Several of the biggest haunts in Northeast Ohio are well outside the city, some of them an hour or more away, in old factories, fairgrounds and a former state prison. If you are planning haunted house day trips from Cleveland, it helps to group them by direction: south to Akron and Canton, southwest to Mansfield, southeast to the Warren and Youngstown area, and east to Chardon.
The haunts below are the ones that justify the drive, either for the setting or because a single ticket covers several attractions. For the haunts closer to home in Cuyahoga County and the nearby suburbs, open the full Cleveland haunted house guide.
Haunts run on a short seasonal calendar and many sell out, so check dates and admission before you go and buy tickets ahead where you can.
Worth the drive
Haunted houses outside Cleveland worth a trip
Mansfield
Blood Prison
Best for: A haunt inside a famous prison
Blood Prison is staged inside the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, the prison from The Shawshank Redemption. The building is the draw, and it is the farthest drive on this list, southwest of Cleveland off Interstate 71. Tickets are sold online only and nights regularly sell out, so buy early and plan the trip around the date you get.
Canton
Factory of Terror
Best for: A long indoor walk-through in Canton
Factory of Terror is one of the largest indoor haunts around, set inside an old factory on Mahoning Road in Canton with several attractions and a long walk-through. Being indoors makes it a safer bet on a rainy night. If you go on a Saturday, consider the express pass.
Canton
Carnival of Horrors
Best for: Clowns and a 3-D maze at the fairgrounds
Carnival of Horrors fills the Stark County Fairgrounds in Canton with carnival-themed haunts, including a 3-D maze and a clown asylum. There is an 18+ touch pass for people who want actors to make contact. Since it is in the same city as Factory of Terror, the two make the most natural pairing for a Canton trip.
Chippewa Lake
Chippewa Lake Slaughterhouse
Best for: Timed entry and a full-contact option
Chippewa Lake Slaughterhouse is a huge haunt in Chippewa Lake in Medina County, built around the story of an old slaughterhouse where workers vanished. Entry is timed and nights sell out, so book early. Add the touch pass if you want the full-contact version. The same team runs Nightmare Cleveland on Brookpark Road, which is useful to know if you want their work with a shorter drive.
Akron
Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory
Best for: Two haunts on one ticket in Akron
Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory is in Akron near Akron Fulton Airport, pairing a former school with a mad-scientist lab on one ticket. It has been scaring visitors since the 1970s. Akron is one of the shorter drives on this list, and it sits on the way to Canton if you want to stack a second haunt.
Lordstown
Fear Forest Haunted House & Hayride
Best for: A hayride, a maze and an asylum
Fear Forest Haunted House & Hayride is on Tod Avenue in Lordstown, near Warren. The haunted hayride runs through a vortex tunnel, and the grounds also hold an asylum haunt, a scare trail and a cornfield maze. It is the pick if your group wants to be outdoors for part of the night and do more than one kind of scare.
Niles
Nightmare in Niles (formerly Canfield Scaregrounds)
Best for: A barn haunt from the Canfield Scaregrounds team
Nightmare in Niles is the Canfield Scaregrounds team’s haunt at its new home on Youngstown Warren Road in Niles. It has a massive barn haunt and a reformatory-themed haunt. Niles is a short drive from Lordstown, so pair it with Fear Forest for a Mahoning Valley night.
Chardon
Nightmare @ Pioneer
Best for: Outdoor scare zones east of the city
Nightmare @ Pioneer sets up outdoor scare zones themed to clowns, zombies and cannibals on the grounds of Pioneer Waterland in Chardon, in Geauga County east of Cleveland. It is the one trip on this list that heads east instead of south, which makes it the easy choice for anyone coming from the eastern suburbs. Everything is outside, so dress for the weather and wear shoes you can move in.
Plan the route
Group the haunts by direction
South on Interstate 77, Canton holds two big options in one city: Factory of Terror on Mahoning Road and Carnival of Horrors at the Stark County Fairgrounds. Haunted Schoolhouse & Laboratory in Akron sits on the way down, so a long night could start in Akron and end in Canton.
To the southeast, Fear Forest in Lordstown and Nightmare in Niles are both in the Warren area and make a two-stop trip. Nightmare @ Pioneer in Chardon is the one run to the east. Blood Prison in Mansfield stands on its own to the southwest, and Chippewa Lake Slaughterhouse in Medina County is one of the closer drives in the group.
Before you leave
Tickets, passes and timing
Some of these haunts sell tickets online only, and the most popular nights sell out, so buying ahead matters more when you are driving an hour to get there. Express and fast passes can shorten the wait on busy nights, and touch passes at Chippewa Lake and Carnival of Horrors change the experience enough that everyone in your group should agree before you buy them.
Eat before you go and bring layers for the outdoor lines. See every haunt on the map to check the drive from your side of town.
Good to know
Questions before you go.
Is there anything this scary closer to Cleveland?
Yes. Nightmare Cleveland on Brookpark Road, 7 Floors of Hell at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Middleburg Heights and Bloodview in Broadview Heights are all in Cuyahoga County.
Is there a haunt for younger kids?
Hudson Haunted House on Barlow Road in Hudson runs lights-on matinees for younger kids, with live actors and handmade sets.
Where can I find a haunted hayride closer to home?
Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station has a haunted hayride that ends in a barn, and Forest of Screams in Medina has a mile-long hayride through the woods.
Every haunt in the region
See every haunted house around Cleveland
Scream parks, hayrides and indoor haunts across Northeast Ohio are in the full haunted house guide, with a map to plan the drive.