Thrill Seekers And Halloween Lovers Flock To California's Historically Haunted Amusement Park

San Diego has a number of options when it comes to spooky season attractions, from a picture-perfect pumpkin patch, which is great for families, to places where you can amp up the fear factor. When it comes to the latter, there's perhaps no better choice than The Haunted Amusement Park. The aptly named destination is located about 20 miles from downtown San Diego in El Cajon, where it sits on the grounds of an abandoned theme park. Marshal Scotty's Playland Park operated in the late 1960s through the 1990s before it went bankrupt, and its now-derelict rides like the ferris wheel and roller coaster make it the perfect setting for the approximately mile-long scare trail.

The trail takes visitors through a disorienting black light maze, a haunted house, cemetery, slaughterhouse, and more. At one point, you put on some 3-D glasses for some trippy effects, and it all just gets progressively scarier and spookier from there. As you make your way through the seasonal attraction, you'll encounter live actors in terrifying costumes, from creepy clowns to zombie brides to chainsaw-wielding villains, all of whom are there to terrify you. It is definitely not for the fainthearted!

The Haunted Amusement Park runs on weekends through the first weekend of November, as well as on October 30 and 31. The gates open at 7 p.m., and it runs for two to three hours, depending on the day you attend. Tickets are $25 on every Sunday as well as on the first two days of November, and $28 more on Friday and Saturday. If you don't want to stand in line, you can buy a fast pass, starting at $35, which some reviewers say is worth the extra expense. There's no fee for parking, which is always nice, but don't expect a refund if you get too scared and bail before you make it to the end.

There are some things to keep in mind before you go. If it's your first time and you're not so sure about how scared you want to get, you can buy a glow stick (which they call a chicken stick), and the staff/characters will take it easier on you. You have to be wearing closed-toe shoes, and you can expect flashing strobe lights throughout the experience, so if you know that will give you adverse health effects, skip this one.

Once you're done surviving the Haunted Amusement Park, you can try to catch some real ghosts in Old Town San Diego, home to one of America's most storied haunted houses. And for non-abandoned amusement park fun, Belmont Park is a San Diego beachfront gem where none of the rides are haunted.