Spooky season is underway in Ohio, with longtime favorites like the Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory in Akron already open.
As Ohio continues its reign as the state with the most haunted houses in the nation, the number of choices may be overwhelming to some. And that’s where websites like The Scare Factor and Ohio Haunted Houses come in.
Each year, The Scare Factor gives its picks of the top 13 haunted houses in Ohio, based on popularity metrics, social media presence and the site’s own reviews. The website insists it is not a “best of” list. Instead, it’s “a list of haunts we feel that you need to add to your visit list this season for various reasons.”
And Ohio Haunted Houses presents its Attraction of the Year award, as voted on by haunted house enthusiasts, each year.
Both lists offer up a good selection of the best haunted houses around the state. Here’s a look at their choices.
What are the best haunts in Ohio for Halloween 2025? The Scare Factor’s ranking
The Scare Factor’s choices for the top haunts this Halloween are:
Ohio Haunted Houses Attraction of the Year winners
The best haunted attractions in the state last season, as judged by Ohio Haunted Houses readers, include:
Ohio has the most haunted houses in the nation
Ohio has 144 haunted attractions this year, according to The Scare Factor, besting California (132) and Illinois (123). Ohio has grown by 11 sites since 2024, and the state had 130 spots in 2023, per the Akron Beacon Journal. And that’s after losing some haunted houses, like the Ghoul Brothers in Northeast Ohio, which was one of The Scare Factor’s top picks for 2024.
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What is The Scare Factor?
The Scare Factor offers haunted house reviews and a directory of attractions, according to its website. Members of the haunted house enthusiast group, based in Indiana, seek out and review attractions across the country, according to the Beacon’s story.
Tyler and Nora Proffet told the Beacon in 2023 that they scour the internet and compile a list of what’s available to visit in each state.
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Why does Ohio lead in haunts?
Tyler Proffet told the Beacon last year that the Midwest loves haunted houses, and Ohio leads the way.
“Ohio just really has a really strong Halloween culture,” he told the Beacon. “Haunted houses are just wildly loved in the Midwest.”
Some of the oldest haunted houses in the nation are in Ohio, such as the Haunted Schoolhouse and Laboratory in Akron, which marked 50 years in 2023.
Proffet said that because the state has such old haunts, it gave other enthusiasts the urge to open their own.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Best haunted houses in Ohio