People are afraid of a lot of different things.
From clowns to dolls to chainsaw men, Haunted Houses pick out those fears and maximize them. Personally, I am afraid of basically everything that goes into a haunted house. I don’t like small spaces, I don’t like people chasing me, and I definitely don’t like clowns. My imagination runs away with the slightest notion of fear.
As a kid, I was so terrified of an episode of Boy Meets World that I hid, huddled with my cousin on the stairs of his home, clutching a bible and praying that the episode would end and Mr. Feeny would go back to being a nice, old man.
To be fair, I’m not the only child who was traumatized by that work of 90’s television. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve made friends who for some reason, do enjoy being frightened.
Which is how I found myself a few years ago laughing/crying my way through a haunted house all while being filmed. I know that it seems like I was having fun on the surface, but deep down, trust me, I was terrified.
If for some insane reason, you’re interested in having a terrifying experience, we’ve got some great haunts. Here are the best in the area, guaranteed to give you jumps and scares.
| Haunt | Town | Drive from downtown | 2026 nights | Tickets from |
| The Haunt Columbus | Columbus (Refugee Rd) | 12 min | Select nights through Halloween | $30 |
| Fear Columbus | Columbus (Northland) | 16 min | Sept 11 to Nov 1 | $25 |
| Pataskala Haunted Forest | Pataskala | 26 min | Fri and Sat in October, from Oct 2 | $20 |
| Haunted Mountain | Chillicothe | 55 min | Thu to Sat in October | See site |
| Brimstone Haunt | Wilmington | 1 hr | Weekends, mid-Sept to Nov 7 | About $36 |
| Blood Prison | Mansfield | 1 hr 10 min | Fri to Sun, Sept 25 to Nov 1 | $35 |
The Haunt Columbus
What: This is the haunt on Refugee Road that ran as Carnage Haunted House from 2017 through last season. New owners took it over for 2026 and renamed it The Haunt Columbus, so the building will look familiar and the inside won’t. One ticket covers both stories. Lugaroo Bayou is a swamp walkthrough. Black Hollow Medical is an abandoned hospital in a dead mining town. It’s all indoors, so weather doesn’t cancel a night, and groups get sent in about a minute apart in batches of up to eight. Kids under 15 need an adult in their group. The haunt says Thursdays and Sundays are the quiet nights. There’s also a no-scare Kid’s Haunt on Saturday, October 25 from noon to 5 p.m.
When: Select nights through the Halloween season. The calendar on their site has each night’s hours.
Tickets: General admission $30, Fast Pass $50, Scream Pass (instant access) $80, plus fees. Groups of 12 or more pay $25 a head. Buy online here.
Where: 3770 Refugee Rd, Columbus (the old Eastland Lanes bowling alley). About 12 minutes from downtown. Parking is free.
Website: The Haunt Columbus
Fear Columbus
What: The big one inside the outerbelt. Fear Columbus is the 40,000-square-foot building off Northland Plaza that used to be 13th Floor Columbus, and owners Nick and Jess Francis rebuild both walkthrough attractions every season. Expect movie-grade sets, fog, dozens of actors and a merch shop on the way out. Everything is timed entry and sold online only, and the popular October Saturdays sell out ahead of time. The haunt doesn’t recommend it for kids under 13.
When: September 11 through November 1. Fridays and Saturdays in September (7 to 10 p.m., later on the last weekend), then Fridays and Saturdays 7 p.m. to midnight in October with Sundays 7 to 10 p.m. Most weeknights are open from October 20 on. Closing night is Sunday, November 1.
Tickets: General admission starts around $25 on weeknights and $28 to $37 on weekends, with Fast Pass and Immediate Access upgrades on top. Buy online here.
Where: 2605 Northland Plaza Dr, Columbus. About 16 minutes from downtown, with free parking on site.
Website: Fear Columbus
Pataskala Haunted Forest
What: I love a good forest stroll as much as the next girl, but this is more like a forest “run for your life” kind of vibe. The Pataskala Haunted Forest has been scaring people in these woods since 1989, which makes it the longest-running haunt in central Ohio. It’s run entirely by volunteers and the profits go to the Lions Club of Pataskala Charitable Foundation, so you can get really scared for a good cause. The walk takes 30 to 45 minutes, it’s fully outdoors, and the trail is rough enough that it isn’t a fit for wheelchairs or strollers. Tickets are $20 plus fees, online only, and each weekend’s tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. the Monday of that week.
When: Opening weekend is October 2, then every Friday and Saturday in October. Arrival times run 8 to 11 p.m.
Where: 8838 Refugee Rd SW, Pataskala. About 26 minutes from downtown. Parking is free.
Website: Pataskala Haunted Forest
Haunted Mountain, Chillicothe
What: The people who stage Tecumseh! every summer turn the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheatre into a haunt every October, and it’s the most family-shaped night on this list. One ticket gets a stage show (this year it’s “The Immortal Dracula,” about an hour, starting at 7:15), a 25-minute haunted trail that opens at 8:45, a 30-minute escape room, tomahawk throwing, a scavenger hunt and a free horror movie on the big screen. The film changes nightly, from Hocus Pocus and the Muppets to Alien and Halloween. The recommended age is 6 and up, which you won’t see at any other haunt here. October 15 is a sensory-friendly trail night and October 29 is trail and escape room only, no show.
When: Thursday through Saturday nights in October. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. and the grounds close at 11.
Tickets: General admission and VIP (reserved seating, a drink and a timed trail slot) through hauntedmountain.org.
Where: 5968 Marietta Rd, Chillicothe. About 55 minutes down US-23 from downtown.
Website: Haunted Mountain
Brimstone Haunt
What: Brimstone is a scream park an hour down I-71 in Wilmington, and this is its tenth season. Three attractions run on one property. The Haunted Hayride goes out through the fields and The Bog goes on foot through the woods. The Boogeyman is the indoor house, and it’s the wheelchair-accessible one (the parking lot is grass). In between there’s a midway with food, a bar, games and photo ops, so it’s easy to make a night of it. Buying online is cheaper than the gate.
When: Weekends from mid-September through Halloween, with Lights Out nights the first weekend of November. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. and the attractions start after dark.
Tickets: Roughly $36 to $44 for general admission depending on the night, about $50 to $58 for the all-attractions pass, and about $25 for a single attraction. Buy online here.
Where: 525 Brimstone Rd, Wilmington. About an hour from downtown Columbus, just off I-71 on State Route 73.
Website: Brimstone Haunt
Escape from Blood Prison at the Ohio State Reformatory
What: Blood Prison is the one haunt on this list where the building does half the work. It’s staged inside the real Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, the prison from The Shawshank Redemption. The cell blocks are unsettling with the lights on. This year’s edition is called Blood Prison: Apocalypse. Entry is timed in half-hour slots, and the good October Saturday slots were already selling out in mid-September, so book early. Everyone has to be at least 10. The optional Touch Pass is 18 and up, and there’s a 21-and-up lounge with themed cocktails for the priority-pass crowd.
When: September 25 through November 1, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Gates open at 6:45 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays run 7 to 11 p.m. in early season and 7 p.m. to midnight from October 9 on; Sundays run 7 to 10 p.m.
Tickets: Experience Columbus lists tickets starting at $35, with Ultra Lightning and Instant Access tiers above that. Buy online here.
Where: 100 Reformatory Rd, Mansfield. About an hour and ten minutes up I-71 from downtown.
Website: Blood Prison
Smaller haunts to check on before you go
These four run most years but hadn’t posted 2026 details anywhere public when this guide was updated, so check their pages before you drive out.
Jail of Terror, Newark (46 S 3rd St, about 40 minutes): a haunt inside the real 1889 Licking County jail, a building that saw the deaths of at least three sheriffs and 19 inmates in its working years. Last season it ran Fridays and Saturdays from late September through November 1 with general admission at $25.
The Haunted Farm, Pleasantville (5450 Old Millersport Rd NE, about 36 minutes): a farm haunt with a haunted house, a barn, a corn maze and a hayride. Their Facebook page is the only place they post dates and prices.
Nightmare in Nashport (7200 Frazeysburg Rd, Nashport, about an hour): a half-mile “Trail of Terror” through real woods northeast of Zanesville, $20, Fridays and Saturdays in October in past seasons. The website hasn’t been updated in a while, so trust their Facebook page over it.
Adams Family Haunted Woods, Marysville (19698 Barnett Rd, about 45 minutes): a seven-acre outdoor trail that has run Saturdays in October, $20 cash or Venmo, with a no-scare trick-or-treat night for kids. Facebook-only, so check there.
One that’s gone: Haunted Hoorah in Marion doesn’t appear to be coming back. The property went up for auction in July with the haunt’s props and sets included, and the website still shows last year’s dates.
