Halloween’s Paranormal side comes to life with with AMERICA HAUNTS Halloween Countdown #2!
Halloween conjures many different images to many different people.
For some, the iconic monsters of the season represent the holiday best – werewolves and vampires and zombies and witches and skeletons and leering jack-o-lanterns are what the celebration is about. For others, it is the simple traditional fare of autumn – colored leaves and corn stalks and gourds and hay mounds and pumpkins. Yet, for many, Halloween is most accurately felt through the eerie murmurings of the paranormal. Spectral visitations and disembodied spirits reaching from beyond the grave in a desperate attempt to cling to a mortal life abound as All Hallow’s Eve approaches. The ghostly call of misplaced souls grows louder and more urgent as Halloween presents an opportunity to be heard.
Within the darkened chambers of America’s haunted attractions, these wandering apparitions have found a home between homes – a temporary sanctuary as they await their final rest. Slipping unseen through the living visitors who seek Halloween thrills, they hope to make contact with those left behind, feeding off the nervous energy of countless thousands each season.
Nowhere may the presence of paranormal activity be more deeply felt than inside “Pennhurst Asylum”, Philadelphia’s notorious haunted attraction. Opening in 1908 as a facility for the disabled and mentally challenged, Pennhurst State School closed its doors in 1986 after years of allegations of mistreatment and abuse. Many of these accusations were proven true, as patients fell prey to unethical experimentation, neglect and torment. Long rumored to be haunted by the spirits of the misfortunate and insane, Pennhurst re-opened to the public as an attraction, and has caught the attention of seasoned ghost hunters and paranormal investigators, who have documented sightings and voices within the buildings.
Just around the corner in Pittsburgh, “The Scarehouse” resonates with the laughter and voices of the spirits of the past. Housed in what was once Lodge #932 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the building at 118 Locust Street in Etna, Pennsylvania offered members a sense of community and comfort through challenging times of war and the shifting economy of Pittsburgh. Following the lodge’s closure, The Scarehouse now extends a different kind of hospitality, inviting visitors to experience what The Travel Channel calls “One of America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions”, where many have reported potentially paranormal encounters.
“Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe” in Kansas City embraces the dark essence of the writings of America’s Master of the Macabre, immersing visitors in the very real dread of the many torments depicted in Poe’s works. The terrifying feelings of being buried alive, suffocating, and claustrophia are brought to life as you come face-to-face with the horrific reality of the truly fragile natures of madness and mortality. The tortured souls of Poe’s characters seem to reach out to you as you share their final, frightening fates.
For those in the Houston, Texas area this season, “Nightmare on the Bayou” presents the city’s only truly haunted haunted attraction. Located next to the area’s oldest graveyard, employees and other visitors to the site have detailed numerous encounters with ghosts and unexplainable paranormal activity. The property has become a haven for misplaced souls, making for a very memorable haunt experience.
http://www.nightmareonthebayou.com/
In neighboring Fort Worth, “Cutting Edge” is literally built “upon a foundation of fear”. Nestled within a 100 year old abandoned meat-packing plant, this remnant from America’s Old West incorporates the still-working equipment from its heyday into a nightmarish 55-minute journey through one of the country’s largest haunted attractions. Holding a Guinness World Record for “longest walk-through horror house”, Cutting Edge has been called “the longest adrenaline rush money can buy!”.
http://www.cuttingedgehauntedhouse.com/
