Welcome to Texas Haunts 2018, bringing you news and reviews of Texas haunted houses. We are based in the DFW area, but we list haunted attractions from all over Texas and surrounding states. Scores are on a 1-10 scale. Please click on the haunted house links for information about dates of operation, prices, location, and directions. Thanks for visiting and please come again soon!
The weather looks better for haunted houses this weekend, and Screams has the following on their main stage, in addition to their regular attractions! The Screams Gallery has also been updated, with new shots of Hotel D’Feers and Full Moon Cafe.
Complete DJ on the Main Stage
100.3 Jack FM on the Main Stage with a Dance Off Party
October 13, 2018
Score-10
Site Here
Location-1701 East Lancaster Avenue. Fort Worth, Texas 76102. Just west of the I-30/I-35 interchange, on E. Lancaster. Cutting Edge is on the north side of the street, parking is on the other side of the street. Directions here.
Phone-817 348 8444
Dates and Hours open-Open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October, plus Thursday, October 25, Tuesday, October 30, Halloween, and Saturday, November 3rd.
Sunday, October 14, from 8pm-10pm, Friday, October 19, from 7pm-12:30am, Saturday, October 20 from 7pm-1am, Sunday, October 21 from 8pm-10pm, Thursday, October 25 from 8pm-10pm, Friday, October 26 from 7pm-1am, Saturday, October 27 from 7pm-1am, Sunday, October from 8pm-10:30pm, Tuesday, October 30 from 8pm-10pm, Halloween from 7pm-10:30pm, Saturday, November 3rd from 8pm-10pm.
Price-Cash only at the box office. Credit cards can only be used for tickets online. Click here to buy tickets. Tax is not include in the prices listed below.
General Admission-$34.99, plus a $3.95 fee online.
Timed Ticket-Allows you to drastically cut the wait time in line. No more than a 30-45 minute wait on busy nights. Choose your time when you buy the ticket. $44.99, plus a $3.95 fee online.
Speedpass-Allows you to skip the wait altogether on slow nights, and the wait is around 10 minutes on busy nights. $54.99, plus a $3.95 fee online.
Combo with Thrillvania General Admission ticket-Can be used on any open night. $70 if purchased onsite, on sale for $59.99 online, plus a $3.95 fee online.
Speedpass with Thrillvania Combo ticket-Can be used on any open night. $105 if purchased onsite, on sale online for $84.99, plus a $3.95 fee online.
Group tickets-Group rate tickets are for 15 or more tickets purchased, and they must be purchased online for the group rate discount.
Group rate General Admission-On sale for $29.75, plus a $3.95 fee
Group rate Speedpass-On sale for $46.75 plus a $3.95 fee
Parking is $10-$15. Parking is now across the street.
Miscellaneous-Cutting Edge is an indoor haunted house, but they have changed their parking this year to open up the area around the haunted house. With plenty of room, Cutting Edge has a souvenir shop, a barbecue stand, and a stand with an assorted menu, including vegan offerings. Now you can get something to eat and spend some time outside the haunt, before or after you go in. A real chef runs the stand, so the food is a step above carnival food.
Even though the haunted house is indoors, it is a huge house, so you need to wear comfortable shoes. There are stairs, and some wet areas, so your shoes also need to have some traction. Do not wear anything that can’t get wet. There is a maze with a lot of mist, so avoid wearing anything suede, for example. Also, keep your phone in your pocket. You don’t want to lose it, or for it to get wet. Speaking of phones, remember that flash photography is not allowed inside Cutting Edge. This is to protect the actors. Their eyes become adjusted for the low lighting inside the house.
Walk through time-This will vary, depending on how fast you walk, and how good your night vision is. We made it through in about 35 minutes, but we did not go through the bubble tunnel at the end. Taking the bypass probably cut a couple of minutes off of the time.
Review
The upgrade to Cutting Edge includes the way the area around the entrance is decorated. Figures on horseback line the area around the haunted house entrance. Once inside, actors are on you quickly while you approach a high speed vortex tunnel. The tunnel was almost fast enough to force me to hold onto the rails to get through. The tunnel sets the tone for the rest of the house, fast and intense.
Shortly after the vortex tunnel, there is an interesting area with long racks of clothing. You have to walk between the racks, with very little room to move. Actors hide in the clothes and either pop out, or wave a hand in front of your face as you pass by. There are either lots of actors in this area, or there are some fast actors who stay on customers as they make their way through.
One thing I really like about Cutting Edge this year is the lighting. Throughout the haunt, there is great mood lighting with lanterns, which are used to light many of the hallways. They could be Victorian, or Old West. Scene lighting is also effective, with red light in one area, while white light is used to reduce vision to almost nothing in the mist maze.
The laboratory/experiment area seems to have been worked on in the off season, and the detail is impressive this year. The dim lighting in this fairly dark sets of the props and decor nicely.
You go down a flight of stairs to get to my favorite area, the swamp. It’s something you would expect to find in Louisiana, in the bayou region. There are Voodoo looking creatures, and the actors have great makeup and costumes. This is the most atmospheric part of Cutting Edge, with beautiful decor, and ghostly lighting. The path winds tightly, and the bridge is very cool. There is one area, sort of like a crypt, that reminded me of graveyards I’ve seen in the New Orleans area. Swamp actors were active, there were lots of hands close to my face as I walked through. They got close to me on the narrow path, but not too close.
The funeral home has some good props, nice caskets, and what looked like a crematorium. There are some very dark areas toward the middle of the house. It’s not like the old days when you had to feel along the walls for a good portion of the haunt, but the dark areas are still effective, especially if darkness is a phobia of your’s.
My second favorite part of Cutting Edge is what I call the farm. It looks more like something out of Pumpkinhead than Texas Chainsaw Massacre. You go through the farm house, then the farm itself. It also has an Old West look to it in some areas. Parts of this area could pass as a mining camp. Whatever it’s meant to be, the effect is creepy. As with the rest of Cutting Edge, the actors really get into character and this area probably has better hiding places for them than in most of the haunt.
There is no five minute black out maze this year, and I can’t say that I missed it. There was supposedly a way out, but I never heard of anyone finding it. Mostly, the old maze irritated me. A clown house is now in it’s place. The first part of the clown house looks like what you might see in a macabre circus. There are extremely detailed props. A lot of time must have been spent painting this part of the haunt. The clowns do not make the mistake I’ve seen in other houses where they just stand in your way and honk a horn. The Cutting Edge clowns run around their area and are able to come back to the same group a couple of times. Once you leave the main clown house, you enter an area that I thought was a maze. There didn’t appear to be a way out, and around 20 people ended up in the same large room searching for an exit. A couple of clowns showed us to dead ends, and we were in this area for several minutes before a clown opened a hidden door to let us out.
After the clowns we entered a misty room with bright white light. The light and mist made it impossible to see, so I felt along the wall and eventually found the exit. The room was very wet from the mist and the air was thick. I got pretty wet, luckily I had taken my watch off when I first entered the mist. Stay along the wall, don’t go into the middle of the room, and you’ll get out in three of four minutes.
At the end, we decided to take the bypass before the tunnel filled with bubbles. The bypass is in plain site this year.
Final Thoughts
Cutting Edge has lots of animatronics, plus one large manually operated snake, or dragon head. There is an excellent animatronic dragon, but the one to watch out for is the snake. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be knocked back by it. It’s large, and it comes at you with a considerable amount of force, so once you see it, move to the side.
Cutting Edge actors are always among the best in the industry, but they are really special this year. They must practice getting their hands close to people’s faces, without touching. They did this frequently in all areas of Cutting Edge, and it’s a very effective technique when they can hide next to the path or hall. They are also great at finding places to hide so that you are almost on top of them when they jump out at you. Team work was impressive this year. Several groups of actors worked together, with one coming at you from the left, while a second later another jumped out on the right. The costumers, make up artists, and the set designer exceeded the level of quality of previous years. I didn’t see any actors without the ideal costume and make up for his or her part of the house. The decor is now approaching the level of places like Verdun Manor and House of Torment. Cutting Edge has always been intense and scary, and it now looks great too.
A major problem in all large haunted houses is that slow customers cause a pile up that leads to everyone walking through the haunted house in a long line, making it impossible for actors to startle anyone, and causing most customers to miss the effects that are set off by motion plates on the ground. Cutting Edge has solved this problem by having breaks through the house, where people can listen to live music while they wait to go further. A talented trio of drummers are in the first break area, and a band called Chasing Rent is in the second break area. After a few minutes you and your group go forward into the haunted house, without a bunch of people in front of you. The wait in line in the break areas might be irritating in a smaller haunted house, but Cutting Edge is so large that a brief rest is welcome.
Cutting Edge has continued to make improvements each year, and while previous upgrades went well, this year has seen a major leap forward in both the quality of the haunted house, and the outside area, which is now fun to spend time in. Even the parking is better this year. It used to be a pain to get in and out of the parking lot because there was so little space. The new parking areas are spacious, and exiting is now simpler since the cars aren’t crammed into a small area.
There are still plenty of nights remaining for you to see Cutting Edge, and it’s open late on Fridays and Saturdays. If you are going to buy a general admission ticket, I would advise you to go on a Sunday (or one of the weeknights later in the season) or to show up very early if you’re going on a Friday or Saturday. If you do end up in a long wait, you’ll at least be able to enjoy food and music, plus roving actors who provide some in line entertainment. This is probably the best year ever for Cutting Edge, so make sure you it at least once!
October 12, 2018
Score-9.5
Site Here
Location-At the southeast corner of I-20 and Wilson Rd in Terrell. 2330 Co Rd 138, Terrell, TX 75161. Across from the TA truckstop. About 25-30 minutes east of downtown Dallas.
Phone 972-428-9653
Dates and hours open-Fridays and Saturdays in October, and Halloween. Saturday, October 13th from 8pm-midnight. Friday, October 19 from 8pm-11pm. Saturday, October 20 from 8pm-midnight. Friday, October 26 from 8pm-11:30pm. Saturday, October 27 from 8pm-midnight. Halloween, from 8pm-10pm.
Price-General admission tickets are $29.99, plus tax. Speedpass tickets are 39.99, plus tax. Parking is $10 per car. Tickets can be bought online here. Group tickets (15 or more) and combo tickets with Cutting Edge are also available here.
Miscellaneous-Thrillvania is a haunted park, so wear comfortable shoes with good traction. Thrillvania does have concessions, with great corn dogs, among other offerings. Go to the concessions stand before you enter the trail. The trail leads to the park exit. A pumpkin patch is located just inside the park grounds.
Number of attractions-Three: Verdun Manor, Cassandra’s House of Clowns, Sam Hain’s Trail of Torment.
Walk through time, for all attractions: 30-40 minutes, depending on how fast you and the people in front of you walk.
Review
Thrillvania has had it’s ups and downs over the years, probably more than any haunted attraction I can think of. Things are definitely looking up for Thrillvania this year, and it looks like this historic haunt park has a bright future. It would be nice to see more merchants in the midway in the coming years. One of the things that made the old Thrillvania special was that it was a Halloween festival, in addition to having Verdun, Cassandra’s, and Sam Hain’s. Fortunately, the food concession is still in place. I wish it hadn’t been raining so hard while we were there because I really wanted to have a couple of corn dogs and a frito pie. If it isn’t pouring rain when you’re at Thrillvania, you need to get at least one corn dog. Your visit won’t be complete without it. If you’re in the market for a pumpkin or two, you’re in luck because you have to walk through a pumpkin patch to get into the park.
With the way Thrillvania is laid out, it’s best to start with Cassandra’s. The line won’t be long if you arrive early, and it’s a fun way to get the evening started. Cassandra’s is a 3D clown house, featuring a vortex tunnel, lots of neon paint, an area divided by high wire fences, and lots of hyper clowns. There are some cool touches, like the shaking hallway and a bridge that feels like it’s sinking as you walk over it. The actors are the best part of Cassandra’s. They do some unusual things, like walking on the railing of the vortex tunnel, and climbing on the wire fencing. Getting in your face is their thing, and they do it in every part of the house. The 3D glasses reduce peripheral vision, so the clowns tend to come at you from the side. Hiding behind curtains, to the side, is their bread and butter. I could do without the chainsaw toward the end, since I hate the fumes chainsaws produce, but I guess every haunted house in Texas is obligated to have at least one.
The best time to get your corn dog is after Cassandra’s and before Verdun, since you have to walk through the midway to get to Verdun. The Manor was bathed in eerie red lighting as we approached, and the mist in the graveyard in front of Verdun enhanced the atmosphere. This short approach to the Manor looks good, but I do miss the old trail that wound behind Verdun and eventually led to the graveyard.
There has been a major change to the inside of Verdun, the lighting. The downstairs used to be pretty well lit, to allow the customer to examine the well decorated rooms. This year, Verdun is emphasizing fear, rather than decor, and the downstairs is as dark as a traditional haunted house. Actors now have the ability to surprise customers, by moving around in the dark. The trade off is that it’s not easy to see much of the gorgeous Gothic decor, but the change is a welcome one since Verdun had looked basically the same for almost three decades. The entryway, parlour, dining room, and library still look good in dim lighting. Perhaps the focus on scaring customers has energized the actors in Verdun, because they have never been this effective at startling people. The actors upstairs were great, and for the first time, I was caught off guard a few times downstairs. The drop down window after the swampy hallway was especially effective since it was paired with an actor who came up behind me when the noise from the window had my attention.
The stairwell in Verdun is still well decorated and well lit. The first part of the upstairs looks like a home, with a bedroom and a den. There are some creepy little girls in this area, and they seem to enjoy getting in your way, and not letting you pass. This part of the Manor seemed a little darker too, but not as much as downstairs. The home gives way to a funeral home next, then you venture into the laboratory. This has changed some over the last few years, but it looks like it is still an area to perform experiments on unfortunate captives, to turn them into something else, possibly werewolves. After the lab comes a dungeon, which makes sense given that test subjects have to be kept somewhere. The descent into the catacombs is still perfectly lit, and the catacombs are narrow enough to make me wonder how many people have had to be pried out of the narrowest parts. Werewolves and chainsaws await in the final part of Verdun, then it’s out into the park, and on to Sam Hain’s.
As I mentioned before, be sure that you do not want to do anything else before entering Sam Hain’s trail. You’ll exit the park after the trail. It was raining heavily on the night we reviewed, and had been raining all day. The trail was pretty much a mud puddle, despite the efforts of the ground crew. Seeing the buildings and old vehicles along the trail in this sort of weather was interesting, but I really wish the rain had stopped for a few minutes. Even in rain, Sam Hain’s is fun walk. It always makes me think of the area the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was set in. Hats off to the actors who made the best of the terrible weather and didn’t stop scaring customers.
There aren’t too many nights left for you to see Thrillvania, and it’s definitely worth a look, even if you’ve been there in the past. Enough changes have been made to keep it fresh, even for regulars. It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for the haunt park that Lance Pope built. From what I saw this year, all signs point to a great future.
Catfish Plantation is a restaurant in an old Victorian style house in Waxahachie, a little to east of I-35, one block north of Business 287, on Water St. Directions are here. It is also on every list of paranormal sites in Texas. Several paranormal groups have investigated this place over the years, and DAPS hosts a yearly ghost hunt there. Catfish Plantation also decorates for Halloween and has a pumpkin patch in October. As it’s name suggests, they specialize in catfish, but they offer a wide variety of food, and have a full bar. There are seasonal dishes, including pumpkin fries and the great pumpkin dessert, during October. I usually get meat pies as an appetizer, and one of the catfish platters as the main course. Their desserts are good, but they give large portions, so I’m usually too full for dessert.
There are two special events this October. The October 12 Ghost Hunt with DAPS, tickets here, and the Black Champagne Buffet on Halloween, tickets here. Information about the two events can be found here.
Reservations are not taken, and there are only three dining rooms, so it’s best to arrive early between Friday and Sunday during October. Catfish Plantation is open from 5pm-9pm Wednesday-Friday, 11am-9pm on Saturday, and 11am-8pm on Sunday. I usually arrive at 5 on Fridays and around 4:30 on Saturdays. I never have to wait at those times.
Their address and phone number are:
Catfish Plantation
814 Water Street
Waxahachie, TX 75165
972.937.9468
I returned to Screams on October 6th to take more pictures, and because it’s a lot of fun. It was another hot, humid night, but the setting was great. There were thunderstorms to the east and north of Screams, but it didn’t rain in the park. The dark clouds and lighting added to the Halloween atmosphere. Next weekend will be an ideal time to visit Screams since the temperature will finally drop. Friday looks like it will have a high in the low 70’s, and Saturday should be a little warmer, in the mid 70’s for a high. It should feel like Fall for the first time this season!
I tried some more specialty drinks at Full Moon Cafe. Dracula’s Kiss is still my favorite, but Michael and Chelsea made The Bloody Bat (vodka based, like Dracula’s Kiss) and Harley’s Hammer (tequila based) and Bloody Bat is almost as good as Dracula’s Kiss. The food is good too, the portions are generous, and Rachel is a very friendly Harley Quinn/server. Full Moon is located on the far side of the food court building, close to the West Market Arch. I stop by Full Moon either before or after going through the Zombie Wasteland trail, since that is behind the food court area.
You can check out the Screams site here.
October 5, 2018
Score 9.5
Site Here
Address 8550 West University Drive Denton Texas 76207
Phone 469 556 3475
Directions The entrance to Parker House is easy to miss. It is located on Hwy 380 (University Drive) and is 2.2 miles west of I-35, on the north (westbound) side of 380. From the south, take exit 469 from I-35. That is the exit for University Drive/380. Take a left on University. Drive 2.2 miles, and look for the entrance to Parker House on the right. Drive slowly, the entrance is easy to overlook. There is an old school bus with Parker House on the side, but the bus is so far back from the road that you won’t see it until it’s too late. From the north, take exit 469 (University Drive/380) from I-35 and turn right. 2.2 miles to the entrance to Parker House on the right.
Dates and Hours open-October 6,12,13, from 7:30-midnight. October 19,20,26,27, from 7pm-midnight. October 14 from 7:30pm to 10pm. October 18,21,25,28, and 30, from 7pm-10pm. Halloween from 7pm-11pm.
Price $25 for general admission. $40 for the fast pass. Cash only at the ticket booth. You can buy online here. There is a fee for online ticket purchases. There are group rates available. Call 469 556 3475 or email dfwfrightnights@gmail.com for group tickets. Your group ticket purchase must be approved before the ticket booth opens on the day of your arrival.
Miscellaneous-Parker House is in the country, so it will be a few degrees cooler than Dallas or Ft Worth at night, on cool nights. There is some uneven terrain, and it’s a large house with a trail, so wear comfortable shoes with good traction. Unless it’s a cold night, put on lots of Off, or some sort of mosquito repellent. The line to get into the house is long and it’s near a pond, which makes it a buffet for mosquitoes.
Walk through time-around 25 minutes total, for the main house, trail, and sanitarium. This makes Parker a good value, at the general admission price. The fast pass is only $15 more. On busy nights, it’s probably a good idea to spend the extra money on the fast pass because Parker House only lets in a few people at a time. That makes for a long wait in line later in October.
Last year, Parker House was being remodeled and only had a trail and a hayride. The house is back this year, along with the sanitarium. The trail runs between the two, and there is no hayride. The bridge over the pond is front of Parker House is not safe this year, so follow the cones to the entrance of the main house. The house is eerily lit, and it’s a great looking setting. The entry room still has a host, but there was no long talk this time, just directions. At first it does look like you’re walking through an old southern Gothic country house, with some macabre touches here and there. Actors become involved after you’ve passed through a couple of rooms. This year, the actors are a mixture of crazy country guys and crazy young women. There is a backstory to the house. Mary Parker was obsessed with blood and slaughter as a girl, while living with her parents at their funeral home. The parents died when she was still fairly young, she took over the family business, and all hell broke loose. The characters encountered in the house are mostly Mary’s minions and victims. There is also a sanitarium, close to the house, full of some other people who were involved with Mary Parker. This is the short version. You can read the full story on the Parker House site. This back story explains a lot of what you see while going through the house. The deeper in you go, the more it looks like a funeral home. Parker House is very well decorated, the actors do a pretty good job of finding places to hide before jumping out at you, and the lighting is just right to make the place look as creepy as possible.
There is a great trail between the main house and the sanitarium. It’s more fun on a cool night, but we enjoyed it, even though it was hot and humid when we reviewed. It’s a winding trail that passes some shacks, and ends up in the woods. Moonshiners are the main inhabitants of this area. They are a lively bunch and will follow you until the next batch of shiners find you. A couple of girls want to play games along the way, like rock paper scissors. Avoid them. There is a little shack along the trail where you spend a few minutes listening to the resident before being sent on your way. The shack even has a couch, so you can rest while listening to the woman talk.
The trail leads to the Ratliff Sanitarium. You’re greeted by an employee of the sanitarium (Alice Parker?) who fills you in on the rules of the place. There are some extremely dark areas, so dark that you will have to feel along the walls to keep going. Ratliff looks as much like a slaughterhouse as a sanitarium, which you will understand if you read the story behind the place. There is even a chainsaw wielding inmate to chase you around.
Parker House has something for everyone. I like haunted trails, and the Parker trail is the longest in this part of the state. The main house looks great, inside and out, and the sanitarium is a nice way to end the experience. Hopefully, the hayride will be back next year. The price is reasonable given the combined size of the three attractions. Even though Parker House is minutes from the UNT campus and Golden Triangle Mall, it feels like it’s deep in the country. I’ve been reviewing this haunt since 2008, and it’s still one of my favorite places to see each October.
September 29, 2018
Score 10
Site Here
Address 2511 FM 66 Waxahachie TX, 75167
Directions From the north, exit 399A from I-35 South, go west (right) and Screams will be on your left in about a mile and a half. From the south, take I-35 North, exit 399, go west (left) and Screams will be on your left in about a mile and a half.
Phone 972 398 3247
Price $35 for general admission at the ticket booth, $32 online (plus a $1 fee, except for group purchases) and fast passes are $20. Parking is free.
Discounts and coupons-North Texas Metro PCS stores have a $3 off coupon, Waxahachie Nissan has $2 off coupons, and Waxahachie Nissan gives two free tickets per test drive. Screams offers a military discount of $3 off admission for active military personnel and up to four family members. Groups of 15 or more can buy tickets at $30, if all tickets are purchased at the same time.
Dates/Hours Every Friday and Saturday in October from 7:30pm-1:30am, but the ticket booth closes at midnight.
When to arrive/How to see the attractions-Unless you plan to buy fast passes (always a good idea if you arrive late or want to go through the attractions multiple times) you need to arrive no later than 7:15. The park opens at 7:30, but it will take a few minutes to walk from your car to the ticket booth, and the entrance lines become long by 7:30. I arrive by 7, get my tickets, take some pictures of the outside, then get in line by 7:10. The order in which to see the attractions is something that I’ve tested for years. By far the best order is: The Witches of Terra Mythica Castle, Hotel D’Feers, Capt’n Barbarosa’s Blood Harbour, PT Harmum’s Carnival of Chaos, and Zombie Wasteland Apocalypse. No matter what, always see the Castle first. It’s the main attraction, with the longest lines, and the lines become long within 15-20 minutes of the park opening. You may be tempted to eat first, but it’s better to see the attractions, then eat. There is a booth serving drinks next to the entrance to the Castle, if you don’t want to wait to get a drink.
Number of attractions-Five main attractions, Cursed: The Witches of Terra Mythica Castle, Hotel D’Feers, Capt’n Barbarosa’s Blood Harbour, PT Harmum’s Carnival of Chaos, and Zombie Wasteland Apocalypse.
Walk through times for the main attractions-Screams has redesigned all of it’s main attractions for 2018, and some are quite a bit longer than before. I would say that the main attractions, not including the maze, take 45-50 minutes to go through, combined. Add 10-25 minutes for the maze.
Other attractions-Screams has a large food court in the back of the park, three taverns, and a full service bar and restaurant called Full Moon Cafe. Veg-ta-bul Justice is located in the very back of the park, next to the entrance to the Zombie Wasteland trail. Scaryoke is at the stage next to the Taboo Tavern, and there are musical acts and live entertainment on the main stage every night. Souvenir shops are available, as well as tarot card readings, wax hands, Henna tattoos, temporary tattoos, a climbing tower, and various merchants. Games of skill, an electric chair, and paintball are across from the food court. There is also a short haunt path across from the entrance to the park. The area around it is very well decorated.
Full Moon Cafe-I thought that Full Moon Cafe should have a special mention this year. Full Moon is the full service bar and restaurant in the back of the food court area, close to the West Market Arch. Like the rest of Screams, it has had a thorough makeover this year. Full Moon Cafe has never looked this good. It used to be sparsely decorated, but now it’s full of Halloween lights and props. The bartenders and servers in the Full Moon Cafe now have great costumes and makeup. This is the way I had hoped that Full Moon would look when it reopened a few years ago. There are new specialty drinks this year and Dracula’s Kiss is my favorite. It’s a vodka based drink, with blackberry flavoring, probably grenadine, and maybe a couple of other ingredients. It tastes great, and is surprisingly refreshing. It cooled me down when I was in a full sweat after walking around the park on a very humid night. The bartenders are fast and good at what they do. The restaurant serves short order food, like cheeseburgers, fish and chips, chicken sandwiches, and meat pies. The meat pie is my favorite, it’s basically a shepherd’s pie. Full Moon is a good place to rest and relax while you eat and drink, and they take all major credit cards. This is the only place in Screams where you can use credit cards to pay for food and drink.
Miscellaneous-Wear comfortable shoes. Screams is mostly outdoors and you will do a lot of walking on dirt and gravel, and it won’t always be even ground. This is not the place for high heels. Dress warmly on cool nights, the temperature is usually a few degrees cooler at Screams than in Dallas. Do not wear costumes. Costumes are prohibited for customers at Screams for security reasons. Screams is mostly handicapped accessible.
Review
Every main attraction at Screams has been redone for 2018. The themes are different, the actors have a new, more energetic approach to haunting, the decor is different, and some of the attractions have been rearranged and lengthened. While in the main attractions, you’ll never go more than a few feet without some kind of action, either from an actor, an animatronic prop, or an air gun. The entire park has been upgraded this year. You’ll notice greater attention to detail in the way the park is decorated, especially around the park entrance, and the Taboo Tavern/dining area. There are more roaming characters around the park, and each main attraction has costumed characters by the line entrance to guide you in. Overall, Screams looks much more festive this year.
Cursed: The Witches of Terra Mythica Castle
This is the largest attraction at Screams. The Castle is impressive from a distance, with its walls and turrets illuminated by light from torch fires above it’s entrance. After a talk with the host, who is also a witch, you go through the gate, over the bridge, and into the body of the castle. The decor in the Castle is the best in Screams. It is heavy on witches and black magic, but also has some outstanding werewolf props. There is a strange werewolf prop after the entryway. I’m not sure what it’s doing, but it looks great. You’ll see more werewolves later in the first half of the Castle, but by then you’ll have witches all around you. The witches and minions have a lot to work with. There are entrances to the path you follow built for them all over the Castle, and they are usually well obscured, so you won’t see the actors coming. Some follow you, others startle you, they are all very good and well costumed. They don’t touch, but they come close enough to make you uncomfortable.
The witches have been busy, in addition to rooms for black magic, they have built torture areas, a great looking library and den, and they’ve even webbed up some of their victims. If you’re lucky, you’ll have enough time to check out the detail on the corridor walls and in the rooms. It’s outstanding, and worth a second trip through, especially if you have a fast pass. The path descends as you go deeper into the castle until you’re in catacombs with eerie lighting. This is probably my favorite part of the Castle because it looks like it’s straight out of a high grade horror movie. It’s genuinely creepy in the depths of the Castle, and the actors make the most of it by popping out when you least expect them. Like the Hotel, you’ll think that you’re about to exit the Castle, only to find more dark paths ahead. There is a great scene deep in the Castle with witches around a giant cauldron. It’s movie quality and typifies the effort put into the remodel of this attraction.
I went through the Castle three times and I could have gone through a fourth time, if I hadn’t needed to get home to write this review. This is an haunt where a fast pass comes in handy.
Hotel D’Feers
The Hotel has had a major renovation this year. It’s new theme is based on a mass murder, and the actors, props, and decor are better coordinated and more consistent than in previous years. The act begins before you enter, with excellent hosts setting the stage for the Hotel. The action is nonstop once you enter. I don’t know whether the Hotel has more actors this year, or whether they are just covering more areas, but I was never without an actor around me for more than a few seconds. They were as active as any haunted house actors I’ve seen, and they have lots of hiding places and blind spots to use to startle you. The props are a combination of hotel, and either hospital or slaughterhouse. The actors have outstanding makeup and can be difficult to look at some of the time. Fog is used pretty heavily in some parts of the Hotel, while other areas are very dark. The design makes you think that you are about to exit, only to have more corridors ahead. The Castle is much improved this year, but the Hotel is probably still the most frightening attraction at Screams.
Capt’n Barbarosa’s Blood Harbour
The 3D house at Screams has a new design, and a new look. The outside of the house has a strong dead pirate theme. The props outside are cool, and the host makes you feel at home at the entrance. If you’ve been to the old 3D pirate house, you’ll realize that the path through the place has been reversed, and an even bigger difference is that the first half is not 3D, but is instead a great looking pirate village. I think there are more actors in Barbarosa’s than in the old pirate house, and they really like to get close to you. The standout of Barbarosa’s are the crab men. Like some other actors, they do a great job of blending in with their surroundings. Moving planks, shaking halls, and creatively uneven flooring will keep you on your toes, especially when you put on your 3D glasses midway through Barbarosa’s. The vortex tunnel is probably a little faster this year. The people in front of me had to hold onto the rails to get through it. The 3D paint is very good, with enough actors in the 3D area to keep it interesting. This house is fun, and it has a good number of scares mixed in.
PT Harmum’s Carnival of Chaos
This is a very challenging maze. It has wire fences and you can see surrounding buildings when you’re on the edge of the maze, so you’ll think that it’s easy to find the way out, but this maze has an unusual design and you can’t find the exit by keeping sight of other buildings. The 2018 redesign took away some things that could help you find the exit, and of course, the clowns always give false directions to the exit. Speaking of clowns, they are great at startling guests, even though there aren’t many good hiding places for them. They are always around, and their constant chattering is so distracting that I probably missed the path to the exit more than once. I became completely lost in the interior of the maze and wound up reaching the entrance. I thought about going back in, then exited. This is the second year in a row I’ve failed to find the real exit. You’ll spend more time in the Carnival of Chaos than in any of the other Screams attractions.
Zombie Wasteland Apocalypse
At the back of the park, behind Taboo Tavern, is the entrance to the Zombie Wasteland trail. This year’s zombie trail is much longer than in the past. There are fewer wide open spaces, with a narrower path and lots of turns. The zombies now get into the trail with you, instead of mostly remaining outside the pathway. The result is that Zombie Wasteland is more intense and you are now having to avoid zombies instead of just looking at props along the trail. The actors must practice quite a bit because they were able to startle me several times on both trips through. Props are solid, post apocalyptic fare, with creepy sound effects through the trail. This is an effective, winding zombie trail, and a bonus is that it’s the least crowded of the attractions at Screams since it’s in the back of the park.
A great deal of effort went into the remake of Screams, and the hard work has paid off in a big way. Every aspect of Screams has improved noticeably, from the actors and props, down to the smallest details in outside decor. All this has been accomplished while keeping the ticket price reasonable. Screams is still the best value in North Texas. The new themes for the big attractions are creative and have rejuvenated a great haunt park. 2018 is without question the best year yet for Screams!
September 28, 2018
Score-9
Halls of Horror is a new haunted house located inside of Music City Mall (formerly Vista Ridge Mall) on the second story, across from the food court. The entrance is inside the mall. Music City Mall is at the southwest corner of I-35 and Hebron Parkway in Lewisville. 2401 S Stemmons Fwy, Lewisville, TX 75067
Site/Social Media- https://www.facebook.com/hallsofhorrorlewisville/
Admission-$10
Hours can vary, check their Facebook page for updates. Generally, it’s 4pm until midnight, and from noon until midnight on Saturdays. I stress to check their Facebook page before going. They do close early sometimes, especially on weeknights.
Number of attractions-single attraction
Remaining dates open-Halls of Horror is open on days when Music City Mall is open, after 4pm, or noon on Saturdays.
Walk through time varies, but I would say around 7-8 minutes.
Review
This is the first time I’ve been to a haunted house in a mall since 2000. It’s a great idea for a location, but spaces large enough for haunted houses aren’t usually available in malls. I was surprised by how long it took to walk through this haunt. They did a great job of dividing their space up to extend the length of the place. The animatronics were very good, some of them jump out at you and are startling. Everything is well decorated, with good attention to detail, especially in the main rooms. They either use ground based foggers or misters, which enhances the atmosphere as you enter the main part of the haunt. The fog or mist is also used with lasers to create the illusion that you are moving through water in one area. All in all, a great job of using props and decor.
There are either actors or animatronics in every part of Halls of Horror so you won’t encounter dead space. Some actors seemed to be guides, but most were well positioned to surprise you. The costumes and makeup were good and went well with the decor. You’ll find as many actors per square foot as you will in any haunted house in Texas.
My group enjoyed the overall feel of the place. It reminded us of haunted houses when we were growing up. A plus is that you have a mall available to you when you exit (before 9pm) and plenty of other shopping and restaurants within a quarter of a mile. Cinemark has a recently remodeled theater in the mall, with late showings available. When possible, I like to eat and see a movie after going to a haunted house, so this is an ideal location.
Halls of Horror is a great buy at $10. That price makes it the least expensive haunted house I’ve reviewed, or heard of, this decade. It has extremely convenient hours, and because of it’s location, you can plan an evening around it. An additional bonus is that it’s located well within the Metroplex, just a few minutes north of Dallas, and next to Carrollton. With no haunted attractions within Dallas city limits, Halls of Horror is as short a drive as you’re going to have going to a haunted house, if you live in the northern half of Dallas or the northern suburbs. This is a refreshing take on haunted houses, and it’s the only new haunted attraction in north Texas this year. My group had fun here, and I’m pretty sure your’s will too.
I thought I would add something new this year, a listing of horror movies and TV shows for October. In addition to first run theatrical releases, I will include vintage horror movies playing at local theaters in DFW. This list will be updated frequently, so check back.
Syfy’s 31 Days of Halloween. Starting October 1, running through Halloween. 31 Days has a mixture of Syfy originals, reruns of genre TV shows, and mainstream horror movies. ZNation, Channel Cove, Van Helsing, and The Magicians have season premieres in October. There doesn’t appear to be a full schedule for 31 Days. Syfy’s daily schedule is here.
AMC’s Fear Fest. It isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still worth watching. It looks like AMC has decided to include some classic genre movies in the early AM. This site has printed out the entire Fear Fest schedule on this page.
Freeform has a more kid friendly lineup of genre movies, called 31 Nights of Halloween. There are some pretty good movies on their schedule, but don’t expect something like Hellraiser. Their schedule is here.
The Food Channel has an interesting show called Halloween Wars. It’s a reality show that features teams competing against each other to create the best edible Halloween display in the category chosen by the hosts. The teams include pumpkin carvers and pastry chefs. The show’s page on the Food Channel site is here.
Turner Classic Movies has it’s annual month long horror fest running again this year. It’s full schedule is here.
The Disney Channel has it’s kids friendly Monstober again this October. A partial schedule is here. This schedule is updated frequently, so check back for updates.
I get a lot of my information from a site called Halloween Movies on TV. They are a comprehensive resource, and the site is updated daily. Their home page is here.
New Feature Film Releases
Currently in theaters-Hellfest, The House With a Clock In It’s Walls, and The Predator.
October 5-Venom. Ok, not a horror movie, but it looks like a damn good comic book movie. Opening wide on the evening of October 4, after 7pm.
October 12-Bad Times at the El Royale and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. Bad Times is more of a thriller, but it looks interesting and has a good cast. Goosebumps 2 is aimed at kids, and adults with kids.
October 19-Halloween (2018). This is the one we have all been waiting for. This is a direct sequel to the original Halloween. It ignores the 2,617 Halloween sequels and remakes made after the original. The trailer looks great, and early word is that it won’t disappoint. Opening wide on the evening of October 18, after 7pm.
October 26-Suspiria (2018). This is a remake of the 70’s classic. It may not be opening wide, so check local listings. The puzzling thing is that Hollywood has decided to not open a genre movie wide on the Friday before Halloween this year. They have done so every year since at least 2013, and the movies have generally done well. I’m saving the Halloween sequel for this weekend, instead of watching it when it opens.
Vintage genre films playing in DFW
Always check showtimes on the theater’s site the day of the showing. Theaters sometimes make last minute changes to showtimes.
Inwood Theater. The Inwood is one of the oldest theaters in Texas. It’s located in Inwood Village, at the southeast corner of Inwood and Lovers, in North Dallas. It’s just west of the Dallas North Tollway, and just south of Northwest Highway. Inwood has had midnight movies playing on Friday and Saturday since the 2000’s, and they are playing all genre at midnight in October. It’s best to arrive early for the midnight showings in October, in order to get a good seat. The Inwood Lounge, a full bar, connects to the theater lobby, and the theater has good concessions, with alcohol. The Inwood’s site is here. All showtimes are midnight.
October 5th and 6th-Bubba Ho-Tep. A 2003 classic starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis, about Elvis Presley living in an East Texas retirement home. Elvis (Campbell) teams up with a fellow resident (Davis) to battle an evil Egyptian entity.
October 12th and 13th-The original Halloween. If you don’t know what this movie is about, you shouldn’t be on this site.
October 19th and 20th-The Hills Have Eyes. The original 1977 movie about a vacationing family who encounter a clan of cannibals in a remote part of the Southwest.
October 26th and 27th. The Inwood hasn’t listed this weekend yet, but I’m going to assume that they will be playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as they do every Halloween weekend.
Alamo Drafthouse. There are now several Alamos in DFW, with locations in Richardson, Cedars (close to Downtown), Las Colinas, Lake Highlands, and Denton. Alamo has reserved seating, a full menu, and a full bar. Some of their showings are movie parties, with a host and interactive items passed out to the crowd. Do not be late. Alamo won’t seat after the show’s start time.
Monday, October 1-Tremors at 7:45pm
Tuesday, October 2-Videodrome at 7:45pm
Wednesday, October 3-Donnie Darko at 7:45pm
Friday, October 5-Beetlejuice Movie Party at 7pm
Sunday, October 7-Dracula (1931) at 3:55pm
Monday, October 8-Christine at 7pm
Tuesday, October 9-The Love Witch at 7pm
Friday, October 12- The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Party at 9:30pm
Sunday, October 14-Frankenstein&Bride of Frankenstein Double Feature at 11:55am
Monday, October 15-John Carpenter’s Vampires at 7pm
Wednesday, October 17-Night of the Demons at 7pm
Thursday, October 18-The original Halloween at 6pm.
Friday, October 19-The Shining Movie Party at 7pm
Sunday, October 21-The Mummy (1932) at 4:15pm
Monday, October 22-The Thing (1982) at 7pm
Friday, October 26-The Fog 4K restoration at 9pm
Saturday, October 27 The Fog 4K restoration at 9pm
Sunday, October 28- The Invisible Man at 4pm, The Fog 4K restoration at 9pm
Monday, October 29-The Fog 4K restoration at 7pm
Halloween- Advance sceening of Suspiria (2018) at 7pm, the original Halloween at 7:30pm
Sunday, October 7-Frankenstein&Bride of Frankenstein Double Feature at 3:55pm
Monday, October 8-The Thing (1982) at 7pm
Tuesday, October 9-Beetlejuice-7pm
Wednesday, October 10-Night of the Demons (1988) at 7pm
Sunday, October 14-The Mummy (1932) at 4pm
Monday, October 15-The Love Witch at 7pm
Tuesday, October 16- The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Party at 7pm
Thursday, October 18-The original Halloween at 5:20pm
Sunday, October 21-The Invisible Man at 4:15pm
Monday, October 22-Christine at 7pm
Tuesday, October 23-The Shining Movie Party at 7pm
Wednesday, October 24-Donnie Darko at 7pm, Videodrome at 9pm
Friday, October 26-The Fog at 9pm
Saturday, October 27-The Fog at 9pm
Sunday, October 28- The Wolfman (original) at 4pm, The Fog at 9pm
Monday, October 29-The Fog at 7pm
Tuesday, October 30-Halloween Horror Mixtape at 9pm
Halloween-The original Halloween at 9pm
Monday, October 1-The Thing (1982) at 6:05pm
Thursday, October 4-The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Party at 9pm
Sunday, October 7-Scars of Dracula at 4:15pm
Tuesday, October 9-Creature From The Black Lagoon at 7pm
Wednesday, October 10-Cabin in the Woods at 7pm, Donnie Darko at 9pm
Thursday, October 11-The Shining Movie Party at 6:45pm
Saturday, October 12-The Evil Dead Marathon at 2:30pm
Wednesday, October 17-Prince of Darkness at 9pm
Thursday, October 18-Halloween (1978) at 4:20pm
Sunday, October 21-Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde at 3:45pm
Monday, October 22-Videodrome at 7pm, John Carpenter’s Vampires at 9:10pm
Tuesday, October 23-Pumpkinhead at 9pm
Wednesday, October 24 Night of the Demons at 7pm, The Love Witch at 9:05pm
Thursday, October 25-Beetlejuice Movie Party at 7pm, In the Mouth of Madness at 9:05
Friday, October 26-The Fog 4K restoration at 9pm
Saturday, October 27-Dismember the Alamo at noon
Sunday, October 28-Mad Monster Cereal Party at 10am, Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb at 4:05pm, The Fog 4K restoration at 6:50pm
Monday, October 29-Practical Magic Movie Party at 7pm,The Fog 4K restoration at 9pm
Tuesday, October 30-Ghostbusters (1984) at 7pm, It Clown Screening at 9pm
Halloween-Advance screening of Suspiria (2018) at 7pm, Halloween (1978) at 7:30pm
Monday, October 1-John Carpenter’s Vampires at 6:30pm
Tuesday, October 2-The Horror of Frankenstein at 6:30pm
Sunday, October 7-The Invisible Man at 1:50pm
Monday, October 8-Cabin the Woods at 7pm
Tuesday, October 9-Scars of Dracula at 7pm
Wednesday, October 10-Donnie Darko at 7pm
Saturday, October 13-Rocky Horror Picture Show with shadow cast at 10pm
Sunday, October 14-The Wolf Man (1932) at 4:15pm
Monday, October 15th-The Thing (1982) at 7pm
Thuesday, October 16-Videodrome at 7pm, Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde at 9pm
Wednesday, October 17-The Love Witch at 7pm
Thursday, October 18-Halloween (1978) at 4:20pm
Saturday, October 20-The Shining Movie Party at 10pm
Sunday, October 21-Dracula (1931) at 4pm
Tuesday< October 23-Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb at 9pm
Wednesday, October 24-Tremors at 7pm, Night of the Demons at 9pm
Thursday, October 25-Creature From The Black Lagoon at 7pm
Halloween-Advance screening of Suspiria (2018) at 7pm
Monday, October 1-The Shining Movie Party at 7:35
Tuesday, October 2-Tremors at 7:30pm
Wednesday, October 3-Night of the Demons at 7:35pm
Sunday, October 7-The Wolf Man (1932) at 1pm
Tuesday, October 9-Cabin in the Woods at 7pm
Sunday, October 14-Dracula (1931) at 3:55pm
Monday, October 15-Beetlejuice movie party at 9pm
Tuesday, October 16-Christine at 9pm
Wednesday, October 17-Donnie Darko at 9:10pm
Thursday, October 18-Halloween (1978) at 4:20pm
Saturday, October 20-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with Kristy Swanson Live at 8pm
Sunday, October 21-Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein at 3:10pm
Monday, October 22-The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Party at 7pm
Tuesday, October 23-The Love Witch at 7pm
Halloween-Advance Screening Suspiria (2018) at 7pm
Texas Theater. This is an extremely old theater, and it could stand to be remodeled, but it has an interesting lineup for October. It also has a full bar, and is located 3 blocks from the Bishop Arts District, in the Jefferson Blvd shopping district.
Tuesday, October 2-HauntedWeen at 9:15
Saturday, October 6-Evil Dead 4K restoration at 7pm, Fulci’s Zombie 4K restoration at 9pm
Thursday, October 18- 35mm Killer Klowns From Outer Space at 8pm, with music behind the screen
Thursday, October 25-Halloween (1978) at 9:15pm
Friday, October 26-The Fog at 7pm, Halloween (1978) at 9:15pm
Saturday, October 27-Trick or Treat (1986), with behind the screen performances at 8pm. Dress code-Halloween appropriate.
Sunday, October 29-Psycho, showing at the Majestic Theater
Tuesday, October 30-Nosferatu, with a live orchestra
Halloween-Suspiria 4K with live ballet
Granada Theater Rooftop Movie Nights
Every Wednesday night the Granada Theater in Lower Greenville shows a movie on it’s rooftop, for free. It’s all genre in October. The Granada has a full bar and menu.
Wednesday-October 3-Ghostbusters at 8:30, doors open at 7pm
Wednesday, October 10-Edward Scissorhands at 8:30, doors open at 7pm
Wednesday, October 17-Young Frankenstein at 8:30, doors open at 7pm
Wednesday, October 24-Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 8:30, doors open at 7pm.
Halloween-Hocus Pocus at 8:30pm, doors open at 7pm
Movie Tavern-A chain of dinner and a movie places in Texas. Several locations in DFW. It’s theaters have Fright Nights in October on Friday and Saturday, featuring classic horror movies.
Friday, October 5th-Phantasm at 10:30pm
Saturday, October 6th-Phantasm at 10:30pm
Wednesday, October 10-Halloween (1978) at 2pm and 6pm
Friday, October 12th-Suspiria (1977) at 11pm
Saturday, October 13th-Suspiria (1977) at 11pm
Friday, October 19th-Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 10:30pm
Saturday, October 20th -Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 10:30pm
Friday, October 26th-Shaun of the Dead at 10:30pm
Saturday, October 27th-Shaun of the Dead at 10:30pm
Halloween-The Shining at 2pm and 6pm
Friday, October 5th, and Saturday, October 6th-Phantasm at 10:30pm
Wednesday, October 10-Halloween (1978) at 2pm and 5:30pm
Friday, October 12th, and Saturday, October 13th-Suspiria (1977) at 10:30pm
Friday October 19th, and Saturday, October 20-Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 10:30pm
Friday, October 26th, and Saturday, October 27th-Shaun of the Dead at 11pm
Friday, October 5th and Saturday, October 6th-Phantasm at 10:30pm
Wednesday, October 10-Halloween (1978) at 2pm and 7pm
Friday, October 12th, and Saturday, October 13th-Suspiria (1977) at 10:30pm
Friday, October 19th, and Saturday, October 20th-Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 10:30pm
Friday, October 26th, and Saturday, October 27th-Shaun of the Dead at 10:30pm
Halloween-The Shining at 2pm and 7pm
Friday, October 5th and Saturday, October 6th-Phantasm at 11pm
Wednesday, October 10-Halloween (1978) at 2pm and 7pm
Friday, October 12th and Saturday, October 13th-Suspiria (1977) at 11pm
Friday, October 19th, and Saturday, October 20th-Nightmare on Elm Street at 11pm
Studio Movie Grill is the original dinner and a movie chain, with numerous locations in DFW. It has classic horror movies on the same night, at the same time at it’s locations. Check the showtimes the day you go, to make sure that they haven’t changed the start time.
Locations
Movies
Wednesday, October 10-Little Shop of Horrors (Director’s Cut) at 7:15pm
Thursday, October 11th-Sweet Sixteen and The Convent at 7:45pm
Monday, October 15th-Halloween (1978) at 7:45
Tuesday, October 16th-Halloween (1978) at 7:45pm
Wednesday, October 17th-The Shining at 7:15
Wednesday, October 24th-The Exorcist (1973) (Director’s Cut) at 7:15 and Night of the Living Dead (1968) at 7pm and 10pm
Thursday, October 25th-Night of the Living Dead (1968) at 7pm and 10pm
Monday, October 29th-Beetlejuice at 7:15pm
Halloween-Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) at 7:15
Located in the Shops at Legacy center at the southeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Legacy Drive in Plano.
Monday, October 8-Carrie (the original) at 7pm
Halloween-Psycho at 7pm
Located in Mockingbird Station at the northeast corner of US 75 and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.
Halloween-Psycho
This is a listing of pumpkin patches, festivals, and other Halloween related activities that aren’t haunted attractions, in the DFW area.
Boo at the Zoo runs from October 26-28 at the Fort Worth Zoo. It’s a daytime event, free with zoo admission or membership. It’s basically a carnival at the zoo. Boo at the Zoo has the same hours as the zoo. Check the zoo’s site for hours, prices, and directions.
Halloweekend at the Dallas Zoo. The Dallas Zoo has a Halloween festival on the final weekend of October, the 27th and 28th, from 9am-4pm. It features trick or treat stations, mazes, a bounce house, face painting, snakes, toads, and newts, plus craft beer for adults. It’s free with a zoo ticket, or zoo membership.
Dallas Arboretum has Autumn at the Arboretum through November 21. They have a spectacular Pumpkin Village, with more than 90,000 pumpkins. They are open from 9am until 5pm. Parking is difficult to find in the area, due to it’s location by White Rock Lake, so your only option is usually to park in their paid lot at their front entrance, or in their new parking garage, two blocks north. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors, $10 for children 2-12, children under 2 are admitted for free. Parking is $15, but you can buy your parking online for $9. Parking can be bought here The street address for the Arboretum is 8525 Garland Road Dallas, Texas 75218.
Pumpkin Patches-DFW
Royal Lane Baptist Church pumpkin patch-Opens by October 5. This church has a large selection of large, medium, and small pumpkins, plus various sizes of gourds. The pumpkin patch is nicely decorated, and has hay on the ground. The patch is just west of Hillcrest on westbound Royal Lane, in North Dallas.
Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch Open now through Halloween, 9am-7pm. They have pumpkins, cornstalks, hay bales, and refreshments. There are activities for children, and local vendors provide food for purchase. Parking is $5, activities are free, purchases are optional.
Halls Pumpkin Farm in Grapevine. Open daily through Halloween. Hayrides are available Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. $5 during the day, $3 after dark. Cash only. Corn maze-$5. Everything at Hall’s is cash only. 3pm-8pm Monday-Thursday. 3pm-10pm Friday. 10am-10pm Saturday. 1pm-8pm Sunday.
Preston Trail Farms in Gunter has a pumpkin patch, open from 8am-8pm daily through Halloween. They also have a cafe and allow dogs on a leash. Gunter is north of Frisco, on Preston Road.
Ghost Tours- This site has a full list of Ghost Tours in DFW and elsewhere in Texas.
Costume Parties DFW
Nearly every bar and club in Texas has some sort of Halloween party. The Dallas Morning News Guide Live and Dallas Observer have lists of the various parties. The parties below are the larger costume parties in the area.
Dragons Ball is the largest costume party in DFW. It has a new theme each year. It’s on October 20th, from 9pm-4am.
The Church Halloween parties-The Church (in the Lizard Lounge) has an annual Halloween party and costume contest. This year it has two, a zombie party on October 28th, and the main party and costume contest on Halloween.
Cedar Springs Block Party-This takes up the entire block with bars and clubs on Cedar Springs. The block is closed off to traffic for the night. It’s known for elaborate costumes, but is costume optional. The block party is open to everyone, but the area is mostly gay.
Dallas Halloween Bar Crawl in Uptown, Lower Greenville, Deep Ellum, on October 27.
Halloween Bar Crawl in Uptown, October 27.
W Haunted Halloween Rooftop Party-On the roof of the W hotel on October 27, 9pm-2am.
Hotel ZaZa Halloween Party-October 26, 10pm.
Thriller Halloween Party at House of Blues, October 27th.
Haunted Castle Halloween Bash in the Old Red Courthouse in Downtown Dallas October 28 10pm-2am.
Gatsby’s Masquerade Halloween Ball in the Stoneleigh Penthouse
Costume Shops DFW
Incognito Costume World-Dallas, on Inwood, close to the Galleria.
Norcostco Dallas, on Wycliff, south of I-35, in the Design District.
Dallas Vintage Costume Shop-Plano, off of 75, just north of Collin Creek Mall.
Rose Costumes-Denton, off of I-35 (northbound side) at 288.
Dallas Costume Shoppe-in east Dallas, on Main. Old shop, never open later than 5:30.
Magic Etc. In Ft Worth, on Forest Park Blvd, just north of I-30, west of downtown Ft Worth.
Hours of operation listed are for opening night only. Refer to the haunt’s site for other nights open and hours of operation.
Open All Year
Opening September 15
Scream Hollow 7pm-Midnight
Opening September 21
Dark Hour 7pm-Midnight
Hangman’s House of Horrors 8pm-Midnight
Halls of Horror in Music City Mall Lewisville. Hours vary, check their FB page for updates. Usually, 4pm-until midnight, noon until midnight on Saturday. 2nd floor in the mall, across from the food court. Enter through the mall.
Dan’s Haunted House 8pm-11pm
Fearaphobia 7:30pm-Midnight
Tayman Graveyard 8pm-11pm
Screamworld 8pm-Midnight
House of Torment 7:30pm-11pm
Creepy Hollow Haunted House 7pm-Midnight
13th Floor 7pm-10pm
Hex House 7:30pm-11pm
Dark Woods Haunted Attraction Box office opens at 6:30pm, the haunt is open 7pm-Midnight.
Opening September 22
The Mortuary 7pm-11pm
Yesterland Fright Farm Dark till 10pm
Six Flags Fright Fest 11am-Midnight
Opening September 28
Screams 7:30pm-1:30am Box Office closes at midnight.
Parker House 7:30pm-Midnight
Waco Haunted Houses 8pm-11pm
World of Khaos 7pm-Midnight
13th Gate 6:30pm-11:30pm
Moxley Manor 8pm-11pm
3Haunts 8pm-11pm
Haunted Trails 8pm-Midnight
Kingswood Asylum 8pm-11:30pm Box office opens at 7:30pm, closes at 11pm
Graystone Manor 7pm-Midnight
Doc Wilkes House of Horrors 7:30pm-Midnight
Terror Trail Haunted House 7:30pm-Midnight
Nightmare on 19th Street 7:30pm-11:30pm
Tree Farm Massacre 7pm-Midnight
The Sanctuary 8pm-11pm
The Blackness Haunted House 7:30pm-11:30pm
Nightmare on Main Street 7:30pm-10pm
Opening September 29
Cutting Edge 8pm-10pm
Haunted Shadows Lake Trail 7:45pm-Midnight
Phobia Haunted Houses 8pm-Midnight
Terror Dome 8pm-Midnight
Fearshire Farms Dark until 11pm
Amarillo Scaregrounds 7pm-Midnight
RISE Haunted House 7:30pm-10:30pm
Psycho Asylum 7pm-Midnight
P-6 Farms Fall Festival and Corn Maze 10am-10pm
Dungeon of Doom 6pm-10pm
Redrum Haunted House 7pm-Midnight
6th Street Massacre 7pm-Midnight
Zip Line With Zombies Reservation required. Call 903 968 6924 or 903 736 5155
Opening October 4
Houston Screamfest 8pm-10pm
Chainsaw Massacre 8pm-Midnight
Opening October 5
Thrillvania 8pm-11pm
Creekside Manor Dark until Midnight
J&F House of Terror 8:30pm-Midnight, or when the line dies down.
Zombie Safari 7pm until late
Terror Trails Dark until Midnight
Afterlife 8pm-11pm
Evil Visions Haunted House 7pm-Midnight
House of Thorn 7:30pm-11:30pm
Psycho Path Haunt 7pm-11pm
Nightmare in the Country 8pm-10pm
Van Buren Frightmare 7pm-11pm, 7pm to Midnight on other Fridays and Saturdays.
Opening October 12
Haunting on the Blue Ghost 7pm-10:30pm
DefCon1 Haunted Warehouse 7pm-Midnight Final Year!
North Texas
Screams Waxahachie
Thrillvania Terrell
Cutting Edge Fort Worth
Halls of Horror Music City Mall (Formerly Vista Ridge Mall) Lewisville. 2nd story in the mall, across from the food court. Enter through the mall.
Creekside Manor Midlothian
Tayman Graveyard Midlothian
Parker House Denton
Haunted Shadows Lake Trail The Colony
Dan’s Haunted House Lake Dallas
Fearaphobia Bridgeport
Moxley Manor Bedford
J&F House of Terror Garland
Hangman’s House of Horrors Fort Worth
Dark Hour Haunted House Plano
Zombie Safari Forney
Six Flags Fright Fest Arlington
Central Texas
Waco Haunted Houses Elm Mott (Waco area)
House of Torment Austin
Scream Hollow Halloween Park Smithville
Houston area
Screamworld Houston
Phobia Houston
Houston TerrorDome Houston
Houston Screamfest Houston
3Haunts Haunted House Shepherd
Fearshire Farms Angleton
Redrum Haunted House Richmond
Haunted Trails Houston
Creepy Hollow Haunted House Rosharon
Kingwood Asylum Kingwood
Dungeon of Doom Kemah
P-6 Farms Fall Festival and Corn Maze Montgomery
Galveston
San Antonio
East Texas
Graystone Manor Longview
World of Khaos Tyler
Terror Trails Yantis
Afterlife Blossom
Doc Wilkes House of Horrors Longview
Zip Line with Zombies Diana
Yesterland Fright Farm Canton
West Texas
Terror Trail Canutillo (El Paso area)
Halls of Horror Lubbock Returning in 2019
Nightmare on 19th Street Lubbock
Amarillo Scaregrounds Amarillo
6th Street Massacre Amarillo
Van Buren Frightmare Amarillo
Chainsaw Massacre Amarillo
The Blackness Haunted House Plainview
Nightmare on Main Street Vernon
DefCon 1 Haunted Warehouse Odessa Final Year!
South Texas
Rotting Flesh Factory Harlingen Could return in 2019.
Haunting on the Blue Ghost Corpus Christi
Louisiana
13th Gate Baton Rouge
The Mortuary New Orleans
Evil Visions Haunted House Monroe
Tree Farm Massacre Leesville
Rise Haunted House Hammond
Dark Woods Haunted Attraction Natchitoches
Oklahoma
Hex House Tulsa
The Sanctuary Oklahoma City
House of Thorn Dewey
Nightmare in the Country Woodward
Psycho Path Haunt Sperry
HALLOWEEN LINKS
Halloween Merchandise and Costumes
http://www.spirithalloween.
http://www.halloweencity.com/
http://www.halloweenexpress.
http://www.costumeworld.com/
http://www.norcostco.com/
http://rosecostumes.com/
http://www.halloweencostumes.
http://www.costumeexpress.com
http://www.buycostumes.com
http://www.
http://www.extremehalloween.
Halloween Decorations
https://athome.com/halloween
http://www.michaels.com/
http://lemax-spookytown.com/
http://www.darksidedisplays.
Haunted House Listings
“Real” Haunted Site Listings
http://theshadowlands.net/
http://www.texasescapes.com/
All attractions at Screams will be new for 2018! From the Screams press office:
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (September 10, 2018) Screams® is all new and completely transformed for 2018! Think you know Screams®, then think again! The 23rd season of Screams®will begin on Friday, September 28, 2018 with all five of its haunted houses completely redesigned and enhanced for the 2018 season along with scores of haunting new characters added to provide the scariest Screams® experience ever!
Screams® 2018 will be much more shocking and terrifying than in years’ past with frights hitting you the minute you enter the park and not stopping throughout the night! Screams®is NOT recommended for children under 16.
“Our new Creative Director, Ray Don Mitchell, has brought 15+ years of Fright and Haunted House experience to Screams® to help take Screams® up to the next level of creative frights and downright terror in each of our 5 haunted houses” says Coy Sevier, Screams® General Manager. “In addition, we have a whole new corps of roaming actors that will help set the atmosphere of heightened fear from the moment people enter our event. You don’t want to miss a minute of Screams® 2018!”
As part of the Screams® 2018 transformation, each of the 5 haunted houses have been completely redesigned and have new names/themes. You will experience: Cursed…The Witches of TerraMythica Castle, PT Harmum’s Carnival of Chaos Maze, Captain Babarossa’s Blood Harbour, Hotel D’feers and the Zombie Wasteland…Apocalypse.
The new menacing Strigoi (meaning evil souls) characters include: Snuffs & Cuffs (horrible roaming clown couple), “The Count of Bloodworth” (the Screams®vampire), Hayward & Lanterna (living …or not so living…scarecrows), Captain Barbarossa & his Mate, Hansel, sister witches Haga, Baga & Smew (casting spells on all those they encounter) and el Cucuy (the Boogeyman).
Additionally Screams® offers a whole lot more for an entire night of Halloween fun such as live entertainment, Scary-Oke, Psychic Readings, Palm Readings, face painting, henna tattoos, and games of skill. Screams® shops will feature wares like jewelry, medicine bags, glo products, feather extensions, hats & crowns, infused oils, wax hands, wax roses, and of course Screams® souvenirs.
There is food and drink at the food court and the full-service restaurant & bar along with adult beverages at the pubs for those 21 and older. New foods for the 2018 season include onion petals and Bomb Pop ice cups. Featured seasonal & craft beers will include Deep Ellum IPA, Deep Ellum Dallas Blonde, Deep Ellum Local Legend, Spaten Oktoberfest, Bishop Crackberry Cider, Billy Jenkins Wild Acre, Spaten Lager, Bishop Apple Pineapple Cider, Franconia Chicken Dance, Founders Dirty Bastard, Ace Pear Cider, Bishop The OG Cider, Left Hand Milk Stout, Ziegenbock, and Brooklyn Post Road Pumpkin Ale. The Spider’s Web pub will also feature lime & cherry Jello shots (in a syringe shot glass)!
The entertainment line-up for Screams® 2018 will include Screams® radio partners taking over the Screams® stage bringing their own brand of entertainment with the KSCS Scary-Oke Battle on September 29th, ALT 103.7’s Halloween Trivia Contest on October 13th and Jack-FM Dance-Off Party on October 20th. Complete DJ will take the Screams® stage the rest of the season spinning music and creating a festive atmosphere.
Screams® Halloween Theme Park is 5 Haunted Houses and a Whole Lot More that runs every Friday and Saturday night September 28 through October 27, 2018 7:30 pm – 1:30 am.Screams® single admission price is $35 at the gate and includes all 5 haunted houses, live entertainment and Scary-Oke. Plus, visitors may go through the haunted houses as many times as they like (as the crowds will allow).
Discount tickets can be purchased in advance on-line at ScreamsPark.com. Starting on September 22, 2018 visitors can also get discount coupons at North Texas MetroPCS stores and at Waxahachie Nissan. Waxahachie Nissan is also offering two free tickets with a test drive at Waxahachie Nissan while supplies last. To cut the wait times in half, visitors can purchase a Fast Pass for $20 in advance or during their visit at the gate or at the Fast Pass kiosk. Screams® is a top 10 pick for Halloween Spooktacular Fun by TopFor.com and rated as the best Haunted Theme Park – ‘A 10 out of 10’ by Texas Haunts.
Screams® is located just 30 minutes south of downtown Dallas and Fort Worth off I-35E at exit 399A on the Scarborough Faire® site. From Waco, follow I-35E north to Exit 399. Parking is free compliments of Waxahachie Nissan. Screams® is sponsored by Dr Pepper and MetroPCS.
For more information visit ScreamsPark.com, ScreamsPark on FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram. The Screams hashtag is: #ScreamsPark.
New Haunted Attraction
Halls Of Horror-Lewisville, in Music City Mall (Formerly Vista Ridge Mall). Opens Saturday, September 15 at 4pm, and will be open until 1am. The 15th is also the reopening of Music City Mall, with a festival and stage acts inside the mall.
Closed Haunted Attractions
Nightmare on the Bayou
Dark Path Haunt
Texas Scaregrounds, though they could return in 2019
Frightmares at Whatz-Up
Jefferson Fright Train
Texas Maze of Terror
13th Ward
Rotting Flesh Factory appears to be closed for 2018, may return in 2019.
This is a list of haunted houses from years past. Of course, nearly every haunted houses that opened before 1996 is closed now, so this is a list of personal favorites that have closed.
Dallas Scaregrounds A great haunted house that started out as Dr Blood’s and developed into a haunted festival, in the Dallas Design District. It was very popular, but fell victim to the redevelopment of the Design District. This was one of the first extra large haunted houses in DFW.
Fatal End/Dollhouse Another popular haunted house that was ended by redevelopment in the downtown Dallas area. Fatal End opened in the late 2000’s. It had a great location in the West End, and had great props. Necroplex merged with Fatal End in 2011 and the name changed to The Dollhouse.
Dallas Slaughterhouse This haunt started in the West End in Dallas in the mid 2000’s and eventually moved to Deep Ellum, before merging with J&F in Garland in 2016.
Dungeon of Doom The original DoD, in the basement of the Arlington Museum of Art, was formed as a way to raise money for the museum. It probably had the best decor of any haunted house I’ve been to, with the possible exception of Verdun Manor. Kay, and her husband Milton, ran the place. With so many multi haunt attractions opening in the 2000’s, Kay felt that DoD could no longer compete and closed down after the 2007 season. Many of the props went to the new Dungeon of Doom in the Reindeer Manor/13 Street Morgue complex.
Necroplex started in Italy, south of Waxahachie, in 2008, and merged with Fatal End in 2011. Necroplex had great Old West style Gothic props and decor.
Tayman Manor One of the most intense haunted houses of the 90’s and early 2000’s was Tayman Manor in Midlothian. Actors made some contact, the place looked great, and had a creepy setting. Tayman Manor was destroyed in a fire, along with most of Addamsville, but Tayman Graveyard lives on to this day.
Addamsville was a haunt park, next to Tayman Manor. It was only open for 2002 and 2003, but it was fun while it lasted. Addamsville had a coupon system, similar to the State Fair. It had a trail, a clown house, a mortuary, a haunted museum, and a standard haunted house. Concessions and a gift shop were at one end of the park. Stilt walkers roamed through the night. It had a great festival atmosphere. Sadly, most of Addamsville was destroyed in the fire that took out Tayman Manor. The mortuary and concessions stand are still around at Tayman Graveyard.
Dr Haunt’s Chamber of Fear Located in Gainesville, Dr Haunts was a throwback to ’80’s side of the road haunted houses. The quality varied year to year, but a unique layout and enthusiastic college volunteers made the trip worthwhile through the 2000’s.
Terrorplex was a small haunt park located in the outskirts of the Mansfield area, south of Arlington. It had four to five small haunted houses at a time. Mead Manor was the best of the haunts.
Lafitte’s Landing was a pirate themed haunted house that opened in the mid 2000’s, and reopened for one more year in Allen.
Phantom’s Haunted House This was the haunt that would not die. Originally located in Lewisville, on the west side of the 1-35 access road, Phantoms had to move to Frisco after it’s property was bought by a car dealership. After one season in Frisco (I think that was 2003) Phantoms moved to the State Fair for three seasons, before moving back to Frisco, or Plano, at an Old West attraction in 2010. Phantom’s final location was in Allen, off of 75, where the outdoor mall is today. The Lewisville location had the best haunted house, but the Allen location had the best hayride I’ve been on. It wound through a densely forested area, with tree branches close enough to touch at times.
Faustas Sanitarium was located in Cleburne in the Wright Plaza building, which shows up on lots of paranormal sites as a haunted location. Faustas was upstairs, and was fairly small, but was extremely well decorated due to being designed by Lance Pope’s company, Wolf Productions. Wright Plaza was closed at night, aside from Faustas, and in those days downtown Cleburne was deserted at night, so the entire area had an eerie feel to it. Faustas was open in the 90’s and closed down around 2003.
Haunt House Located in Caddo Mills, off of the I-30 access road, Haunt House was a small, but creative place. This was the first haunt in the area to use shock pads on walls.
Ripley’s haunted house Ripley’s in Grand Prairie had a very good haunted house in the wax figure section of it’s building in the 2000’s. I went for the first time in 2004, and it closed a few years later. The wax figures of horror movie monsters and liberal use of fog machines were the best parts of the haunt.
Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus This still exists in Utah, but the DFW version was around for three seasons, beginning in 2013. The circus was a collection of 18 wheeler trailers, each with it’s own scene and actors, plus some props and actors between the trailers. It moved each year, from two locations in Irving, to Grand Prairie, before closing shop in Texas. It was a unique approach to haunting, but was probably too expensive for the market.
Other notable closed haunted attractions:
Southlake Carroll haunted house
Texas Scaregrounds (It could be back in 2019)
Dr Fright’s in Arlington
Haunted Hollow at the Hill
Fear Factory in the Colony
Nightmare on Forest Lane
Count Dracula’s in McKinney
Zombie Manor
Dark Path Haunt
Jefferson Fright Train