Haunted houses and ghost tours for a frightfully fun October in the DC area

October is here, and you know what that means: spooky season.

Halloween is the time when people search high and low for thrills and chills. Whether that means a horrifying haunted house or a creepy ghost tour, you have plenty of options.

Prepare to be scared and check out these local haunted attractions in the Washington, D.C., area… if you dare!

Haunted houses and Halloween trails in Maryland

Field of Screams

📅 Thursdays through Sundays throughout October, plus Oct. 30-31
📍 4501 Olney Laytonsville Road, Olney, Maryland
💲 $62.28 (including fees)
🔗 Details

Voted the best haunted attraction by USA Today, Field of Screams is for those seeking a real scare across 55 horrifying stations.

Tickets are sold online only starting at $54 and get you admission to the trails and the Slaughter Factory, plus access to games and the bonfire areas. Carnival games and concessions cost extra.

Field of Screams is not recommended for children under 12.

“The actors are trained and professional and have been instructed not to intentionally touch or grab any of the patrons, however, we cannot guarantee they won't accidentally bump or touch you as the environment is purposely dark and disorienting and full of moving and emotional people,” Field of Screams says.

Laurel’s House of Horrors

📅 Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Nov. 4, plus Halloween
📍 935 Fairlawn Ave., Laurel, Maryland
💲 $30-$40
🔗 Details

Get ready to be spooked in the area’s biggest indoor haunt. Built inside an abandoned movie theater, this season’s haunted house offers new chilling experiences in an eerie 28,000-square-foot space.

Explore the building’s paranormal activity and encounter terrifying creatures throughout the theater. Want more scares? Try out their “Escape the Movies” escape rooms based on ‘90s video games (for an extra fee). 

Along with general admission tickets, guests can buy additional packages with options to skip the line.

Markoff’s Haunted Forest 

📅 Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, plus Halloween
📍 19120 Martinsburg Road, Dickerson, Maryland
💲 $30-$50 for the trail (in advance)
🔗 Details

Venture off into the woods to experience three haunted attractions. While waiting in Markoff’s Midway, take in the creepy carnival. Then, you can then venture off into The Town where you get up close and personal with the strange residents. The mile-long Haunted Trail has twisting turns and terrifying scenes.

Depending on the night, tickets cost $30-$50 for the trail, $20-$30 for The Town and $45-$75 for entry to both. Tickets are subject to surge pricing the day-of.

A new attraction (available to purchase on-site) is See No Evil, a multisensory corn maze. 

Live entertainment is available some nights such as dance groups, live bands and fire spinners.

Haunted houses and Halloween trails in Virginia

Fields of Fear at Cox Farms

📅 Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 4
📍 15621 Braddock Road, Centreville, Virginia
💲 $30-$40
🔗 Details

Fields of Fear turns this fall festival destination into one of your nightmares starting at 7:15 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Fear Deluxe Admission includes one entry to four haunted attractions over 20 acres: the Firegrounds, Dark Side Hayride, Cornightmare and the Forest: Back 40.

Fields of Fear is not recommended for children under 12 years old. Children under 14 years old must have a chaperone.

Be warned: “You may be touched by Fields of Fear actors, but you will not be forcefully struck or grabbed by any Cox Farms staff member or actor at any time,” Cox Farms says.

Scream

📅 Weekends in October, plus Oct. 30-31
📍 21100 Dulles Town Circle, Sterling, Virginia
💲 $20 on Fridays and Sundays; $25 on Saturdays
🔗 Details

Can you make it through the horrifying funhouse in Dulles Town Center? Navigate disorienting mirrors, eerie crowns and unsettling illusions. If you want to ward off the creepy clowns, you can purchase a “chicken necklace” for an extra fee.

The haunt is aimed at people aged 13 and up. The actors don’t touch the visitors, according to Scream’s FAQ. 

The Workhouse Arts Center

📅 Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays through Oct. 29, plus Halloween
📍 9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, Virginia
💲 $30 online
🔗 Details

Operating on the grounds outside a notorious former prison, Workhouse Arts Center has real-life scary stories to back up its haunted trail. Before and after the haunt, check your adrenaline in a festive atmosphere with live music on Friday, Saturday and Halloween nights.

“Haunt: Game Over” immerses guests in an outdoor walk-through trail where they experience scares and laughs. Guests travel in small groups to abandoned buildings where they encounter terrifying creatures along the way. 

Food trucks, snacks, wine, beer and themed drinks will be available for guests to enjoy. 

Discounted tickets are available for groups of 10 or more. 

(On Oct. 15, the Center offered designated sensory-friendly time slots. On the trail, sound levels were less intense and strobe lights were not turned on.)

Spooky tours in Washington D.C.

Congressional Cemetery

📅 Various dates
📍 1801 E St. SE
💲 Suggested donation ($5+)
🔗 Details

While the Congressional Cemetery’s Soul Strolls 2023: Tragic Lives and Demise is sold out, you can still enjoy a variety of other tours of the permanent resting place of 65,000 people.

The Murder and Mayhem: Tragic Deaths at Congressional Cemetery Tour on Oct. 29 should scratch your Halloween itch.

National Building Museum Spooky History Tour

📅 Select dates through Oct. 31
📍 401 F St. NW
💲 $20 (nonmembers), $18 (students), $15 (members)
🔗 Details

Search for any otherworldly inhabitants of the National Building Museum and hear the building's lesser-known tales.

Halloween Ghosts and History Tour

📅 Oct. 26, 28 and 31
💲  $21-$22
🔗 Details

Author Edward Moser is offering three ghost tours highlighting the spooky side of landmark neighborhoods: Georgetown,  Lafayette Square (outside the White House) and Old Town, Alexandria.

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PAST EVENTS:

Six Flags Fright Fest in Bowie

📅 Select nights through Oct. 29
📍 13710 Central Ave., Upper Marlboro, Maryland
💲 $70 for a single-day park ticket and haunted attractions pass ($95 for an express ticket)
🔗 Details

Six Flags has even more reasons to scream during October. Scare zones and rides for all are included with standard admission tickets. Get the Haunted Attractions Pass to experience more scares, including Haunting of Hall Manor: The Return of Eleanor, Twisted Fairytales 3D and Unwrapped, a dark take on Santa’s workshop.

No costumes are allowed for visitors over 12.

AVFD Station 7 Terror Trail

📅 Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 28
📍  2380 Davidsonville Road, Gambrills, Maryland
💲 $25 (Terror Trail) or $10 (Boo Loop maze)
🔗 Details

Looking for a family-friendly haunt? Visit the Arundel Volunteer Fire Department to wind through the scary Terror Trial aimed at kids aged 8 and up. If the kids want to have a less spooky adventure, get lost in their new Boo Loop Maze for $10. It’s geared for kids under 8.

Kids are welcome to come in costume, uncover the mysteries of the Boo Loop and search for hidden clues in their new scavenger hunt, too. 

You can purchase tickets at the firehouse or online. Proceeds go toward supporting the volunteer fire department.

Haunted Hollow VA

📅 Friday and Saturday through Oct. 28
📍 8275 Maple Tree Lane, Warrenton, Virginia
💲 $25 per person
🔗 Details

Dare to explore the haunted barns around an abandoned farm.

There’s a two-ticket minimum. Haunted Hollow is recommended for people aged 13 and up.

Grief and Ghost Tours

📅 Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28
📍 Lee-Fendall House Museum (614 Oronoco St., Alexandria, Virginia)
💲  $15
🔗 Details

Learn about Victorian mourning customs and “tragic deaths and mysterious occurrences at the Lee-Fendall House” in a rare opportunity to explore the house after dark.

Tickets must be purchased in advance. 

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