Iowa’s Best, Biggest, and Scariest Haunted Attractions for 2025

Spooky season is officially here. Which means the ghouls and goblins will soon begin taking over the fields now free of corn. When I was younger, I loved not only going through our local haunted attractions, but also working in them.

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When I was in high school, my friends and I often volunteered at Camp Courageous for their haunted trail. We almost always went to the haunted barn which was located at the Jones County fairgrounds 4-H barns. Now, haunted attractions have become bigger than ever, with a few places really putting themselves apart from the rest for scale, scare level, and additional offerings like food, drink, and family fun.

So where can you get scared in Iowa this year. Check out our list of locations to get your spook on at!

Hillside House of Hell – Glenwood, IA

Spanning over 50,000 square feet, this multi-attraction haunt features The Sacrifice, Devil’s Chapel, Klown Kraze 3D, and Motel Massacre. Enjoy the Monster Museum with horror movie props, autographs, and more. They also offer selfie rooms, party rooms, and a horror store. One of the scariest haunted houses near Omaha. Their website mentions a Psycho School House coming soon to Pacific Junction, Iowa as well.

Circle of Ash – Central City, IA

Features three experiences: a haunted house, clown funhouse maze, and a haunted forest. A top Eastern Iowa destination for fright, they also hold lite-frights for kids not up for the big scares.

Eclypse Haunted Attraction – Iowa City, IA

Set in a former monastery, this immersive haunt includes nuns, monks, and eerie entities in a chilling storyline.

Slaughterhouse Des Moines – Des Moines, IA

Unlike a typical haunted house, Slaughterhouse is a “living museum” inspired by the twisted history of the Biggs family, a fictional-but-grisly lineage spanning from Z.L. Biggs, Civil War surgeon, to Al Biggs’ modern Iowa operations. Visitors encounter recreated slaughterhouse scenes, anatomical horrors, and the family’s infamous tools of trade.

Thrashers House of Terror – Mount Pleasant, IA

Nearly 20 years of horror, with scares from clowns, mad doctors, and more. A Guaranteed heart-pounding adventure.

The Deranged Haunted Attraction – Belle Plaine, IA

Housed in a former funeral home and meat market, leveraging its dark past for maximum fear. Information on Facebook says, "there hasn't been a burial in the cemetery for nearly 5 years. It is believed, that once the deranged local has satisfied his taste for torture and death, the bodies are laid out for visitation at the funeral home then dismembered and fed to the beast kept in the basement, with any leftovers being sold at the market." Good luck escaping friends.

The Haunted Woods – Carlisle, IA

The website states: "Welcome to the Mare Witch project. Come seek what is lurking around each turn or hiding in the shadows to get your heart rate up. Enjoy the fun as you hear the screams and anticipate what lies ahead."

Scream Acres at Bloomsbury Farm – Atkins, IA

I actually wrote on this place last year. It seems to be a real "go-to" haunted attraction. The experience features The Dred Shed, Carnival Chaos 3D, Cell Block Z, and The Corn, plus a 10-acre corn maze, pumpkin patch, super slide, and fall festival fun. This place offers drinks and entertainment as well, so, plan for a full night of fun, should terror be your goal!

KW Paintball Zombie Shoot – Waterloo, IA

This one is just straight up fun! Take out the zombie hoards and keep Iowa safe from the spread of the deadly infection! Visitors will take a ride on custom trailers through the Paintball Park, taking out the zombies that are lurking throughout. Get your crew and shoot them with special neon-filled toxic bullets to destroy them and save what's left of the human race.

There are so many other great local haunted attractions as well, but for the ultimate scare or a full evening of fright, these are your must visit destinations. Hoping to get a scare that a little more true to life? Check out these haunted Iowa places and plan a haunted road trip across the state this October.