It's October, the weather is changing, the leaves are starting to turn and the moon is glowing bright orange. If you're a horror fan chances are the fall and a little pagan holiday known as Halloween is one of your favorite times of the year. With that in mind we are taking a look at 10 of the craziest, most terrifying haunted attractions in the country. Because after all, October isn't October without checking out at least a few haunted places...

Follow up:

What got us on this subject was a story we heard a few days ago about the quote 'scariest' haunted house on the planet. The rumor was of this place called the Seven Layers of Hell....somewhere in Ohio? Apparently you have to pay $50 to get in and sign a waiver, and they actually get to touch you, and shove you (with no intention of harm) they use real snakes, rats, and spiders. You can leave anytime, and if you get all the way through it, you get your money back. Seven stories, each taking 30 minutes or more each. Some of the floors are operated by a hydraulic system that makes them shake and rumble like an earthquake. It takes roughly three and a half hours to make it through. After the 5th floor they split up the groups and you have the option to leave or finish....on your own, by yourself for the next 2 floors. Rumor has it that the only person to actually make it all the way through was hospitalized.

Well holy hell! Where do I sign up, right? This sounded to good to be true and from what I can find out, it is. At least partly. Which leads up to our list of the top 10 'scariest' haunted attractions (houses) in the country. The rumor of the 7 layers of hell may be exaggerated but we have scoured the country trying to find attractions that will surely make you remember your trip through them and hopefully conjure up their own legendary stories.

This list was compiled by many of our members as well as some help with an online poll. Feel free to add to this list or let us know if an attraction made it onto our list that might not have meet the standards when you visited it...



#10. Seven Floors of Hell - Cleveland, Ohio

This is where our list started. It's not called the 7 layers of hell and no they can't grab you and throw you down a flight of stairs while the floor shakes but it is one of the top haunted attractions in the country. The structure is massive and actually includes, as the name suggests, seven different haunted houses. It is said to be the longest linear walkthrough of any haunted house. With a 1 million dollar budget, you can bet this haunted house is going to be fancy. The seven haunted houses have, among others, a haunted cemetery, Cellblock 13 (full of dead inmates), the bloody Butchers Block, and, of course, a haunted circus. So you're pretty much going to get every scary thing ever in this one place. Enjoy!

http://www.7floorsofhell.com

#9. 13th Gate - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

This attraction boasts 13 themed indoor and outdoor areas in its 40,000 square feet. If the idea of crawling through a crematory oven, a hearse, and a series of dark, underground tunnels excites you, then this is the haunted attraction for you. This highly interactive haunt, features some of the most detailed Hollywood-style sets and makeup around, which only adds to its fearsome ambiance. More information can be found at

http://www.midnightproduction.com

#8. Waverly Hills Sanitarium "Terror on the Hill" - Louisville, Kentucky

Number 8 is right in HorrorBid's back yard and holds a special spot on our list. There is always something eerie about insane asylums and historic hospitals. And haunted or not, there is something even creepier about abandoned insane asylums. But an abandoned mental institution that is also notoriously haunted? Now that takes the cake. The Waverly Hills Sanatorium located in Louisville, Kentucky was built in 1910 specifically to quarantine and treat patients suffering from tuberculosis (an infectious pulmonary disease that affects the lungs and causes the patient to feel fatigued, run a fever and cough up blood.) Until it closed permanently in 1961, Waverly Hills was Louisville's primary treatment facility for early and advanced cases of tuberculosis. And in the fifty-one years it was operating, the sanatorium saw as many as 63,000 deaths. Not only is the pacing and sheer spookiness of this haunted house (hospital) great year in and year out but this is a legit paranormal hot spot. That person tapping you on the back may not be part of the show folks.

http://www.therealwaverlyhills.com

#7. Erebus Haunted House - Pontiac, Michigan

This is the largest haunted house in the nation and a word to weary: if you don't like being touched, don't come here. Everything in Erebus is interactive: people grab you, monsters try and eat you and they cut you...ok, kidding on the last one. But, when they say "if you survive" they kind of mean it. If you can handle that, then come for amazing special effects and state of the art make up. You'll probably leave a little shaky.

http://www.hauntedpontiac.com

#6. Shocktoberfest - Reading, Pennsylvania

Sporting a haunted prison, a 3D maze and probably the scariest hayride in the country, it's no surprise that Shocktoberfest is one of the most successful haunted houses around. Shocktoberfest is located on an abandoned industrial park that was once home to several large, corrupt institutions, namely the State Psychiatric Hospital and Willow Glen State Penitentiary. The haunted house uses this knowledge to their advantage and creates some of the most realistic and disturbing scenes and story lines of any haunted house in the country.

http://www.shocktoberfest.com

#5. Headless Horseman - Ulster Park, New York

Headless Horseman takes a top spot due to its unfaltering dedication to Halloween. An outdoor venue, Headless Horseman gives the true Halloween experience: outdoors, a galloping headless horseman threatening the lives of every tourist, an incredible haunted hayride, a massive corn maze and more gift shops than any other haunted house in the world. Though some argue at the Headless Horseman's fright level as compared to some others, the level of production is so immense that it's almost impossible not to have a great time here.

http://www.headlesshorseman.com

#4. Terror Behind the Walls - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

As if prisons aren't scary enought, this haunted house is based in the Eastern State Penitentiary, whose cells once held the likes of Al Capone and "Slick" Willie Sutton. Some of you might recognize this prison from the 90's MTV show "Fear," which forced a few willing young people to spread out and explore the penitentiary alone. But, come Halloween and the TBTW crew takes the history and spookiness of the place and amps up big time. Included this year is "The Experiment," a 3D madhouse complete with a bloodthirsty, psychotic doctor, and the all-new "Night Watch" which puts visitors in the pitch dark, only able to escape with the aid of an eerie flashlight beam.

http://www.easternstate.org/halloween

#3. The Darkness - St. Louis, Missouri

Ranked by AOL.com as the #3 scariest place in America, The Darkness pops up on every haunted house list due to its unrivaled scenic design. Every single inch of The Darkness is themed, with 100+ animations, 50 live actors, and over 40 realistic Hollywood quality sets. In order to achieve this high magnitude of reality, they have to spend $150,000 just to renovate from last year. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time screaming in the dark.

http://www.scarefest.com/haunted_house_in_stlouis_missouri_thedarkness/home.cfm

#2. Netherworld - Atlanta, Georgia

Netherworld is truly an awe-inspiring haunted house. They deserve particular credit because, though they buy standard animatronics and such, they then take them and re-create and re-invent them to make everything truly unique to their haunted house. They also have arguably the best make-up team in the industry. It would be hard to tell one of their fake dead apart from a real dead person.

http://www.fearworld.com

#1. Nightmare: Face Your Fear - New York, New York

Let me just start out by saying this haunted house has to be in everyone's top 10 list. It may not make it to #1 like it did on ours but it's definitely in the top 10. That should tell you something about the haunted house itself. Nightmare is super successful for two main reasons: 1) It is helmed by two off-Broadway producers who know something about effective theatricality and 2) a promo crew went out and polled thousands of locals about the 13 things that scare them the most. What results is 13 rooms in five haunted houses that are designed to play on and intensify emotions, phobias and anxieties. And, considering there is one available in each borough of New York City, they are out to get everyone.

http://www.hauntedhousenyc.com

So here they are. The top 10 haunted attractions in the nation. If you live near one and love a good scare, you'd be a fool not to check them out. Even if they are a little out of reach, I'd say they are worth the drive. If you feel like we missed one of your favorite haunted places please add a comment and tell us why it deserves to make the list...

Good gouling everyone and Happy October!