Maryland offers a great variety of haunted attractions. From simple backyard haunts to elaborate special effects, this guide highlights some of the more popular attractions, helping you decide which are worth your money.

Best Scares:

Bennett’s Curse haunted house, outside of Baltimore, Maryland, may be a farther drive than other attractions on this list, but when it comes to scares it can’t be beat.  With incredibly detailed make-up, well-executed special effects and big budget props and animatronics, Bennett’s Curse is a huge step up from your typical backyard haunted house. On the downside, however, Bennett’s Curse is a relatively short experience, only taking about half an hour to complete, and offers no other entertainment besides the haunted house itself, unlike other haunted attractions which offer bonfires and free entertainment. This means that you will likely spend more time driving then you will in the haunted house, but if fear is your priority, it will definitely be worth it.

Most Fun:

Markoff’s Haunted Forest, in Poolesville, MD, offers the best all around Halloween experience, despite its insanely high prices. Markoff’s offers two haunted trails, about 20 minutes in length, a haunted hayride, a zipline, a bonfire, great food, and many other fun games and activities. The trails may lack any sort of a theme and rely heavily on cheesy jump scares, but there’s no doubt it makes for a fun and exciting experience. Markoff’s hosts some impressive props and talented actors, including exciting fire spinners who perform around the giant free bonfire which is the main hub for the haunted forest’s many attractions. Markoff’s biggest advantage may be the fact that it still allows its actors to touch, often even grab, guests as they make their way along the trail. This creates an intense experience that Markoff’s competitors can’t come close to matching. On the downside, Markoff’s Haunted Forest is by far the most expensive attraction on this list. To go through the two trails alone will cost you $70 dollars and it would cost well over a hundred to experience everything the forest has to offer. While Markoff’s wealth of attractions may be a strength, i’ts frustrating to spend such a large amount of money, only to leave feeling like you missed half of the experience.

Milder Thrills:

If you have always wanted to try a haunted house but aren’t sure if fear is your thing, Field of Screams Maryland is a great place to start. Field of Screams offers a haunted hayride which proves to be a unique experience, introducing guests to a creepy atmosphere and cool special effects, without ever becoming particularly scary. While this may be disappointing to some, others can take advantage of the hayride as a way to test the waters and see if haunted houses are their thing. Field of Screams also offers a haunted trail which, similarly to the hayride, offers some incredible props and special effects, while poor make-up and understaffing keep the actual scares to a minimum. Other attractions include a new 3D haunted house and a hayride called Paintball Apocalypse, which allows guests to shoot zombies with paintballs. While this sounds like a great idea, the reality is that it is boring and overpriced, not an attraction to waste your time on.  Field of Screams really shines is the food, allowing guests to roast their own s’mores over mini camp fires, and offering deep fried Oreos and Twinkies which are to die for.

-Zack Shapiro