Spooky season is easily the best time of year. Sure, I’m biased since I have an October birthday, but it’s the truth.
But if you’re anything like myself, you probably aren’t totally in tune with all the local haunted houses, which ones to skip, which ones are legitimately terrifying, etc.
So when you get the text from one of your friends saying “we should totally go to a haunted house this weekend,” you have no clue where you should be spending your hard earned money. And Halloween season is too short to be paralyzed by all the options!
We pulled together all the haunted houses in (and around) Central Ohio this fall so you know what you’re getting before you even buy the ticket.
Stay spooky, my friends.
Haunted Houses in Columbus and Central Ohio
8. Adams Family Haunted Woods
19698 Barnett Road, Marysville, OH 43040
This small, family-run operation is a more mild taste of Halloween spooks and frights. Operating on a 7 Acre wooded trail, you can find some more tame frights and fun here every Saturday in October. Stay tuned to their Facebook page for info and updates.
7. Pataskala Haunted Forest
8838 Refugee Road SW, Pataskala, OH 43062
Similar to the Adams Family, the Pataskala Haunted Forest winds you through Central Ohio’s wooded trails with frights and jump scares awaiting your every step. While some kids can get through it, be sure to check with your kids before bringing them to the Haunted Forest. Plus, all the proceeds go to charity.
Open every Friday & Saturday in October. $20 tickets. Free parking. Find more info here.
6. Mohican Haunted Schoolhouse
155 W 3rd St, Perrysville, OH 44864
Celebrating their 10th year in, the Mohican Haunted Schoolhouse makes good use of a 1924 Ohio Schoolhouse, turning it into a truly terrifying “back-to-school” experience. If you aren’t into frights, check out their Scaredy Cat Night on October 25 from 6 – 8 PM. They mention excessive gore, so if you are squeamish or have young kids, think twice before enrolling in class, if you catch our drift.
Opening night is September 26th, 2026 from 7 – 10 PM. Then open every Friday & Saturday in October from 7 – 11 PM. Tickets range from $22.99 to $27.99. Find more info here.
5. Brimstone Haunt
525 Brimstone Rd, Wilmington, OH 45177
Brimstone Haunt, while closer to Cincinnati and Dayton, is included on this list because it’s just an hour or so from Columbus, and they do haunts better than most. You can find several different experiences depending on what you’re comfortable with, including a family-friendly Haunted Hayride, The Bog (similar to the Haunted Forests above) that winds you through the woods and the “town” of Brimstone, and The Boogeyman, a brand new experience for 2026.
The Boogeyman puts you in the middle of a Victorian home where you’re forced to navigate tight, terrifying hallways, where you then have to explain to your asylum doctors that the Boogeyman man is, in fact, real.
Opening weekend is September 11 – 12, and then open every Friday and Saturday in for the rest of the month. They then move to Fridays thru Sundays starting October 9th. Lights out nights are November 6 – 7, and Friday the 13th is November 13. Find more info here.
4. The Haunt Columbus
3770 Refugee Rd, Columbus, OH 43232
Previously known as “Carnage” and “Scream,” The Haunt Columbus promises to bring frights like you’ve never seen before. You’ll find two different attractions here. First, “Lugaroo Bayou – Ohio,” this is a successor to Carnage’s “The Bayou,” weaving you through the swampy shadows of what Ohio once was before civilization.
The other haunt onsite is “Black Hollow Medical,” taking place in what is supposedly an abandoned hospital known as Black Hollow Medical. And if there’s anything scarier than a haunted house, it’s a haunted hospital.
Open all Fridays and Saturdays in October starting October 2nd, 7 – 10 PM. Open Sundays and Thursdays beginning October 18th. Tickets start at $30. See more info here.
3. Fear Columbus
2605 Northland Plaza Dr, Columbus, OH 43231
Fear Columbus turns a massive warehouse into one of the top haunted house experiences in the entire country… so it being ranked number 3 on this list is simply shocking, we know. Still, Fear Columbus is insanely immersive, leaning on sensory overload and constant stimulation to keep you on your toes. Here, you’ll find three brand new haunts in the same spot:
- Shadow Pines, a former family campground that turns dark after strangers begin looking for “The Entity.”
- Dearly Departed – Critical Conditions, a funeral director spends years trying to bring his husband back from the dead when an evil nurse convinces him that he needs a live host to experiment with.
- Oddballs – Show Stopper, featuring circus/sideshow performers evading law enforcement after rumors began circulating about a sinister backstage incident…
Tickets start at $19.99 for presale, jumping to $34.99 for general admission after presale ends. All tickets are sold online only. Opening night is September 11 and runs through November 1st. Find more info here.
2. Haunted Hoochie at Dead Acres
13861 Broad St SW, Pataskala, OH 43062
Ranked as the 2nd best Haunted House in the country by USA Today in 2024, Haunted Hoochie has built a controversial reputation as one of the most insane, extreme, and unapologetically unique haunted houses in the country. We’re talking gruesome imagery including a simulated suicide, a demon birth, and more than we should probably leave off our website.
In their own words, “Dead Acres is a full sensory assault.” This is a touch-allowed haunt, so the actors may grab you above the shoulders or below the knees. You have been warned.
Opening night is September 17, and runs Thursdays – Saturdays until 1 AM on November 1st. General admission is $35. Learn more here.
1. Blood Prison at the Ohio State Reformatory
100 Reformatory Rd, Mansfield, OH 44905
If you just take the location alone, putting a haunted house in a former prison (which was eventually shut down due to overcrowding and poor living conditions) is already insane. But having that prison also be the star of The Shawshank Redemption thanks to its castle-like appearance that was meant to instill reverence into its inmates… it’s truly a haunted house unlike any other in the world.
The theme is “Blood Prison,” leaning heavily into the location being built on real suffering. With the spirits of former inmates still trapped within its walls, there’s a palpable uneasiness that you can’t shake. The Warden’s Widow still walks the grounds of the prison, and she is terrifying to see up close. Plus, with the option of purchasing a touch pass, you can immerse yourself even deeper. They drag you away from your group into different rooms, will hold chainsaws against your legs, and even shoot massive compressed air cannons at you.
Plus, you still have to navigate the dark and dilapidated hallways of Ohio’s most infamous prison. 10/10 fright levels.
Opening night is Friday, September 25th, and runs Fridays through Sundays until November 1st. Gates open at 6:45, Tickets start at $35, with the touch pass adding an extra $7. Learn more here.
