The 7 Most Extreme Haunted Houses in America (Updated 2015)

UPDATED 2015: We seek out the craziest most extreme haunted attractions in the country. The haunted houses on our list cater to adult audiences and involve waivers, extreme physical contact, safe words, abduction, violence, nudity and electric shock. The 7 haunts below shatter the traditional rules and limitations of haunted attractions to provide the scariest, most intense experience the haunt industry has to offer.

7. Haunted Hoochie at Dead Acres

Pataskala, Ohio | Official Website | $25 – $45 | Parental Advisory Explicit Content
Features: Violence, Sexual Undertones, Extreme Physical Contact.

When we attended the Haunted Hoochie at Dead Acres an actor threw me over his shoulder and carried me off into a different room where he spun me around several times and then pushed me back in with my group. We were also cornered by men with chainsaws and one of us got hit in the head.

A sign at the entrance of the haunt warns, “ATTENTION: Entering Dead Acres entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury. Risks may include among other things, slipping falling, collision with fixed objects or other participants…This may be the best haunted house you’ve ever experienced. Have Fun.”

6. D E A D OF N I G H T

Long Island, New York | Official Website | ? | Adults 18+ Only

Features: Violence, Sexual Undertones, Extreme Physical Contact, Submersion in Water, Humiliation, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word.

In 2013, DEAD OF NIGHT on Long Island had one of the most brilliant haunt openings I’ve ever seen. Everyone waited in lines listening to a calming “we are here for your protection” recording, which was interrupted at intervals by an air raid siren and men in gas masks and suits, who each grabbed an unsuspecting patron and dragged them into the haunt. Some people were dragged in, one girl was zipped into a body bag, and I was thrown over someone’s shoulder and carried inside. The haunt opened with this very strong abduction scenario, then the focus shifted to humiliation, the smearing of strange substances, and hitting people in the face with laughably large and painfully heavy fake penises. The experience has evolved quite a bit since 2013 and the theme changes every year.

5. ScareHouse: The Basement

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Official Website | $35 – $50 | Adults 18+ Only

Features: Violence, Sexual Undertones, Extreme Physical Contact, Electric Shock, Religious Themes, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word.

The Basement at ScareHouse is an intense, immersive, and interactive experience inside a nearly 100-year-old historic and haunted building. You may enter in pairs or alone. I chose to enter alone. It was a spectacular experience. There is a great deal of improvisation and dialogue with the actors as you make your way through each scene of your own personal horror movie. The actors were incredibly creative and fun to talk to as they doled out electric shocks and extreme physical contact. The Basement is a collaborative immersive theatre experience peppered with elements of extreme horror.

4. The Cult

North Conway, New Hampshire | Official Website | N/A | Adults Only | No Longer Exists

Features: 18+, Must Enter Alone, Encounter Live Animals, Edibles, Extreme Violence, Sexual Undertones, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word, Extreme Physical Contact.

Our visit to The Cult involved drinking faux urine, being bound and gagged and getting crawled on by cockroaches! Read a complete walk through of our experience here.

**UPDATE: Cranmore Mountain Resort chose not to bring back The Cult for the 2013+2014+2015 season. Ask The Ghoullog Creators to bring back The Cult in 2016! Contact them now on Facebook or Twitter!**

3. Blackout Haunted House

New York/California | Official Website | $45 – $150 | Adults 18+ Only

Features: 18+, Extreme Violence, Full Frontal Nudity, Sexual Situations, Must Enter Alone, Edibles, Submersion in Water, Must Sign a Waiver, Extreme Physical Contact, There is a Safe Word.

Blackout Haunted House earns the #3 spot for their extreme OFF-SEASON EVENTS which combine their unique brand of immersive horror theater with elements that due to a gag order I am not permitted to disclose. Their annual October haunt and exclusive off-season events are infamous. In the 7 events I have attended since 2010, I have been abducted in a van, faux-water-boarded, rolled naked in a sheet of plastic and forced to walk barefoot down a used condom covered hallway. Blackout is never predictable. The experience is always shocking, upsetting, and exhilarating.

INFERNO is currently running in San Francisco Armory.
Blackout Reviews & Walk-Throughs

Blackout Haunted House Review (2012)
Blackout Haunted House Walk-Through & Review (2011)
Blackout Haunted House Walk-Through & Review (2010)
Blackout Off-Season Event Reviews & Walk-Throughs

Blackout: May Off-Season Event Walk-Through & Review (2012)
Blackout: May Off-Season Event Walk-Through & Review (2011)

2. Freakling Bros: Victim Experience III

Las Vegas, Nevada | Official Website | $100 – $150 | Adults 18+ Only

Features: 18+, Extreme Violence, Deeply Personal Experience, Sexual Undertones, Partial Nudity, Submersion in Water, Electric Shock, Must Sign a Waiver, There is a Safe Word, Extreme Physical Contact.

The Victim Experience III is an uncensored, more extreme way to experience their 18+ Gates of Hell attraction. The Victim Experience is incredibly intense and you must go through alone. Participants will experience extreme physical contact, light torture, simulated drowning, and more. A member of our team made it all the way through and described the Victim Experience as, “intensely personal …more intense, scary and painful than the most intense Off-Season Blackout experience I have ever had.”

Boy, do we believe him! We attended just the regular 18+ Gates of Hell attraction back in 2012 (before they started the Victim Experience) and that was deliciously intense! I watched a camouflaged attacker appear out of nowhere, grab my colleague by the foot, then knock her down and drag her away down a long hallway. I was left alone in the darkness until the attacker came back for me and threw me over his shoulder. We also faced electric shocks, professional wrestlers, and a firing squad. Read more about our experience here. Coming Soon: a no-spoilers account of what it’s like to survive the Victim Experience.

and the Most Extreme (Possibly Unsafe) Haunted House in America is…

1. McKamey Manor

San Diego, California | Official Website | Dog Food Donation | Adults 21+ Only

Features: 21+, Extreme Violence, Small Enclosed Spaces, Edibles, Submersion in Water, Haircut, Covered in Blood, Must Sign a Waiver, Extreme Physical Contact, 4-7 Hour Experience.

McKamey Manor is the only attraction on the list that we have not personally experienced. This insanely extreme home haunt tops our list because it can use scare tactics that are off limits to professional attractions. We’re also not sure that what they’re doing is 100% safe. Participants are covered in blood, forced to eat disgusting things, threatened with power tools, stuffed into a clothes dryer, submerged in water, physically assaulted, and given a haircut. Don’t believe us? Just watch their 2013 promotional video below. Did we mention the experience lasts for 4-7 hours?! This one is too insane for even us!