Listicle: Hunt for haunted houses in the Lehigh Valley

With Halloween just around the corner, there’s no better way to celebrate the season than visiting haunted houses. Here are some of the haunting attractions in the Lehigh Valley, all within a one-hour drive from campus.

Dorney Park – Halloween Haunt

From Sept. 21-Oct. 27, Dorney Park hosts a Halloween Haunt on select Fridays and Saturdays. Halloween Haunt features mazes, shows, ‘scare zones’ and rides. With over seven mazes, three shows and more than twenty rides at Halloween Haunt, attendees are sure to get the chills.

• Distance from Lehigh: 22 minutes
• Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Price: Tickets can either be purchased online ahead of time or at the gate. For Oct. 26, the online price is $35, while the gate price is $46. For Oct. 27, tickets for “Fright Feast,” which includes admission to Halloween Haunt and an all-you-can-eat meal, are priced at $44.

Hotel of Horror

Hotel of Horror is a nearby haunted attraction that is open weekends between Sept. 22-Nov. 3 and takes place in the abandoned Lake House Hotel. Hotel of Horror is open on Halloween night. The venue features walk-through rooms and hallways of an abandoned haunted hotel. In addition, there is a live performance called “Theatre of the Damned,” featuring characters from the haunted house.

• Distance from Lehigh: 34 minutes
• Location: Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania
• Price: The combo pass for Hotel of Horror and Altered Nightmares, another haunted attraction within the space, is $35. The pass for the Hotel of Horror alone is $25. The pass for the “Theatre of the Damned” is $5. Tickets can be purchased online or in person.

Waldorf Estate of Fear

Waldorf Estate of Fear is a popular haunted attraction in the area. The history of the Waldorf Estate involves murders from 1929 by a man named Oliver Sommersby. Legend has it, Sommersby opened up the Waldorf Hotel and murdered the people who stayed there. He was ultimately killed by the father of a girl he murdered. At Waldorf Estate of Fear, there is a haunted hayride, haunted house inside the Waldorf Hotel and an escape room involving zombies. Waldorf Estate of Fear is open every Friday and Saturday in October.

• Distance from Lehigh: 45 minutes
• Location: Lehighton, Pennsylvania
• Price: The best deal is the “Terror Package,” which includes passes for the three main attractions for $35.

Lehigh Valley Screampark

After five years of haunted attractions, Lehigh Valley Screampark is still going strong. This Halloween season, the park is offering a haunted corn maze, two traditional haunted houses with different themes and a new haunted hayride. In addition to these haunts, there is a zombie paintball ride in which visitors ride in a military-style vehicle and shoot the “infected zombies” with paintball guns. Lehigh Valley Screampark is open weekends in October and until Nov. 3.

• Distance from Lehigh: 30 minutes
• Location: Orefield, Pennsylvania
• Price: All four haunts cost $30. The zombie paintball ride costs $25 separately, but there is a combo offered that includes the four haunts and the zombie paintball ride for $45 total. There are coupons on Lehigh Valley Screampark’s website that can be redeemed at the ticket booth on Fridays and Sundays.

Halls of Horror

Halls of Horror is celebrating its 10-year anniversary as the “home to the blood experience.” Halls of Horror is a mature haunted experience that is meant for adults. Visitors explore the venue in small groups and the actors are allowed to interact and touch them, dramatically increasing the fear factor. According to the Halls of Horror website, visitors should not wear any important clothing because it is a messy haunted experience.

• Distance from Lehigh: 41 minutes
• Location: Palmerton, Pennsylvania
• Price: The original haunt is $20. There is a “Blood Experience” offered for $35, which includes a t-shirt and a more extreme and physically haunting experience.