Every October, a handful of North Texas buildings stop pretending to be warehouses and meatpacking plants and go back to what they apparently always wanted to be, which is terrifying. Dallas-Fort Worth has one of the strongest haunted house scenes in the country, including the attraction USA Today readers just voted the best in America. If you want a real scare before Halloween, these are worth the drive.
Start with the big one. Cutting Edge Haunted House fills a century-old meatpacking plant at 1701 E. Lancaster Ave. in Fort Worth, in the old Hell’s Half Acre part of town. The building still has its meatpacking equipment, which the crew has turned into a two-story “human processing” line, and the walk-through takes about 55 minutes. Cutting Edge has set Guinness World Records over the years, including for the longest walk-through haunted house, and this year it finished first in USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, the only Texas haunt in the top 10. Tickets are sold by time slot, and it stays open on select nights through November 13.
For the most theatrical scare in town, head to Plano. Dark Hour Haunted House at 701 Taylor Drive feels closer to a stage production than a haunted house, with elaborate sets, live performers and a storyline built around a coven of witches. New this year are Medusa’s Lair, the Strega Chamber and a growing horde of goblins in the labyrinth. The whole thing is indoors and air-conditioned, which still matters in a Texas October, and it runs select nights through November 13.
Hangman’s House of Horrors calls itself the original Fort Worth haunted house, and the setting alone is worth the trip. Hangman’s sits at 4400 Blue Mound Road on the grounds of a more than 100-year-old military site built in the 1910s as Helium Production Plant No. 1. Beyond the main haunted house, there is Outbreak!, a shorter zombie attraction that works as a warm-up while you wait, and The Beauty of Horror, a new interactive art exhibit where you take photos in horror-themed sets. Hangman’s also lists early Scaredy Cat sessions from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 11, and Sunday, October 18, so check its site if you are bringing younger kids. The regular season runs through Halloween night.
In the Mid-Cities, Moxley Manor is celebrating its 17th season at 510 Harwood Road in Bedford, right between Dallas and Fort Worth. One ticket gets you into three different haunts, the original Moxley Manor, Regan’s Revenge and Big Top Terror 3D. All three are indoors, parking is free, and horror fans may recognize the place from the 2014 film The Houses October Built. Moxley runs through October 31.
If you are willing to drive east, Thrillvania Haunted House Park in Terrell turns an entire rural property into a haunted theme park. The centerpiece is Verdun Manor, built around its own spooky backstory, and there are several attractions to work through in one night. It is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights throughout October at 2330 County Road 138. Plan on it being a full evening.
For a full night of it, Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Texas turns the Arlington park into one giant haunt on select nights through November 1, in the park’s 65th anniversary year. Five haunted mazes include attractions built on The Conjuring, SAW and The Strangers, along with two of the park’s own original haunts. Outside, six scare zones take over the walkways after dark, including a new DÃa de los Muertos zone in the Mexico section and a new premium sideshow zone called Doc Varnum’s Hybrid Hell Pit. The scare zones, live shows and most rides come with park admission, while the mazes and Doc Varnum’s require a separate Haunted Attractions Pass. Six Flags does not recommend Fright Fest for children under 13, but the park runs a daytime Tricks and Treats event for younger kids on Saturdays and Sundays. The park is at 2201 E. Road to Six Flags in Arlington.
The most Dallas haunt of the season might be the newest. This year the Junkyard Haunted House teamed up with the Dallas Parks Department to take over Old City Park, the historic village formerly known as Dallas Heritage Village, at 1515 S. Harwood St. One ticket covers seven haunted houses spread across the 21-acre grounds, set inside the park’s historic buildings, including the Millermore Mansion. It runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights through November 1, from 8 p.m. to midnight, and tickets are sold on site. The family behind it builds its original haunt from junk it hauls away for customers, and that location is open weekends in October at 2700 Sylvan Ave. in Oak Cliff.
A few tips before you go. Buy tickets online ahead of time, especially for weekends, since most of these places sell timed or limited tickets and the lines get long the closer you get to Halloween. Every one of these attractions carries warnings, and several have age or height guidelines, so read the fine print on the website before you bring kids. Wear closed-toe shoes, leave the big bag in the car and decide in advance who in your group goes first. That conversation will not go the way you think.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the final weekend will be packed. If you want shorter lines, try a Thursday or a Sunday, or wait until the first week of November, when Cutting Edge and Dark Hour are still running.
