Looking for haunted attractions to add to your Maryland Halloween plans? We’ve put together 5 Must-See Haunted Attractions in Maryland for 2026 to help you discover some places we think haunt fans should have on their radar this season.
Our Must-See selections may include attractions we’ve reviewed, visited, or filmed, along with other haunts that stand out for what they offer, their popularity among haunt fans, or other reasons we think they’re worth checking out.
This is not a ranking or a “5 best” list, and these certainly aren’t the only Maryland haunts worth visiting. Think of this as a starting point for building your haunt list. There are plenty more attractions throughout Maryland waiting to be discovered! This list is in no particular order.
So, where will you scream first?
Markoff’s Haunted Forest – Dickerson, Maryland
Markoff’s Haunted Forest in Dickerson is much more than a walk through the woods. What started with the Markoff brothers operating a haunted school bus in the early 1990s has grown into a massive outdoor Halloween destination featuring the mile-long Haunted Trail, the highly interactive western-themed Town, and an enormous midway that can easily turn a haunt visit into an entire evening.
The attraction is especially known for its handcrafted environments and sheer scale. During our 2025 visit, we encountered everything from a full Viking ship and enormous castle to catacombs, a graveyard, a UFO, large-scale animatronics, fire effects, and one particularly wild junkyard finale. Between the Haunted Trail and The Town, our team spent 63 minutes inside the actual attractions, and Markoff’s went on to become The Scare Factor’s highest-rated haunt sitewide for 2025!
Opening night: October 2nd
Know Before You Go: Entirely outdoor experience, free parking, timed tickets with limited capacity, advance purchase strongly recommended, free admission to the midway, food and drinks, bonfires, games and additional activities available, appropriate outdoor shoes are strongly recommended. Markoff’s may close for severe weather or poor trail conditions.
Read The Scare Factor’s 2025 Markoff’s Haunted Forest Review
Laurel’s House of Horror – Laurel, Maryland
Laurel’s House of Horror turns a former movie theater into a sprawling indoor nightmare, using the building’s old cinemas and corridors to create one continuous haunted experience. In 2026, guests will travel through four different themes: The Carlisle Hotel, The Midnight Hour, The Cult, and Studio 13, all housed within the approximately 28,000-square-foot complex.
This is a haunt that changes significantly from year to year, with new layouts, scenes, characters, and effects taking advantage of the unusual theater setting. During our 2025 visit, the actors were a major strength, while the attraction’s detailed environments and unpredictable layout helped keep guests from knowing what was waiting in the next theater, hallway, or hidden corners. Laurel’s also offers horror-themed escape rooms and paranormal investigations on select dates outside the traditional walkthrough.
Opening night: September 19th
Know Before You Go: All-indoor attraction that operates rain or shine, free parking, covered portions of the outdoor queue, horror-themed escape rooms available separately, no touch, and paranormal investigations are offered on select nights.
Read The Scare Factor’s 2025 Laurel’s House of Horror Review
301 Devil’s Playground – Galena, Maryland
301 Devil’s Playground in Galena brings five separate haunted attractions together on one rural Eastern Shore property. Guests move through House of Hell, 3-D Phobia, The Barnyard, Barn of Torture, and The Harvest, giving the night a mix of traditional haunted-house environments, farm settings, barns, outdoor areas, and a haunted field.
Each attraction connects back to the dark mythology surrounding the farm and the judge who supposedly brought his crimes there, helping the individual experiences feel like pieces of a much larger nightmare. When our team reviewed 301 in 2024, its actors, costumes, detailed environments, creative effects, and relentless scares made it one of Maryland’s highest-scoring attractions.
Opening night: October 3rd
Know Before You Go: Five attractions are included, timed ticketing is used with 30-minute arrival windows, capacity is limited and dates can sell out, food and entertainment are available on-site, the experience includes indoor and outdoor areas, and operates rain or shine
Hera’s Nightmare Haunted Attraction – Westminster, Maryland
Hera’s Nightmare Haunted Attraction in Westminster is one of the newer additions to Maryland’s haunt scene, operating entirely indoors at the TownMall of Westminster. Since opening in 2024, the attraction has continued to expand and change its environments, combining elaborate sets, large animatronics, special effects, and several very different themes within one location.
The current 2026 information lists four experiences: The Curse of Hexen Hollow, the all-new Asylum: Midnight Ward, Bite Fight, and the returning Horror Vault selfie experience. Hera’s has also expanded the experience outside the primary haunts with an updated midway, photo opportunities, a horror retail shop, and a new VIP Horror Lounge. The Horror Vault offers something distinct, allowing guests to explore horror-themed environments at their own pace and take photos and videos, rather than experiencing it as a traditional scare maze.
Opening night: October 2nd
Know Before You Go: Entirely indoor attraction located inside TownMall of Westminster, dedicated mall parking, multiple attractions, VIP Horror Lounge, Fast Pass and VIP ticket options have been offered, and Hera’s also operates select off-season events throughout the year. No-touch attraction.
Bennett’s Curse Haunted House – Dundalk, Maryland
Bennett’s Curse Haunted House has been frightening Maryland haunt fans for more than 25 years, building its reputation around enormous monsters, elaborate gothic environments, original characters, and large-scale effects. Its current Eastpoint Mall location contains four attractions under one roof: Halloween 3D, The Crypts, House of the Demons, and Ravenbrook Asylum.
The attraction mixes very different styles of horror as guests move from fluorescent 3D creatures and disorienting illusions to crypts, catacombs, demons, vampires, and the inmates of Ravenbrook. House of the Demons also brings guests back into the mythology of Castle Bennett, one of the concepts most closely associated with the attraction throughout its history.
There’s also an especially important reason to visit in 2026: this will be Bennett’s Curse’s final Halloween season at its current Eastpoint Mall location. New for 2026, a limited VIP Fright Tour Pass will allow guests to experience both Bennett’s Curse and Creepywoods Haunted Forest during the same night.
Opening night: September 25th
Know Before You Go: All-indoor attraction, free parking, operates rain or shine, merchandise is sold on-site, no-touch attraction
There are many other must-see haunts! To see a full list of all Maryland haunted houses that we have listed, please click HERE.
As Halloween 2026 approaches, TheScareFactor.com wants to make sure you know before you go when it comes to haunted houses! Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can be notified of all new haunt walkthrough videos, behind-the-scenes takes, and more!
