Denver's best haunted houses for a spooky October

October in Denver is really the season of the haunt, and there's plenty to choose from depending on how you like to be scared. The most obvious place to start is 13th Floor Haunted House at 3400 E. 52nd Ave, which runs from September 11 through November 14. It's the city's biggest name in Halloween, with two separate haunted houses, each with its own line and entrance, and tickets starting at $19.99 online. This year's lineup leans into the cinematic: an official Jason Voorhees experience, The Stitchworks, where a scientist builds grotesque creatures with mechanical parts, and Sister Agony, with the Crimson Queen unleashed in a cathedral. If you want to make a night of it, there's a VIP package with a private cabin for up to eight people, axe throwing, a character visit, and a collectible pin, plus a Respawn Pass to walk through the main attraction a second time. For adults, the Shriekeasy serves Tiki tarot readings and the Attic Secret Bar pours horror-themed cocktails. There's also a redesigned clown maze, a shooting range with zombie actors using gelly ball weapons, and a group filming option if you want the whole thing on video.

If you'd rather be outdoors, Haunted Field of Screams in Thornton is Colorado's largest haunt, 40 acres of corn on the notoriously spooky Riverdale Road. The theme is "A Ride to the Riverdale Gates of Hell," and it's a real trek: a hayride, a walk through a forest and rough cornstalk terrain, and multiple haunted houses along the way, totaling about a mile and 40 minutes. One ticket gets you four interactive haunts: the moonlit Dead Man's Maze, a Zombie Paintball Massacre from a commandeered trailer, the CarnEvil in the Corn freak show, and Condemned, which mixes torture chambers with escape room elements. It opens at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight on weekends, with general admission at $39.99 and a VIP Fast Pass at $49.99. It's outdoors, so closed-toe shoes and a jacket are smart, and it's not recommended for kids.

For something more intimate and theatrical, Morwood Manor is an immersive gothic thriller set around a dining table inside a converted church at Merritt Wellness on Irving Street. Co-directed by experimental artists Soleil Kohl and Hang Nguyen, it's loosely inspired by Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and runs about 80 to 90 minutes, with tea and light snacks served as actors work around you. It's less about a jump scare and more about family dysfunction and psychological horror, with tickets between $30 and $40 and a few pay-what-you-can spots. If you're up for a short drive, Night Terrors takes over the Rosemount Museum, a 127-year-old Victorian mansion in Pueblo, for a series of timed, hour-long walks through five different stories. It's $25 for general admission and recommended for ages 12 and up.

And if you're looking for something truly strange, Hallowmass returns to the Summit downtown on October 30 and 31. It's an annual ceremonial performance by itchy-O, described as a collision of chaos and mysticism, with over 50 masked performers and a ritual focus on shedding old identities. Tickets run from $53 to $82, and the whole thing wraps up a few days later with a bonfire at Johnson-Habitat Park, where the offerings and ceremonial headpieces are turned to ash. Between the big scares, the cornfields, the gothic dinner, and the ritual, there's a spooky night here for pretty much anyone.