It's funny. When I was a kid, I was TERRIFIED of haunted houses.  I distinctly remember walking through one of our classic Jaycee's haunted houses here in Owensboro and screaming and crying the entire time. I am pretty sure that experience cemented by comical, yet paralyzing fear of clowns.

As an adult, I have grown to LOVE haunted houses and, honestly, the scarier, the better.  And the U.S. is home to some absolutely terrifying haunts that The Scare Factor rates each Halloween.  Well, the recent reviews are in and The Scare Factor has published its initial list of the ten top-rated haunts for 2021.  And, guess what??  Four of the current Top Ten are right here in Kentucky.

Here's the list!

As you can see, The Scare Factor list was shared by The Devil's Attic in Louisville.  I have been to that haunt a couple of times (it was a stop two consecutive years for WBKR's Hell on Wheels bus tour) and it is AWESOME!

Picture this! One year, one of the rooms involved a fully recreated scene from The Exorcist.  Regan was on the bed, her wrists tied to the bed posts, and a priest was trying to exorcise her.  Then, all of a sudden, after writhing around in a full back bend, she broke free from one of her wrist restraints and lunged toward the crowd.  It was frightening and perfect.  The Devil's Attic is amazing and here's the promo video for this year's haunt.

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Another Hell on Wheels stop also made the list.  Louisville's Haunted Hotel is so much fun!  Here's another great scene I remember that will give you an example of what you're in for.  The Haunted Hotel has an elevator in it. It's billed as the Elevator Ride to Hell!  One year, the haunt started with us being ushered into it.  Then, the lights went out.  Then, they would occasionally, randomly flash on, just enough to reveal that someone was in the elevator with us, hovering above us, sprawled out across the ceiling in some scary gymnastic pose.  With each flash of light, that demon shifted position, getting closer and closer to our heads and faces.  It was completely unnerving.

Louisville snagged another entry on the list with The American Horrorplex. Now, I haven't been to this haunt personally, but it looks rather alarming.  Here's a great teaser trailer for it.

And, finally, the fourth haunt to make The Scare Factor's Top Ten this year is the USS Nightmare in Newport, Kentucky.  The USS Nightmare is exactly what it sounds like.  It's a haunted steamboat and warns its visitors, "Hope you brought your sea legs… you’re going to need em."  Here's The Scare Factor's official walk through video!

If you'd like to check out more haunts reviewed by The Scare Factor, CLICK HERE!

 

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