The Bay Area offers up a number of haunted attractions for those who love Halloween and all the scare it brings.From scary amusement park experiences to candlelight tours through historic landmarks, here are a few options that promise to strike fear this fall.
Stop reading now if you’re faint of heart.
Fear Overload
Fear Overload in San Leandro’s Bay Fair Mall has been around for a decade now and once made Forbes’ list of the top haunted attractions in the U.S.
This year, guests get to brave two distinct horror shows. In “The Washroom,” groups have to get by with only one dim flashlight and are told not to “look directly into the eyes of the girl with long black hair.” “Amnesia Ward,” described as Fear Overload’s signature attraction, offers up a zombie-virus narrative. Can you make it through without getting infected?
Select dates from 7-10 p.m. Through Nov. 3. $25.99. Bay Fair Mall, 15555 E. 14th St., San Leandro.www.fearoverload.com
Fright Fest at Six Flags
Once again, it seems demons and zombies have taken over Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. This amusement park goes all out with numerous haunted attractions, “scare zones” and shows.
Six Flags has also stepped up the spook factor on several of its rides. New this year is something called “Scarecrow’s Hollow,” which promises occasionally animated (and obviously terrifying) scarecrows, who really don’t like it if you “stomp on their crops.”
The park also features more live shows than ever before, organizers say, including a hypnotist and a freak show.
4-10 p.m. Fridays, noon-10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 31. Also open 4 p.m.-midnight Oct. 26, noon-midnight Oct. 27. Tickets start at $41.99. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo.www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom
Halloween Haunt at Great America
California’s Great America offers its annual Halloween Haunt, a veritable buffet of spooky attractions. For the price of admission, guests can experience shows, “scare zones” and haunted mazes — along with the amusement park’s rides.
New this year is a tour through the Tooth Fairy’s shoppe (of course, in this telling, she doesn’t wait for teeth to painlessly fall out; she extracts them) and the Rippers Revenge. “Will you find your way out of Old Town before the Ripper finds you?”
7 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Sundays. Through Oct. 28, when the park closes at midnight. Tickets start at $34. California’s Great America,4701 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara.www.cagreatamerica.com
Mayhem Mansion
For the sixth year in a row, Franklin Street’sHaas-Lilienthal Houseis opening its doors for a special haunted tour. This is the most limited attraction of the bunch, with just two weekends of operation.
In all, the tour takes about 20 minutes and gives guests not just chills — but also the opportunity to see inside one of San Francisco’s historic landmarks.
Guests can also help themselves to a cocktail at the “Spookeasy” before the tour begins.
Tours every 30 minutes from 7-10:30 p.m. Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27. $22 for adults; $17 for children. Ages 8 and older. Advance tickets encouraged. Haas-Lilienthal House, 2007 Franklin St., S.F.www.sfheritage.org
Pirates of Emerson
Pirates of Emerson offers an entire haunted amusement park, with five different haunted experiences. These haunted attractions have fitting names along the lines of “Psychopath,” “Prison Panic” and “The Haunted.” If you make it through all five, you can stick around to enjoy live music, mazes and a “misfortune teller.”
Park opens at 7:05 p.m. and closes between 10 p.m. and midnight depending on the date, Thursday-Sundays through Oct. 28 (excluding Thursday, Oct. 11). The park is also open Oct. 30-31. $35 at the door; $30 online. Pirates of Emerson Haunted Theme Park,Valley Avenue, Pleasanton.www.piratesofemerson.com
Terror Vault
This year marks the debut ofTerror Vault, an adult-oriented immersive theater experience that takes guests through the basement and vaults of San Francisco’s Old Mint.
有一个叙事时间持续abo血型ut 40 minutes. Those who are brave enough to enter will encounter puzzles to solve, mazes to navigate and scare actors — including drag icon Peaches Christ.
There’s also a Bullion Bar with original, artisanal cocktails, like the gin-based Zombie Puss.
Opens Wednesday, Oct. 10. Through Nov. 3. Groups are allowed in at 30-minute intervals from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. $60. Ages 21 and older. Reservations encouraged.
For ages 10 and older, Into the Dark also offers Dead Zone, a zombie-themed, high-tech interactive game of tag. Friday and Saturday nights, starting Friday, Oct. 12. Through Nov. 3. $19.95. Ages 10 and older.
Terror Vault at the Old Mint, 88 Fifth St., S.F.www.intothedarksf.com/terror-vault
Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester Mystery House is one the Bay Area’s most enigmatic architectural wonders.Sarah Winchester, the widow of firearm magnate William Wirt Winchester, sunk many millions of dollars into its construction, which lasted nearly 40 years and produced more than 150 rooms.
The mansion is said to be haunted and through Halloween, a candlelight tour has been added to the visitation schedule. The tour is billed as a “theatrical experience,” with scares, stunts and fun.
6:30-11:50 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays until Oct. 31. $49 for adults; $19 for children ages 6-12. 10 percent off on Oct. 11, 17 and 18. Reservations encouraged. Winchester Mystery House,525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose.winchestermysteryhouse.com
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