Top Haunted Houses in New Jersey and the World

As a kid, my friends and I would look forward to Fall events this time of year and spend a chilly weekend walk through the local haunted houses and attractions.

I didn’t realize it then, but the haunted houses, at least the ones I visited, were rather simplistic. I recall walking into a room with sheet metal walls and some guy in a mask holding a baseball bat. He screamed and slammed the bat into the wall repeatedly. It wasn’t scary but it was deafening.

Haunted Houses and Halloween attractions are much more detailed and intricate now. The special effects, actor makeup costumes, and illusions are amazing.

Before I get into the top Haunted Houses in New Jersey (you can jump ahead and page down if you like), I wanted to share two places on PlanetCruise.com’s “World’s Most Haunted Hotspots.”

The first is number 2 on their list and is the only one that we could drive to in a reasonable amount of time. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, PA ranked as the runner-up behind Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh, UK.

Eastern State Penitentiary landed a high score for Tripadvisor rating, and haunted, spooky, and scary mentions in their study that ranked locations based on their data collecting method. As they point out, “This former prison has been home to over 85,000 criminals, but is now a crumbling shell of cell blocks.”

The only “Haunted Hotspot” on the list that I’ve visited is another prison, Tower of London. Tower of London fell into the final spot in their top 10. My wife, Kathleen, and I enjoyed a trip to London, England earlier this year and spent a couple of days at Tower of London.

Kathleen had her ghost meter in her handbag and it was pinging in many parts of the tour, especially in Beauchamp Tower where all the prisoners were kept beginning in the late 1200’s. The ghost meter also went a little crazy at Bloody Tower where many were murdered. It wasn’t open at night which probably would have ratcheted up the scary experience.

To discover the top haunted houses in New Jersey you can check out NewJerseyHauntedHouses.com. The site is rather comprehensive in its list of local Central Jersey scary spots. It lists 22 haunted houses, 13 haunted hayrides, 12 haunted trails, and 8 haunted and corn mazes. It also shares 54 kid-friendly hayrides.

The Central Jersey haunted spots include Scare Farm at Norz Hill Farm in Hillsborough. Scare Farm has 3 haunts to enjoy. There’s “Creepy Hollow, a walk through a haunted corn trail; Paranoia, also a walk through a haunted corn trail, and Slay Ride, a Haunted Hay Ride.

Another local haunted spot is Farm of Horrors at Schafer’s Farm in Flemington. It features their Hayride of Horror, Trail of Terror, MassAcre Maize, and Carnevil of Chaos spread out on over 200 acres.

There’s also Halloween House Freehold at Freehold Raceway Mall with many features including the Nightmare Before Christmas Room, the Beetlejuice Illusion Room, Vampire’s Lair, Haunted Hotel Room, and Graveyard Movie Theatre.

For the full list of local Haunted Houses and more go here.

With the opening day of the 2024/2025 season in the rearview, fans have more than likely started munching on their favorite foods while watching a few (or all) of the games. All while dreaming that their team makes the potential Super Bowl trip.

As mentioned, part of the tradition for Sunday football is watch parties, tailgates, and snacking -- lots of it.

To celebrate the first few games of the season, VegasInsider analyzed, and researched the most popular snacks across the country,

The study was based on the search volume for each snack using the words "NFL". New Jersey returned results of a "mixed variety", and if you asked this observer, the snack that ranked #12 (last), should be categorized as some sort of heinous crime.

But see for yourself....

Starting off the list are Mozzarella Sticks, returning an average search volume of 620. Trust me, that count is pretty low, you'll see as we go further down the list. Were most of you upset like I was? Mozzarella sticks are a SOLID #5, and CERTAINLY better than the #9 spot, but we will get to that...

Probably one of the most versatile on the 12 on this list, you can put almost anything on a hot dog and it will taste good.  We don't even really know what it's made of, but we don't care! Grilled, fried, even MICROWAVED, it all tastes good! Unfortunately, it did not "cut the mustard", only returning a search volume of 1,010. 

Honestly surprising this ended up so high (or low) on the list. With an average of 3,161 pizza places in the state, NOT including chains, Pizza is a readily available option for New Jersey residents. Maybe that's the problem..it's readily available. Why go out of your way to get it every Sunday? Another versatile food option, it only returned an average search count of 1,020 -- just 10 more than the hot dog.  What's even more surprising is that pizza ranked LAST among footballs fans on average across the country. 

Returning an average search count of 1,040, this is controversial (at least for me). THIS should be the #12 spot. It's a movie food! When the game is on, my first instinct is not "Can't wait to chow down on some popcorn, and get kernels in my teeth". With that said, I still endure, and I still eat it when it's around. Butter, Caramel, Cheddar...it's all good. 

Now we start seeing pretty big jumps in the search count. This bar classic returned an average search count of 1,420. If you find an arrangement of sauces these make a delicious edition to any Football night snacks arrangement. 

Talk about versatility! How many brands, styles, and flavors of chips are there out in the world? How many brands, styles, and flavors of dip are out there? Are you a Doritos person, or a Lay's person? Are you the one guy who brought Fritos!? Do you like the punch of a spicy salsa? or the smooth flavor of ranch? Personally, grab a Jar of Tostino's Queso Blanco and I can dip a piece of cardboard in it. I think it's THAT good! Others agree chips and dip are a staple in the house, returning an average search count of 1,740.  

The cousin to the chip, the Pretzel returned with a score of 2,010. Whether you enjoy the hard, bite-sized pretzels from a bag, the big and soft salted pretzels, or even the sticks that are perfect for dipping. Pretzels start off the list of the top 6! 

The messiest option, but always savory, BBQ ribs jump FAR ahead of the #6 spot with 2,770 for an average search volume. Just make sure you have a napkin on standby... 

Another large jump in average search volume, Chicken Wings are another snack that provides a medley of options. Boneless, or bone-In? And if you like bone-in, do you like flats or sticks? 
Do you like Buffalo, BBQ, or Garlic Parmesan? In New Jersey, Chicken Wings had an average search volume of 3,420! 

Taking home the bronze medal, meatballs step away from the spaghetti dish and plant themselves in the third-place spot for your Sunday snack lineup! Meatballs returned and an average search volume of 5,450! What's great about the meatball (other than everything), is when you get tired of using a fork, just plop one of those bad boys on a sub roll and you have yourselves a sandwich! 

The runner-up goes to the reliable nacho! Now, I know what you might be thinking, and no, nachos do not count as "chips and dip".  The reason for that...presentation. Nachos are more than just chips and cheese, it's chips, cheese, salsa, sour cream, peppers, olives, and occasionally, pork, all blissfully blended in one. Nachos returned an average search volume of 13,130! 

New Jersey's top spot goes to Sliders! Sliders returned the largest average search volume with 17,050! Sliders have gotten more creative through the years. But I'm a big proponent of keeping it simple. A nice medium-rare with cheese, ketchup, and onions, and I'm set!
Overall, sliders were the most popular snack choice for the country!