Editor’s Note: This article contains potentially scary/disturbing images and video footage. View with discretion.

Updated for accuracy 10/11/18 at 9:50:00AM EST

October is here, which means it’s time for all the best autumn-themed festivities: apple picking, pumpkin carving, and of course, haunted houses.

Whether it’s a fund raiser at your local fire station or a high-tech horror house, haunted houses have been entertaining us since the Great Depression era. The first haunted houses were designed by American parents to keep kids from vandalizing their properties on Halloween night.

Here’s a list of some of the spookiest attractions in the U.S.

1. Netherworld: Stone Mountain, Georgia

After 20 years in Norcross, = one of the most terrifying haunted houses in all of America has moved to Stone Mountain. Folks travel from across the country to experience the spectacular spooks designed by professional television and film prop masters. In fact, Netherworld’s special effects and props are so lifelike that they’ve been featured in movies like “Zombieland” and “Halloween 2.” Stunt artists, huge monsters, and escape rooms all await you at this award-winning attraction.  Check out their 2018 promotional video here!

2. Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights: Orlando, Florida

Roller coasters + haunted houses = the most thrilling night of your life. If you’re a horror and sci-fi movie buff, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights is definitely for you. This year, 9 haunted houses await you, with scenes from the critically acclaimed sci-fi Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” “Halloween 4,” “Scary Tales: Deadly Ever After,” “Horrors of Blumhouse,” and more!

Hey, if Ellen DeGeneres and her team can survive it years after years, so can you!

3. The Haunted Hotel: San Diego, California

Haunt World Magazine rates this California attraction as one of the country’s best haunted houses. One customer even sued them for being too scary! Travel down the Hellevator, get chased by zombies in a mile-long alley, and ride the Creepy Clown Subway at The Haunted Hotel.

If you’re looking for an even more intense scare, be sure to visit on Lights Out Wednesdays: visitors are only allowed the light of a glowstick necklace to navigate the dimmed terror!

4. Dent Schoolhouse: Cincinnati, Ohio

The town of Dent is supposedly haunted by the ghost of a psychopathic janitor named Charlie, who killed students that taunted him and stored their bodies in his basement.

This haunted house is the real retired schoolhouse where his ghost is said to still roam, and it doesn’t get much scarier than that. Haunted Attraction Magazine, Fangoria, and HauntWorld.com are just a few of the sources that claim Dent Schoolhouse to be one of the most terrifying haunted houses in the nation.

5. Bennett’s Curse Haunted House: Baltimore, Maryland

Who could have guessed that a small, family owned-business could be ranked among the top scariest haunted houses and attractions of America by the likes of Travel Channel, Fangoria, and HauntedWorld.com?

As the only medieval vampire/knight-themed haunted house in the entire world, be sure to swing by Bennett’s for phenomenal acting, killer special effects, and creative, original scenes of horror.