Eerie Missouri

While Missouri offers plenty of opportunities for ghost hunting, haunted tours and other paranormal experiences, if you’re just looking for a good, old-fashioned fright, these haunted attractions across the state are sure to deliver.

West Bottoms Haunted Attractions, Kansas City

If you’re doing a Tour de Fright in The Show-Me State, why not start at the haunted house that spawned all the rest? Located in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City, Missouri, the Edge of Hell Haunted Attraction is billed as “the oldest, continuously operated haunted attraction in the USA” and takes visitors through various stages of fear and fright before a five-story plunge from heaven to hell.

Macabre Cinema Haunted House, also located in West Bottoms, is a multi-story attraction that pays homage to the horror film genre. Also lurking in West Bottoms is The Beast, which features an innovative, open-floor format that brings guests face-to-face with the darkest horrors in history, like Jack the Ripper, the witch trials and more.

Hell Harvest Haunted House, Potosi

Something surprising lurks in Potosi, Missouri. Based right here in The Show-Me State, Graveyard Ghoul Productions produces high-quality animatronics for the haunted house and themed entertainment industries across the United States and Europe. Visitors have the chance to meet a few of these monstrous creations at Graveyard Ghouls’ Hell Harvest Haunted House. Described as an “intense fear experience,” Hell Harvest features 25 structures connected by a wooded trail. Intrepid guests must also pass through a cornfield. The whole nightmare takes about an hour to complete. Hell Harvest Haunted House is located at 19126 MO-8, Potosi, MO.

Field of Screams, Branson & Nixa

Built inside a re-imagined sports complex, Field of Screams Branson proves, “If you build it, they will RUN” with 9th Inning Nightmare, a baseball-themed haunted attraction. The horror venue will combine large-scale haunted elements with escape rooms, laser tag, games, concessions and themed retail for an immersive entertainment experience. The Branson Field of Screams is located at 1000 Pat Nash Dr., Branson, MO. The attraction opens Sept. 11 and runs select dates through October, with a special Halloween/Christmas crossover series on select dates in November.

If your greatest fear is being lost in the woods at night, you can confront that fear (or succumb to it) at Field of Screams Nixa. The attraction includes The Haunted Forest, a half mile of terror along the James River, and Coulrophobia, a haunted clown maze. Both attractions are open on select dates in September and October at Summers at the River, located at 2142 North Sports Complex Lane, Nixa, MO.

Fright Fest at Six Flags St. Louis

Fright Fest descends upon Six Flags St. Louis select nights Sept. 12-Nov. 1. This nighttime event features haunted attractions, scare zones, themed concessions, live entertainment and more. This year’s featured haunted houses include Creatures of the Corn, Oddball’s Funhouse, Slaughterhouse, and the new Gordy’s Gruesome Revenge, a gruesome haunted pumpkin patch. Note that additional charges apply for featured haunted houses. Scare Zones are included with general park admission. Six Flags St. Louis is located at 4900 Six Flags Rd., Eureka, MO.

Scarefest, St. Louis Metro

The Scarefest group of attractions is a powerhouse of horror in St. Louis. Located in downtown St. Louis, The Darkness has special FX worthy of a high-budget horror movie, spread across two terrifying floors. Visitors to The Darkness will also find escape rooms, an arcade, a game show experience, retro mini golf and more, making it a great way to fill an entire night (and to shake off all that nervous energy after a trip through The Darkness).

Located in Fenton, Missouri, Scarefest’s Creepyworld is described as a “haunted screampark,” housing 13 different haunted attractions, including a haunted hayride, a haunted asylum, a carved pumpkin display (for those of us trying to keep busy while our friends do the freaky stuff), and more.

Those who prefer a haunted attraction inside a real haunted house should check out the Lemp Brewery Haunted House, located in downtown St. Louis. The attraction features a spooky maze and scare actors – all set in the caves and caverns beneath the Lemp Brewery, one of Missouri’s most high-profile destinations for paranormal research and ghost hunting.

Note that operating dates for the Scarefest attractions vary. While the attractions typically run late September through mid-November, The Darkness often hosts special events for Krampus in December and My Bloody Valentine in February. If you’re planning to do both The Darkness and Creepyworld, consider purchasing combo tickets.

Halloween Haunt, Worlds of Fun

Venture through haunted mazes, face fearsome creatures, watch spine-tingling shows and recharge with themed snacks and drinks at Halloween Haunt, a nighttime event Sept. 19-Oct. 31 at Worlds of Fun. Worlds of Fun is located at 4545 Worlds of Fun Ave., Kansas City, MO.

The Hollows at Brookdale Farms, Eureka

With a pumpkin patch, sunflowers, hayrides, a corn maze and other traditional farm activities, you’ll find plenty of ways to spend a fall day at Brookdale Farms in Eureka. When the sun sets, however, this charming autumn destination turns into nightmare fuel. Beginning in September, enter The Hollows, a haunting trail that takes visitors into cursed woods where you’ll face The Ghostly Fiddler, The Burned Rancher, The Vulture Witch and other grisly characters. After this approximately 40-minute experience, give yourself a little time to unwind next to a bonfire. You’ll need it. Brookdale Farms is located at 8004 Twin River Rd., Eureka, MO.

Kathryn Deters McDonald is a Missouri native, writer, author and lover of all things spooky, ooky and eerie. Salem, Shmalem. It’s all right here in The Spook-Me State.