It takes courage to leap into most businesses, but it takes a fearless, burning drive to make a business of scaring the bejeebers out of people. Haunted attractions are only open for two months, requiring the rest of the year to assess new technology and trends and make updates before the following season.
While thousands of haunted attractions exist throughout the United States, few have mastered ultra-realistic, immersive scare entertainment. Some behemoths in the industry have set the bar so high that others may never achieve the standards these haunts are creating – blurring reality and putting them in another stratosphere.
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There are some similarities among the elite in the haunted universe of attractions that America Haunts has recognized as Legendary. These attractions have visionaries with ingenuity and grit to make their immersive creations in-house, and it would be challenging to replicate given the broad talents necessary in technology, mechanical and electrical engineering, construction, and costume and mask development.
The haunt industry titans are capable of entertaining thousands on a single night. Additionally, these attractions have become destination locations with a festival-like atmosphere and where it’s easy to make a night of the visit. And despite the darkness, legendary haunts follow the best safety, security, training, and scare entertainment practices.
America Haunts honors five haunted attractions in America for their legendary achievement.
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1. Haunted Hotel San Diego. Competing with many tourist destinations in California, this attraction makes a night of fright a top destination choice by offering three realistically detailed haunts on one ticket. Fans of fear can also view scares in process by the cast members outside and an oddities collection, enjoy live music, food trucks, a boo bar, and palm readers. The attraction’s hellevator stops at hotel floors to rattle souls and create memorable thrills worthy of this hotel’s five-star rating for terror and thrilling entertainment.
2. Spooky Woods Greensboro/High Point. If walking in a forest at night isn’t scary enough, the brave souls will encounter 14 buildings in the deep woods at this attraction, each with its form of terror inside. It’s especially unnerving that a soul-shaking thunderstorm with lightning, fog, and sirens warns the victims to take cover inside. Yet wherever they scramble within this 1800s abandoned town, they’ll encounter zombies. There’s also loads of entertainment, from ghost hunting and escape games to a corn maze and a zipline.
3. Bates Motel & Haunted Attractions Philadelphia. Over three decades ago, the Bates family opened trail rides and a haunted house to save the farm. More than a generation later, their adult children have specialized in various areas to refine horror entertainment. The family and staff make almost everything from the mind-blowing sets and props to the costumes and extras, like a trailer for ax throwing, escape rooms, closed coffin rides, a donut and gift shop, and a frightening frontier town haunted by hustlers and the madam.
4. Nightmare on 13th Salt Lake City. International travelers and locals alike can appreciate an extraordinarily realistic and haunting scare. While it may be an illusion, the fright is real at this haunted attraction, where 13 nightmare themes are part of one journey through this mega-sized haunt. Mortals go from swamps to abandoned parks, factories, crypts, and even time travel into the past to face evil, madness, and fright that leaves many shivering and out of breath yet a burning desire to do it again.
5. 13th Gate Baton Rouge. Going above and beyond is just the start of this haunted attraction. They multiply what the industry does by 100 to bring such ultra-realism that they leave no doubt legends are in the midst. These haunt makers get pure joy by scaring in their ever-expanding enormous sets where horror fans experience places such as an asylum, a graveyard, tunnels, and a pirate’s ship where the cast’s moves must be magic. Beyond the scaring within the Carnevil Haunted Midway, there’s live music, food, merchandise, mini-escape games, and axe throwing.
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Studio S
SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
Meet ArtsConnect, UC San Diego’s Invitation to SoCal Arts Lovers
ArtsConnect brings those experiences into view, helping residents discover what they can see, hear and create at UC San Diego while experiencing the campus in a new way.
Ask most people what UC San Diego is known for, and the arts may not be the first answer. Yet this fall, San Diegans can watch Ghostbusters with a live orchestra, try their hand at glassmaking and wander among more than 20 works of public art woven throughout the university’s La Jolla campus.
ArtsConnect brings those experiences into view, helping residents discover what they can see, hear and create at UC San Diego while experiencing the campus in a new way.
Courtesy of UC San Diego | Photo Cred: Erik Jensen
“The arts are at the heart of UC San Diego’s student-centered mission and vision,” says Alysson Satterlund, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life. “Whether creating, participating in, or experiencing performances, the arts are essential to a healthy and truly fun Triton student experience.”
That invitation often begins where the arts intersect with other fields.
“Some of the most innovative work and discovery happen where disciplines don’t usually share a stage,” says Cristina Della Coletta, Dean of the UC San Diego School of Arts and Humanities. “So through our unique intersection of the arts with science, technology, and medicine, we are improving lives, physically and emotionally.
Take The Inaudible Ocean, a collaboration between Department of Music Professor Lei Liang and Scripps Institution of Oceanography Assistant Project Scientist Josh Jones. Over eight years, the pair recorded earthquakes, ship noise, whale songs and other sounds in remote underwater locations. They transformed those recordings into a live music experience that allowed audiences to hear the ocean in an entirely new way. The work premiered on campus in May and continues to evolve.
The arts also connect the campus to the global art world and diverse perspectives. Chief Campus Curator Jessica Berlanga Taylor recently curated the Mexico Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, featuring RojoNegro, the collective formed by Noé Martínez and María Sosa. The collective will unveil a compelling new permanent installation for UC San Diego’s celebrated Stuart Collection later this fall.
ArtPower offers another easy entry point, bringing touring performers to venues including the outdoor Epstein Family Amphitheater and the intimate Loft. The nearly three dozen performances featured through its 2026-2027 season span music, dance, film, theater and conversation.
Among the fall highlights is Ghostbusters in Concert on Sept. 25, pairing the beloved 1984 film with a live performance of Elmer Bernstein’s score. Tickets start at $35, and the amphitheater is located next to the UC San Diego Blue Line trolley station.
“Every member of our community should have access to world-class art, so we work hard to remove the barriers that stand in the way,” says Colleen Kollar Smith, executive artistic director of the Campus Performances and Events Office. “That means affordable ticket prices, and performances, voices and experiences where people see themselves reflected on stage and know they belong.”
The arts at UC San Diego are not only something to watch. The Craft Center offers public classes and workshops in ceramics, jewelry, woodworking, culinary arts and even surfboard shaping. At the new Glass Center, beginners and experienced makers can explore glassmaking through classes, demonstrations and studio experiences.
Whether you want to attend a performance, make something yourself or spend an afternoon exploring public art, there is an easy way in. And the invitation extends well beyond students and alumni.
Kollar Smith says it best: “Visit, participate, spectate or create. You’re invited, and we hope you’ll connect with us soon.”
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
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Your feet and ankles probably aren’t something you give much thought to—until something goes wrong. Orthopedic surgeons at Scripps Clinic are on the leading edge of foot and ankle reconstruction, treating patients with sports injuries, deformities, traumatic injuries and other conditions. That includes repairing torn Achilles tendons with a minimally invasive procedure that shrinks the incision site to less than a centimeter, and performing advanced ankle replacement on some patients with ankle arthritis. Read more about Scripps’ innovations in foot and ankle care here.
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Mai Vue was just 34 weeks pregnant when she delivered her baby. Her pregnancy had been complicated, and she’d had a recent second trimester pregnancy loss, which led to her receiving specialized care from Sean Daneshmand, MD, a Scripps Clinic perinatologist who oversees high-risk pregnancies. Dr. Daneshmand and his team took care of Mai during her pregnancy, through the birth of her healthy baby girl and beyond. Mai was part of a program Scripps launched to provide support to new moms in the weeks and months after delivery. The postpartum program, known as Scripps Health’s Fourth Trimester Continuum of Care, provides care for women with high-risk pregnancies to optimize their health after childbirth and reduce the risk of complications in future pregnancies. Click here to learn more.
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It’s estimated that one in five people in the U.S. will develop skin cancer at some point in their lives. When you factor in living in a sun-soaked city like San Diego and the outdoorsy lifestyle that comes with it, that figure can jump to as high as one in three, which makes early detection and intervention all the more important. Dermatologists at Bighorn Mohs and Dermatology Center are using innovative imaging methods and advanced surgical techniques to diagnose and treat skin cancer. For certain cancers in sensitive spots, like the face, dermatologists perform Mohs surgery, removing skin tissue layer by layer until reaching healthy, cancer-free tissue. They also use a process called immunohistochemistry to view tissue samples taken during Mohs surgery in far greater detail than previous methods. Read more about how Scripps is advancing skin cancer care here.
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When endurance athlete Isaac Sanchez learned he had cancer, he felt blindsided. He was healthy, surfed often and was training for an Ironman triathlon. But he had to put that on hold to undergo treatment. His physicians at Scripps Cancer Center developed a plan to treat the cancer in his tonsil and lymph nodes that included six-and-a-half weeks of near-daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy. He also worked with a Scripps Cancer Center dietitian to enhance his nutrition to promote strength and healing. Today, Isaac’s back to doing what he loves. Read more of his story here.
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