Halloween Nights
The massive Eastern State Penitentiary — a gothic, castle-like structure in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood — is also home to one of the biggest Halloween attractions in the country.
Halloween Nights is made up of 15 separate attractions, including five terrifying haunted houses as well as historic tours, live performances, themed bars and lounges, and other hidden surprises across the 10-acre site.
This can’t-miss ticketed event also offers enhanced interactive experiences (for the brave), scare-free activities (for the weary) and an exclusive speakeasy (for the thirsty).
Halloween Nights runs select nights from September 22 to November 11, 2023.
Are you being followed? Did you just hear a scream? Should you go down that dark corridor? Probably.
At Halloween Nights, five separate haunted houses and myriad other creepy haunts await those looking for a thrill.
Step into a mind-altering 3D adventure at Delirium or escape a twisted carnival at Big Top Terror. Sip between scares at the outdoor Fair Chance Beer Garden or at the re-“vamped” Bloodline Lounge. Or boogie down with the ghosts and ghouls at Pumpkin Plaza, featuring dance performances and tons of spooky photo ops.
Want to ramp up the scaries? Ticketholders can opt in for a more up-close-and-personal Halloween Nights experience by grabbing an optional glow necklace at the gate. (Spoiler: Glow necklace wearers will get grabbed, sent down hidden passages and occasionally separated from their group. No big deal.)
If you’re looking for more treats than tricks, you can skip the haunts entirely with immersive walkthrough experiences, live acts, historic tours, themed bars and lounges, campfire s’mores and ghost stories, pay-as-you-go food and drink, and plenty of places to shop for your Halloween merch or sweets.
Five Haunted Houses
The main attractions at Halloween Nights are the five immersive and spectacularly sinister haunted houses, all polished to chilling perfection for 2023.
Note that the houses (except Delirium) all use strobe lights, fog machines and loud noises, and are not for the faint of heart.
— Photo courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary
All attractions at Halloween Nights, including the haunted houses, are optional and can easily be skipped.
More Must-See Attractions
Halloween Nights has a ton to do outside of the haunted houses.
Need a drink? The attraction has five different themed bars and lounges for you to wet your whistle:
— Photo by E. Davis for Eastern State Penitentiary
Also on the docket: S’mores and Lore serves up classic ghost stories around a campfire, Kaleidoscope Hall is an immersive journey through shifting shapes and rainbow lights, and the Hospital Flashlight Tour lets you explore the penitentiary’s abandoned sector (extra tickets required).
Maximize your time at Eastern State with spooky desserts and glow-in-the-dark gear at the Tricks and Treats store, a 20-minute self-guided audio tour through the cell blocks (narrated by Steve Buscemi), or two different museum exhibits — the Big Graph outdoor sculpture and the Prisons Today indoor installation — which both shed light on the growth of mass incarceration in the U.S.
Tickets
Halloween Nights is located at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philly’s Fairmount neighborhood.
Timed tickets start at $39 — and online purchases guarantee entry to the attraction.
You can upgrade the experience — and the frights — with VIP admission (starting at $59), which gets you:
It’s a scary good deal.
The attraction also offers guided flashlight tours of the penitentiary’s abandoned Hospital Block, where you can learn about the attraction’s medical legacy and explore spooky spaces like the historic Operating Room. Hospital Flashlight Tour tickets are available at the door for $12 with the purchase of general or VIP admission.
Getting There
There are plenty of ways to get to Halloween Nights.
Several SEPTA buses make stops near Eastern State Penitentiary, including Route #49 which runs up and down Fairmount Avenue all day.
Additionally, while there is no parking on-site, the Philadelphia Zoo’s parking garage at 3500 W. Girard Avenue has Halloween Nights parking available for $25 ($20 if purchased online in advance). Parking includes a shuttle that loops between the zoo and the penitentiary.
For more information about Halloween Nights at the Eastern State Penitentiary, click the button below.
The only way to fully experience Philly? Stay over.
Book the Visit Philly Overnight Package and get free hotel parking and choose-your-own-adventure perks, including tickets to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or the National Constitution Center and the Museum of the American Revolution.
Or maybe you’d prefer to buy two Philly hotel nights and get a third night for free? Then book the new Visit Philly 3-Day Stay package.
Which will you choose?
Fall for Philly all over again...