghosts as an authentic 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, visit https://usghostadventures.com/atlantic-city-ghost-tour/
Old City Philadelphia
Philly Ghosts
Meet at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Washington Square Park
217-231 W Washington Square
Philadelphia, PA
According to Bloomquist, during the Philadelphia tours, guests will hear “true tales of ghosts of war, turmoil and disease – from the curse of the Liberty Bell, the tragic stories of Elizabeth Physick, the wife of the Father of American Surgery and the hauntings of our nation’s founders like Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton.”
The one-hour walking tours, offered at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., are held nightly year-round and take participants through historic landmarks known to be steeped in grief and despair. Philadelphia also offers the Boos and Booze haunted pub crawl.
For information, visit https://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 encounter 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 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
www.halloweennights.org
(215) 236-3300
Inside the walls of this once operational 10-acre prison, a National Historic Landmark, those seeking the thrill of fright, are sure to find it at the wildly popular Halloween Nights. Described as a “Halloween Festival of Epic Proportions,” the event was reimagined in 2021 and has continued yearly with added enhancements.
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, the 2025 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’s 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.” The facility imprisoned nearly 85,000 inmates throughout its history, including “Scarface” Al Capone and “Slick Willie” Sutton.
According to their website, proceeds from Halloween Nights 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
Information on other haunted, bone-chilling and Halloween related regional events can be found at www.visitnj.org and https://www.visitphilly.com
