The anticipation for Halloween is soaking through the bones of Alabama, and people of all ages are looking for the blood-curdling, hair-raising feeling of complete and total terror that have made All Hallows Eve their favorite holiday. Whether you’re a guy taking your lovely lady to the graveyard to exercise your masculine charm, a member of the living trying to hunt down the dead, a relentless bully, or the average adrenaline junkie, Alabama is packed with creepy and crawly places to get your eerie Halloween fix.
1. Dead Children’s Playground
(Maple Hill Cemetery, Huntsville AL)
If unseen small cackling children find their way at the top of your creep-out meter, Dead Children’s Playground is where you need to be. It is said that you can hear the swings creak as the spirit children laugh and play. Sometimes, you can hear them cry. “The scariest part for me was initially pulling into the parking lot where my headlights illuminated the playground, casting shadows over everything,” said senior Ben Ewing of his experience.
2. Old Dallas Mill Sight
(1038 Wells Avenue Southeast Huntsville, AL)
According to srangeusa.com, while cleaning the smoke stacks shortly after the mill was built, a man was killed by a fire. His soul is said to haunt this spooky area. People have reported seeing him wandering around the ruins. If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, what will?
3. Hell’s Gates
(South Green Mountain Road, AL)
The underworld has to have its front doors too. Hell’s Gates is a well-known site to camp out and wait for the alleged ghost cars to appear. The cars are said to chase you down the mountain and then suddenly disappear. But beware, the gates are property of the man who owns the mansion it leads to, and those gunshots probably aren’t ones of the spirit world. “The vibe the place gave off was just really creepy,” said Bob Jones graduate Dustin Addleman. “It felt like I was being watched as I went through, and there was nobody else there since it was past midnight.”
4. Frat House, Heritage Bible College
(6806 Whitesburg Dr. Huntsville, AL)
According to hauntedplaces.org, the spirits of Anthony Stephens and his brothers walk through the house at night. It has been said that they flush the toilets, make noises and whisper foreboding words, like “cheese.”
5. Atrox Factory
(8404 Parkway Drive Leeds, AL)
While Disturbia has been shut down this 2013 Halloween season due to extensive water damage, the haunted house recommends another place with a high rank: Atrox Factory. It features an extensive autopsy scene and a no-rail layout where some of the halls are so tight that the props are right in your face and completely unavoidable. There are multiple rooms based on the deepest fears of the human heart; the actors are sometimes completely camouflaged into the scenes. The southern haunt is so well known that there are reportedly celebrities spotted there.
6. Haunted Corn Maze of Huntsville
(1209 E. 900 south. Brownsboro AL)
For those who enjoy the feeling of being lost or trapped, the Haunted Corn Maze in Huntsville has got you covered. Featuring over a mile of seemingly deadly twists and turns, hauntedhouserating.com lists it as a top attraction for the Halloween season.
Overall, if you are someone who likes her costumes to have a Disney tag stitched inside, or if you prefer the nice, quiet tranquility of rocking on a porch watching the neighborhood children grab at your sugar-free candy, these are probably not the places for you. If you’re the type of person that likes to test his belief of the spirit world or the strength of his own subconscious, Alabama is littered with Halloween hot spots eagerly awaiting your arrival.
