What do you think of when Halloween comes to mind? Trick-or-treating? Costumes making fun of some current figure, most likely Trump and Hillary this year? Charlie Brown wearing a sheet covered in holes? Yes, Halloween has certainly become less about the scares for many, but for those that like a little horror with their candy corn, haunted houses provide a fantastic outlet for getting out those bloodcurdling screams. With so many in the Puget Sound, it can be tough to figure out which frightening adventures are worth your time and money, but luckily, we've rounded up the cream of the crop. You've been warned.
1) Pierce County Asylum
The Dome District might not be the first place you'd expect to find a solid haunted house in Tacoma - wouldn't the Stadium District's old, creepy mansions be better? Or maybe that abandoned Taco Time on Pacific Ave? Still, the Pierce County Asylum, located right down the street from Freighthouse Square, has been an October staple for thrill-seeking Tacomans for years. According to their website, the former asylum used to be the domain of Dr. Dementia's crazy psychological experiments, and those tormented patients still haunt the building to this day. The Asylum can even make the scares more convenient with their VIP - Very Intense Psychotherapy, that is - package, allowing victims to let their group cut the line! You can never go wrong with the classics.
Pierce County Asylum, 2501 E. G St., Tacoma, 253.223.3256, piercecountyasylum.org
2) Georgetown Morgue
This Seattle house sponsored by STAR 101.5 has been featured on local TV's Evening Magazine and New Day Northwest to showcase their daring and grotesque costume and makeup design. Still, it's one thing to see them on television in the daylight, and another to experience the ghosts and ghouls in person. The Morgue reports that in this very location, one of Seattle's most horrific unsolved crimes occurred, and though they won't give too many details, the experience should be wonderfully frightening for all.
Georgetown Morgue, 5000 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, 206.762.2067, seattlehaunts.com/
georgetown-morgue
3) Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds
If you're out on the Peninsula, or you're willing to take a ferry to get spooked, the Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds is an excellent place to lose your mind for an evening. Although this year's theme is yet to be announced, the group usually comes up with creatively chilling concepts. Last year's setting was "Hell's Motel," and it was a rousing success. Still, this isn't surprising: Few things are more nerve-wracking than spending the night in Bremerton.
Kitsap Haunted Fairgrounds, 1200 Fairgrounds Rd. NW, Bremerton, 360.692.3558, kitsaphauntedfairgrounds.com
4) Hellmouth Haunted House
Once a year, this typical Lakewood house becomes infested with paranormal activity, and South Sounders flock to this humble, haunted abode. As the story goes, the home was once occupied by Charlotte Bacon in the 1940s, who was rumored to experiment with black magic. After some misfit workers, including one who was released from Western State Hospital and ate ears, took advantage of her hospitality, she graphically murdered each one of them, and the leader of the group, Otto, had a bloody fight to the death with the witch. During the fight, a portal to the underworld sucked them in, and that portal opens every October to wreak havoc on those who dare to enter.
Hellmouth Haunted House, 8415 Lawndale Ave. SW, Lakewood, hellmouthhauntedhouse.com
