Do you like to experience attractions that provide a scare or a sense of disquiet? Or, do you have a desire to explore the unknown? If so, here’s a list of unusual places to go and things to do with friends or family across the United States. Since not everyone believes in the paranormal or wishes to dabble in it, we’ve included fun activities like optical illusions or fall festivals along with a few of this editor's favorite haunts for people who otherwise are fascinated by “high strangeness.”
Enjoy Spooky Season Entertainment in Central Florida
When your favorite movie or TV show isn’t delivering nearly enough thrills and chills, Orlando theme parks are willing to scare you — for a price. One of the best-known spectacles is Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort. With haunted houses and themed performers based on pop cultural moments, you’ll be tasked with trying to keep your head about you — maybe literally in this probably-not-for-youngsters spectacle. Other seasonal events might be better for children, such as a base ticket to Walt Disney World® Resort for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom® Park in Lake Buena Vista, or spring for a fireworks tour for some extra thrills. For younger children, there's also LEGOLAND® Florida Resort. At its Brick-or-Treat event in nearby Winter Haven, kids can get candy, rides and hauntingly fun entertainment.
Bonus, if you go to Winter Haven, then it's well worth a short drive to get weirded out on Spook Hill in Lake Wales, where you can put your car in neutral and maybe…experience the unknown (or merely, an optical illusion). Unlike the other Central Florida Halloween events, this is a year-round oddity.
Hunt for Paranormal Evidence in Savannah
Consider the South, a beautiful and historic region that nevertheless carries scars due to enslaved labor and racial inequality. To explore this double-sided legacy, head toward Savannah, Georgia, a city that initially banned slavery before it became heavily involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. With the city’s last-minute reprieve during the Civil War, the remarkably intact Savannah Historic District has become a sought-after destination — one filled with stories of tragedy and triumph. With so many historic properties, Savannah’s also said to be among the best haunted places in the U.S. Don't miss a ghost-hunting tour from the Sorrel-Weed House, which invites guests to search for evidence using provided instruments, such as thermal imaging cameras and electromagnetic detection devices. Another fun thing to do in Savannah is a “spirits tour,” where guests can enjoy a frosty libation while hearing tales about the haunted areas, such as the Savannah Haunted Pub Crawl Walking Tour. Another personal favorite of this editor is the Haunted Pub Crawl offered by Cobblestone Tours, which meets at Moon River Brewing Company, a local restaurant and brewery that’s busy but vacant upstairs due to “paranormal activity.” (Be mindful of pushing by the staircase.)
If you’re looking for allegedly haunted places in the U.S., plan a visit to New Orleans, home of Nine Spooky Places in the French Quarter, as the “Big Easy” is said to be among America's most haunted destinations. (Traveling internationally? Check out the most haunted places in the world, too!)
Lose Yourself in a Maze
Consider a fall road trip, one of our recommended colorful ideas for fall, with Ohio’s Scenic Route 800, which starts in Woodsfield, Ohio. Or head to another area entirely for festivities. Many communities, ranging from Glendale, Arizona, to Union, West Virginia, celebrate the season with an “amazing” design planted in a cornfield (as well as other agritourism opportunities like pumpkin patches and apple picking). A corn maze in particular is a fun way to test your navigational skills as well as add a genuine frisson of suspense — without too much fear.
For a maze that’s a little more confined and eerie, you’ll need to go westward to San Jose, Calif., and visit the Winchester Mystery House, where an heiress once tried to outrun angry spirits by building a labyrinthine home — for 38 years. Consider going on a Friday the 13th Flashlight or Halloween Candlelight tour to see some spaces that aren’t usually open to the public. Alternatively, pair the Winchester Mystery House with a walking tour of other San Jose haunts for a thrilling night out.
Search for Cryptids in Mysterious Places
From tales of lake monsters in California's Lake Tahoe and New York's Lake Champlain to some infamous Bigfoot sightings, people love to wonder about the unknown. And there are more mysterious places in the United States than you might think.
The search for Bigfoot is ongoing, with claims of sightings throughout North America except Hawaii. Also called Sasquatch and, in Florida, Skunk Ape, this cryptid entered pop culture after an apelike creature was filmed walking near Willow Creek, California. Though labeled a hoax, the iconic footage continues to fascinate. Places to go include the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum, where there's a Bigfoot collection, and Big Foot RV Park & Cabins to stay overnight if you dare. Should you be inspired to hunt for the smelly, 5-to-7-foot-tall Florida Skunk Ape, there's the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, deep in the Florida Everglades.
Visit Legendary UFO Destinations
One popular conspiracy theory concerns Roswell, New Mexico, where an alien craft with nonhuman remains allegedly crashed in 1947 and then was covered up, according to Luis “Lue” Elizondo, the author and former director of the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program; otherwise known as AATIP. (The official explanation is that the object was a misidentified weather balloon.)
Diehard enthusiasts of high strangeness may consider road-tripping the Extraterrestrial Highway (State Route 375) across the Nevada Desert. One popular stop is in Rachel, Nevada, the closest town to Area 51, a United States Air Force facility that's as secretive as it is embedded in the American imagination. Visit nearby Little A'Le'Inn for bragging rights and a bite to eat. For an already curated trip, try the Area 51 Day Tour from Las Vegas with Alien and UFO Hotspots.