From creepy forests to abandoned buildings with chilling backstories, Arkansas offers numerous seriously scary haunted attractions for thrill-seekers. Ranging from heart-racing interactive experiences to terrifying guided ghost tours, Arkansas’ top destinations promise to deliver bone-chilling fun all season long.
This guide covers the must-visit haunted houses, Halloween events, and paranormal sites beckoning ghost hunters to Arkansas in 2024.
1. Fear Factory Haunted House
| Location | 101 E Oak St, North Little Rock, AR 72114 |
| Season | September 30th – October 31st plus select nights year-round |
For over 20 years, Fear Factory has terrified Arkansas residents with its elaborate sets and intensity. This 35,000-square-foot haunted house located in North Little Rock regularly tops statewide best-of lists thanks to its dedication to constant updates and improvements.
What initially began as a home haunt has evolved into a must-see destination filled with terrifying themes and startling scares. Fear Factory features include haunted school bus rides, a “Meat Factory” with chainsaw-wielding maniacs, and an alien-themed area dubbed “Area 51.” The operation also recently introduced a haunted escape room to complement the haunted house attraction.
Plan on spending at least 45 minutes working your way through the immersive haunted happenings inside Fear Factory. Just don’t expect to escape without your adrenaline spiking thanks to the crew of freakish characters lurking within.
2. Jones Village Trail of Terror
| Location | Jones Village, AR |
| Season | October 7th – 29th, Fridays and Saturdays at Dark |
Nestled deep in a remote forest 45 minutes outside Little Rock lies Jones Village, an authentic 1800s frontier settlement turned haunted attraction. For a truly terrifying experience, make the drive to wander through this creepy village after dark for the Trail of Terror event.
As you navigate along a dimly-lit wooded trail by lantern, expect all manner of lurking terrors concealed in the shadows. Zombies, killers, and ghosts hide behind every building façade waiting to prey on those that dare enter. Some of the haunted happenings take place inside historical cabins still standing from the original 1800s Jones Village community for extra chilling effect.
Be prepared to walk quite a distance over uneven ground throughout this immersive horror experience. The remote wooded environment also means no brightly-lit exits providing safety from the relentless scares along the way. Only the most adventurous adrenaline junkies will survive the Jones Village Trail of Terror!
3. Night Terrors Haunted House
| Location | 701 E 9th St, Texarkana, AR 71854 |
| Season | September 24th – October 29th, Fridays and Saturdays After Dark |
The volunteer-run haunted attraction Night Terrors enters its 8th terrifying year delivering freakish fun to Texarkana and surrounding towns. Known for incorporating guests’ greatest fears into its designs, Night Terrors features different themes each season to keep locals coming back again and again.
2023’s themes transport brave visitors to an eerie old carnival teeming with crazed clowns and a warped sideshow full of human oddities. A haunted bayou filled with screams also awaits those who enter. Just beware of the horrifying creatures lurking inside Night Terrors, as they show no mercy!
Tickets run just $15 per person, making this haunted house one of the best-valued thrills in the state as well. Just make sure to bring a change of pants, as Night Terrors promises to scare yours off!
4. Arkansas Fear Grounds
| Location | 1700 S Broadway St, Little Rock, AR 72206 |
| Season | September 16th – November 5th, Mostly Fridays and Saturdays After Dark |
Little Rock’s premiere haunted house experience resides at the sprawling Arkansas Fear Grounds attraction. Multiple themed haunted houses await brave souls at this dedicated Halloween haunt including fan favorites like “Claustrophobia,” “Cannibal County Jail,” and “The Morgue.”
The star offering is the heart-racing Zipline Ride of Terror taking thrillseekers high above the property as deranged clowns attack from all sides. Those who survive also enjoy bonfires for roasting marshmallows, fortune tellers, games, and more entertainment between haunted houses.
Arkansas Fear Grounds delivers frights for an affordable price in the heart of the capital city. Just make sure to watch your step inside the pitch black scares, as you never know what evil lurks right underfoot!
5. Hillbilly Horror Haunted Attraction
| Location | Highway 60 East, Mountain View, AR 72560 |
| Season | September 30th – October 30th, Friday and Saturday Nights |
Touted as the most terrifying haunted attraction in northern Arkansas, Hillbilly Horror offers a gory great time for Halloween. Situated east of Mountain View on rural Highway 60, this remote haunted farm is easy to miss on purpose but hard to forget once experienced.
Currently, in its sixth year of delivering screams, Hillbilly Horror sees visitors navigating through a mile-long wooded trail filled with murderous mountain men. But don’t let them catch you alone in their neck of the woods or you may end up in the meat cooker!
While entry to the horrific trail itself is completely outdoors, those that survive also gain access to the climate-controlled Hillbilly Horror Haunted Indoor House for even more extreme scares. Just make sure to watch your back while enjoying concessions, as dangers lurk around every corner.
6. DeGray Lake Ghost Tours
| Location | Arkadelphia, AR |
| Season | Select Dates Year-Round |
For a truly chilling nighttime experience, hop aboard the DeGray Lake Ghost Tours originating from Arkadelphia, AR. These boat tours explore haunted locations around DeGray Lake, with guides recounting the ghostly tales and tragedies that have long lingered in these waters.
Stops along the way include the submerged town of Blakely, an entire community purposely flooded into oblivion when the lake was built. Many former residents seemingly refused to leave their homes, as guests routinely capture photos containing mysterious orbs of light emanating from below the current lake surface.
The iconic Brandon House supposedly haunted by a crying female spirit is also prominent. Brave passengers can even participate in spirit communication sessions asking the lurking entities to reveal themselves. Just don’t be shocked if you return home after this tour with an unexpected visitor in tow from the great beyond!
7. Potts Inn Revolutionary Spirits Tour
| Location | Hwy 229, Greenwood, AR 72936 |
| Season | Year-round tours available |
History buffs and paranormal enthusiasts alike appreciate the Potts Inn Revolutionary Spirits ghost tour held on-site at this preserved 19th-century stagecoach stopover and Civil War hospital. As one of the most haunted historic hotels in Arkansas, the Potts Inn certainly seems to live up to its terrifying tales.
Guests exploring the grounds have reported shadowy soldiers still keeping watch and the screams of those long passed echoing through vacant halls. Room #3 specifically continues generating stories of poltergeist activity and strange phenomena from those who dare enter. Even the most steadfast skeptics can’t explain certain eerie events on the property.
While the Potts Inn welcomes visitors daily for meals and events, the guided spirits tours only occur on select special event nights, usually near Halloween. Just don’t blame the staff if your actual meal gets interrupted by the resident ghosts still frequenting this watering hole centuries later!
8. 1905 Basin Park Hotel Ghost Tours
| Location | 12 Spring St, Eureka Springs, AR 72632 |
| Season | Year-round tours available |
Known as “America’s Most Haunted Hotel,” the 1905 Basin Park Hotel seems to live up to its notoriety through daily supernatural occurrences and frequent unsettling guest stories. Luckily visitors don’t have to book an overnight stay to potentially glimpse ghosts roaming the elaborate halls of this landmark. The hotel offers guided ghost tours allowing access to famously haunted spots.
Areas like the “spiral staircase” with a male spirit lurking on the upper floors prove especially active. EMF detectors also routinely spike inside the hotel saloon where three different ghosts supposedly congregate. Previous tenants like a former cancer patient named “Theodora” tend to turn up in guest rooms as well. Records document over 12 legitimate spectral residents at the property!
Skeptics and believers alike find themselves enthralled touring this Gilded Age wonder while hearing chilling real tales from staff and former guests. Just don’t be shocked if you feel an inexplicable tap on the shoulder or hear faint whispers while traversing its spiral corridors.
9. Crenshaw House Historic Hauntings Tour
| Location | Hwy 372 North, Swifton, AR 72471 |
| Season | Year-round tours available |
The 1866 Jacob Wolf House, also known as the Crenshaw House, stands today as one of Arkansas’ most treasured works of preserved architecture as well as home to notorious ghostly inhabitants that simply refuse to leave. This two-story mansion built by a prominent early Arkansas statesman sees plenty of activity from lingering spectral tenants.
Regular reports involve sightings of ghostly orbs of light, disembodied voices, and objects that inexplicably move on their own. The spirit of a former owner herself named Lydia still occupies and protects the master bedroom as well. Many overnight guests have fled this room after witnessing the angry ghost firsthand.
Ghost hunters adore touring and conducting overnight vigils at the property due to very tangible proof of paranormal activity happening regularly. Skeptics also appreciate learning the verified history and hauntings of the mid-1800s structure during guided daytime tours. Just tread lightly during your visit lest you disturb one of the resident spirits!
10. The Panic Room Escape Challenge
| Location | 109 E Main St, Cabot, AR 72023 |
| Season | Open year-round |
For haunted happenings with an extra dose of adrenaline, check out the aptly named Panic Room in downtown Cabot. This escape room attraction places guests inside an intricately themed environment where they must solve complex puzzles to break out in the allotted 60 minutes. Panic Room’s most terrifying experience is known as “The Experiment,” plunging participants into a sadistic scientist’s lab with shocking surprises around every turn.
While advertised as just an entertainment experience, reports of actual paranormal activity within the Panic Room facilities will make even casual thrillseekers question reality. Expect the unexpected inside this highly detailed and elaborate escape game seemingly teeming with both human and inhuman horrors!
Find Your Fright in Arkansas
From extreme haunted houses to chilling ghost tours, Arkansas offers a bounty of terrifying ways to get your fright fix this Halloween season. Take your pick from zombie-infested wooded trails, remain vigilant for lurking ghosts in historic hotels, or challenge your mind and courage to escape a locked room scenario.
Just don’t plan on easing your way into the Halloween spirit in Arkansas – these attractions aim for maximum scares! Whether you seek interactive frights or real paranormal proof, Arkansas’ most menacing spooky spots are guaranteed to deliver a truly haunting experience.
