KANSAS CITY – October 31, 2026 -- Fans of haunted attractions can now match their worst fear to a specific haunt: Amber Arnett-Bequeaith, known as the Queen of Haunts, has named 13 attractions across the US that turn common phobias into immersive experiences.
Arnett-Bequeaith works with her family's Full Moon Productions, which created Edge of Hell and Beast Haunted Attractions in Kansas City's historic West Bottoms. She admits her list has a hometown bias, but says she judges each haunt on storytelling, set design, scare timing and what stays with visitors afterward.
Edge of Hell packs a gauntlet of fears under one roof
Edge of Hell opened in 1975 and is celebrating its 52nd season in 2026. It is recognized as the oldest continuously operated haunted attraction in the United States. Guests move through pitch-black caves and tight passages, past snakes and rats, and down a five-story slide from heaven to hell. The fears in play include claustrophobia, ophidiophobia (snakes), musophobia (mice and rats), entomophobia (insects) and acrophobia (heights).
Just blocks away, Beast sends visitors through a sprawling, multi-level environment that includes a Werewolf Forest. Twists, dead ends and an open-format design target mazeophobia, the fear of getting lost.
Twelve more haunts target specific phobias
- Thrillvania Haunted House Park, Dallas, Texas: Cassandra's House of Clowns tackles coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
- Nightmare on 13th, Salt Lake City, Utah: Its doll room targets pediophobia, the fear of dolls and mannequins.
- Factory of Terror, Canton, Ohio: The Forsaken Asylum of Dr. Morbidius covers nosocomephobia, the fear of asylums and medical horror. The attraction has four themed experiences and a mile-plus layout.
- The Bates Motel and Haunted Attractions, Glen Mills, Pennsylvania: The Revenge of the Scarecrows Haunted Corn Trail plays on scopophobia, the fear of being watched.
- Spooky World Presents Nightmare New England, Litchfield, New Hampshire: A haunted hayride with spider-infested campsite scenes covers arachnophobia.
- Erebus Haunted Attraction, Pontiac, Michigan: A half-mile-plus indoor journey targets claustrophobia.
- The Dent Schoolhouse, Cincinnati, Ohio: School-themed rooms, a murderous janitor, basement scenes and catacombs cover scolionophobia, the fear of school events.
- NETHERWORLD Haunted House, Stone Mountain, Georgia: Fantasy-horror environments address teraphobia, the fear of monstrous, otherworldly creatures.
- The Dead End Hayride, Wyoming, Minnesota: A hayride plus walk-through targets the fear of what lurks in the woods.
- Headless Horseman Hayrides and Haunted Attractions, Ulster Park, New York: A horse ridden by the Headless Horseman and a possessed pig cover zoophobia, the fear of animals.
- The Haunted Trail of Balboa Park, San Diego, California: A 3,500-square-foot maze and a mile-long trail target diokophobia, the fear of being pursued in the dark.
- Talon Falls Screampark, Western Kentucky: The Blood Creek Haunted Hayride, a psych ward, a voodoo lagoon and a 3D ice cream factory address agnostophobia, the fear of the unpredictable.
Fear is personal, says the Queen of Haunts
Arnett-Bequeaith says one person may shrug off a monster but panic at a spider, while another laughs at a clown and freezes when the lights go out. In her view, the best haunts build experiences that keep challenging what guests think they can handle.