I don’t know about you but Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, until Christmas rolls around of course. I simply love the entire vibe of the holiday. Halloween allows you the opportunity to become whoever or whatever, and by doing so you get rewarded with bag loads of candy that you can enjoy until you get the ultimate sugar high. The Halloween festivities don’t stop there either; there’s carving pumpkins, watching a scary movie, and going to haunted houses. Some of my favorite memories consists of me and my friends all hanging out together and doing those exact activities. Something about doing those things with a group of your friends makes them ten times more fun, so that’s exactly what I did. I convinced a bunch of my friends to come with me to the nearby haunted houses and we ranked them, so you never have to regret spending your time or money at one.
- St. ALbans Sanatorium Slayhouse
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Coming in fifth place, we have St. Albans Sanatorium Slayhouse, located in Radford. It’s ranking is not at all fault to the house itself, this was a misunderstanding on my friends and I’s part. When doing research we discovered that the sanatorium is open all year long for ghost tours, so that’s what we believed we would have been paying for had we gone there. Upon later research, however, I have found that they do set up a haunted house this time of year. General admission tickets are $20.55, which is about the average price for a haunted house. It has pretty good reviews overall, but I can not give you my honest opinion on it because we did not get to experience it. But, if you’re into this kind of haunted experience, I do think it might be worth checking out.
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- Terror Manor
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Coming in fourth we have Terror Manor, located in Roanoke. To be honest, this one was heartbreaking to go to. Before taking my friends to each house, I did extensive research and was most excited to go to this one. I had read that this was one of the scariest haunts in Virginia and that it was so good that everyone had to experience it. Well let me tell you, it was a significant let down. First, it was a lengthy drive to get there, but I promised my friends it would be worth it in the end. Plus, who doesn’t love a good road trip? But boy was I wrong. We arrived at the location and purchased our general admission tickets for $25, which I would say is a bit much for this attraction. It gave you access to both the haunted maze and the haunted house across the street. After we purchased our tickets, we had to wait in an extremely long line for over an hour. While you wait, they do provide you with some entertainment. They have fire performers which was pretty cool to watch and distracts you for a little while. Once you get through the line, you get to go through the maze, which in my opinion, was the best part and where it had the most jump scares. Once you finish the maze you get directed to the house next door, which is where we most disappointed. The scenes and costumes were okay but there wasn’t a whole lot of variation between them and we also saw multiple scenes being repeated. The two biggest complaints the group had were that there weren’t enough actors in the building, and a lot of the times you’ll just be waking through empty rooms with no one in them. When there were actors, it was very predictable to guess where they were gonna be. The second most common complaint from the group was how short the whole attraction was. We waited in line for over an hour and a half when the entire experience itself was less than thirty minutes. Overall, this haunted house was not our favorite and we most likely will not be returning.
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- Blue Ridge Nightmares
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Coming in third, we have Blue Ridge Nightmares, also located in Roanoke. Blue Ridge Nightmares was an interesting one to say the least. One thing I can say is that set design and costuming were really impressive. The setting is set back in old time Roanoke, and it really does feel as though you’ve gone back in time when walking through. However, with that being said, it feels as though you’re walking through a museum, rather than a haunted house. It was interesting to see but we did not find it scary. The scares were a bit predictable and the groups were sent in too close together, so actors didn’t always have enough time to reset to get the next group. However, if you’re not into scary things but like the experience of going to a haunted house, then this is the place for you. General admission tickets are $20 if you order ahead and $22 if you get them at the door, so the pricing is not too steep, falling about the average price of most of the local attractions. The scenes and props you get to see might just be worth the price. Overall, we didn’t love it, but also didn’t hate it.
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- Hexed
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Coming in the honorable mention spot of second place, we have Hexed, located in Radford. This was a difficult decision to make between first and second, but ultimately, it came down to pricing. General admission tickets cost $25, which is getting pretty expensive. The real kicker is you have to pay $10 to park which, in my opinion, is just ridiculous. So, if you want to go to this haunted house be prepared to spend at least $35, so I suggest carpooling with your friends. That was my only real complaint with this place and other than that, it was great time. You park in a completely different area than the house and you have to hitch a ride on this wild light up school bus that honestly played some really good songs. That was probably my favorite part of the night. Then, you get to the location and everyone receives a group name, ours was Scar Face. After that, you’re free to hang out where they have a concession stand where you can get food before going in. Or, you can take pictures with a few of the actors they have in the waiting area. Once your group’s name is called, you can get in line. The line was extremely long and we had to wait for a while, but they do provide you with entertaining fire performers and they also have a dj who plays music. All of the actors were really funny and enjoy interacting with the customers so it makes the time go by much faster. The trail itself was very lengthy and detailed. Half of the time was spent inside and the other outside. The scenes themselves were very convincing and you can tell they spent a long time putting together the entire thing. It varied from a short corn maze, to an abandoned school bus, then to a haunted house, and so much more. They also did a good job of making sure each section had plenty of actors, which made it so much more enjoyable. I, myself, did not find it scary but my friends did, so I think it really just depends on the person. Even though I did not find it that scary, in my opinion, I do think the price is worth the experience. Ultimatley, my friends and I had a great time and definitely plan on going again.
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- The Dark Woods Haunted trail
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Last but certainly not least, coming in first place, we have the Dark Woods Haunted Trail, located in Radford. This was overwhelmingly the group favorite. General admission tickets were only $15, which is the first of many reasons why this one is the best. There were only two small complaints, the first being the long line before entering. Through all of our previous experiences, however, we learned the hard truth of the inevitable line wherever you go. The trail itself was really impressive. It was extremely extensive, and had lots of scene variation with many actors to go with each scene. I think this place did the best job of actually scaring me, with many thrilling jump-scares. The actors also did a nice job of hiding and blending in with the woods, so I was never able to notice them until they were actively scaring me. I’m not sure if it was the actors themselves or if it was just the eerie vibe of the woods, but this one was more unsettling than any of the other houses. As a reward for making it through the scary woods, they have a table set up at the end where you can get free hot chocolate, water, and brownies. If that doesn’t convince you that this trail is worth it, then I don’t know what will. Overall, it’s extremely close to Virginia Tech and it’s not overly expensive to go. It is scary and fairly long, and they give you free treats at the end. My friends and I loved it and will definitely be coming back next year.
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