5 San Francisco Bay Haunted Attractions to See in 2023
Anywhere and everywhere you go in the U.S., you can find a haunted attraction suited to your scare tolerance. In fact, we put together an itinerary for those who want to take a road trip of terror. But don’t pack your bags just yet. Halloween hounds can find plenty of thrills and frights right here in the San Francisco Bay area. Here’s a slew of local pine-tingling experiences you’ll want to check out in 2023.
#1 Unhinged: Housewarming
The Winchester Mystery House’s Unhinged: Housewarming combines the starlit allure of old Hollywood, the pervasive paranoia of the Prohibition Era, and the country’s spookiest mansion to create a uniquely eerie experience.
The backdrop of this haunted attraction is a lavish and opulent garden party hosted by celebrity couple Miles and Flora Taylor. Though the public is dying for an invitation to the exclusive soiree the society papers have dubbed “The Event of the Century,” something sinister lurks beneath the glitzy surface.
Unhinged: Housewarming offers scares inside the Winchester Mystery House and the outdoor scare zone, plus a Halloween museum that gives visitors a glimpse into yesteryear with vintage costumes, decor, and more.
Unhinged: Housewarming Winchester Mystery House
Select dates only. Buy your tickets today.
#2 Nightmare Island
Vallejo’s Nightmare Island packs tons of fright into its 45,000 square-foot space. With live actors playing sadistic clowns, psycho nurses, and a whole host of other unsettling characters, Nightmare Island truly lives up to its name. For those looking for a tamer time, this haunted attraction offers daily hours that are free of actors and animatronics, plus a Halloween market for those who want to keep the spirit of the spooky season alive all year round.
Nightmare Island
Open Fridays-Sundays all October
Vallejo
#3 Blind Scream - Doc Hunter’s House of Horror
The Blind Scream haunted attraction has been a North Bay mainstay for over 14 years. In 2023, they’ll invite guests to brave Doc Hunter’s House of Horror, a series of immersive, nightmarish scenes from the mind of a mad scientist. Teeming with live actors and ghoulish settings, this Santa Rosa madhouse is not for the faint of heart.
Blind Scream – Doc Hunter’s House of Horror
Open Select Dates
Santa Rosa
https://www.blindscream.com/
#4 The Initiation
Some of the scariest haunted attractions are those that play on true life events to ignite our deepest, darkest fears. Case in point: The Initiation. This San Francisco scarefest offers a descent into the world of the occult, where a compelling, unreal logic can turn men into monsters.
The Initiation
Terror Vault
San Francisco
https://www.intothedarksf.com/
#5 Grimm’s Hollow
Grimm’s Hollow is an outdoor spook-tacular that dares visitors to find their way through the Labyrinth, a maze where surprises and scares lurk around every corner. For the truly courageous at heart, Grimm’s Hollow offers up an after-hours maze where guests must find their way out of a grisly dungeon while being terrorized by the undead.
The Labyrinth
Grimm’s Hollow
San Jose
Halloween Haunted House | www.grimmshollow.com | United States
San Francisco Bay’s haunted attractions are second to none, and these five eerie experiences are just the tip of the tombstone, so to speak. The Bay offers loads of haunted houses to visit, ghost stories to hear, and paranormal tours to take. There’s truly something scary for everyone.