The spooky season October brings is more exciting than a zombie apocalypse in Middle Tennessee with haunted houses and other creepy attractions.
We’ve rounded up a list of not-so-scary tours and happenings appropriate for all ages. In addition, with your older kids in mind (ages 10+), we’ve put together a frightfully fun collection of haunted happenings this month.
Always keep in mind the sensitivities of your child no matter his age in regard to any spooky excursion.
EDITOR’S PICK: MILLERS THRILLERS
Thru Nov. 2
When it comes to serving up Halloween hoots and serious scares, no one beats Miller’s Thrillers in Columbia (1431 Carters Creek Pike. The awesome Zombie Paintball Hayride is for everyone, but beware of the Haunted Woods; it’s for big kids only (ages 10 & older), and that jaunt stretches out to a one-hour experience this year.
This year’s new attraction in the Haunted Woods is Arena X. Millers Thrillers Owner David Miller says it’s “a mix of The Hunger Games, a crazy circus, Survivor, extreme escape games, flag football, Gladiator, a DJ dance party and The Amazing Race.” Guests can choose to be a competitor or a spectator in the race against the clock. Competitors must watch their backs and not lose their flags as the clowns lurk for action.
In addition, this year’s stage show features entertainers from all over the country. Miller says some of them hold Guinness world records, and the variety act stage show “could rival the likes of shows in Vegas.”
Hours are Fri – Sat 7 – 11 p.m. (6 – 11 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 19 & 26). Tickets are $20 per attraction, $35 for both. The Slash Pass ($15 – $20, depending on how you bundle) is worth the extra dough if you don’t have patience for long lines — and the lines at Millers Thrillers are insanely long!
Learn more and get tickets at millersthrillers.net.
NOT-SO-SCARY FUN FOR LITTLE KIDS (all ages)
NASHVILLE GHOST TOURS
Sixth Avenue North & Union Avenue, Nashville
amerighost.com/nashville-ghost-tours
Hours: 8 p.m. Sun – Fri, 8 & 9 p.m. Sat
$17 ages 12 & older, $10 ages 7 – 11, free ages 6 & younger
A lantern-bearing guide leads you on this 90-minute tour through the dark mysteries of the streets of downtown Nashville, including landmarks like the Ryman Auditorium, Tennessee State Capitol, Printer’s Alley and more. Tour is suitable for younger kids.
HAUNTED HOOTS FOR BIG KIDS (ages 10+)
HERMITAGE GHOST TOURS
The Hermitage
4580 Rachel’s Lane, Hermitage
615-889-2941 | thehermitage.com
Thru Nov. 9: Wed – Sat 7 & 9 p.m.
$35
Explore the haunted side of Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage while exploring the mansions, grounds and cemetery by lantern light as guides share stories of the ghosts of the Battle of New Orleans and Jackson’s meeting with the Bell Witch.
BELL WITCH CAVE
430 Keysburg Road, Adams
615-696-3055 | bellwitchcave.com
Hours: Vary daily
$12 daytime cave tours ($18 includes cabin).
Tour the cave allegedly inhabited by Middle Tennessee’s most notorious spook, and tour the cabin to hear even more frightful tale of how the witch haunted John Bell and his family.
BLOODY ACRES HAUNTED WOODS
318 Big Station Camp Blvd., Gallatin
615-974-8589 | bloodyacres.webs.com
Hours: Thru Oct. 31 daily 7 p.m. – 12 a.m.
$15 (regular admission) $20 (Fast pass, CASH ONLY)
Real woods and real terror! Get spooked in the woods by the new killer clowns before exploring the old mine shaft.
CREEPY HOLLOW HAUNTED WOODS
2133 Joe Brown Road, Spring Hill
931-486-3063 | creepyhollowwoods.com
Thursday, Oct. 31: 7 – 10 p.m.
$28
Three attractions in one designed to “scare the yell out of you” include Trail of Terror Haunted Woods, Halls of Horror Haunted House and the Zombie Maze. Embark on a hayride and storytelling for an extra $5.
DEVIL’S DUNGEON
510 Davidson St., Nashville
615-256-0053 | devilsdungeon.net
Halloween night 7 – 10 p.m.
$20
Nashville’s most controversial haunted house features 20,000 square feet of fright with two floors of shocking, bloody gore.
Bloody Acres Haunted Woods.
GRAVE MATTERS TOUR AT REST HAVEN & OLD CITY CEMETERIES
Fourth Avenue North & North Margin Street, Franklin
By reservation | franklinonfoot.com/tours/cemetery-tours
$20 adults, $10 teens, $5 kids
Franklin on Foot presents costumed re-enactors who portray several of the cemeteries’ most interesting people like the Carter father and son whose nearby home was the epicenter of the Battle of Franklin. You’ll also hear stories of teenager Fannie Courtney, a Union sympathizer who tended to wounded Union soldiers, and there are also non-Civil War related stories to hear along the way.
HAUNTED FRANKLIN TOUR
305 Public Square, Franklin
615-400-3808 | franklinonfoot.com/tours/ghost-tours
Daily at 7 p.m.
$20 adults, $10 teens, $5 kids
Franklin On Foot hosts this family-friendly walking ghost tour for all ages. It covers six blocks of historic downtown Franklin exploring the ghosts and haunts that linger on the brick-lined streets and landmark buildings.
HAUNTED HELL
3930 Apache Trail, Antioch
615-832-4355 | hauntedhellnashville.com
Halloween night 7 – 10 p.m.
$18
Face your fears among the rotting ruins and ghoulish landscapes seen in nightmares. The shock and mayhem include special effects and a demon cast of more than 35 live actors.
NASHVILLE NIGHTMARE
1016 Madison Square, Madison
615-752-5663 | nashvillenightmare.com
Oct. 28 – 31 from 7:30 – 10 p.m.
$30 for all attractions; $40 includes the Slash Pass
Now in its sixth season, Nashville Nightmare has expanded to include six distinct haunted attractions within its 50,000 square feet of space: Reformatory, Twisted Tales, Phantoms Reincarnation, Rigor Mortis, Sector 615.
SLAUGHTERHOUSE
3445 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage
615-840-5069 | fullmoonslaughterhouse.com
Halloween night 8 – 12 a.m.
$25
Nashville’s longest-running haunted attraction celebrates 30 years of intense slaughter, blood-and-guts haunted horror, now located at the Full Moon Cineplex.
