Horror Fans Will Absolutely Love This Under-The-Radar Macabre Museum In Pennsylvania

If you're a horror fan, there are plenty of cities with spooky legends you can visit to embrace your macabre side. Bite into vampire lore with a vacation to New Orleans, or uncover the secrets of witchcraft history while visiting Salem. However, if zombies are more your speed, there's an under-the-radar destination in Pennsylvania you won't want to miss.

Tucked into the heart of Butler County about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh – the iconic city with the infamous title of 'America's Death Stair Capital,' Evans City serves as the backdrop in a number of quintessential zombie flicks by horror master George Romero, such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead." While you won't encounter any brain-hungry monsters dragging their undead corpses down the city streets, inside the Monroeville Mall you'll find The Living Dead Museum, a lively locale paying homage to zombies in pop culture from cult classics like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" to modern television shows like "The Walking Dead." If you're hungry for zombie content, feast your eyes on a wonderland of undead treasures at Pennsylvania's deliciously macabre museum.

If you've seen "Dawn of the Dead," you'll likely recognize the Monroeville Mall. The Pennsylvanian shopping center was prominently featured as a stomping ground for the undead in the 1978 horror classic, rendering it the perfect locale for a zombie-themed museum and gift shop. The retail section is free to browse, and for $8 you can walk freely through the museum, exploring a visual history of zombies throughout pop culture. 

Inside the museum, you'll find eight themed rooms dedicated to different zombie interpretations in television and film. The first room focuses on "Dawn of the Dead," and the preceding "Night of the Living Dead," which was largely filmed nearby, showcasing movie posters and props from both films. You can even see the elevator used in a famous scene in "Dawn of the Dead," which was lovingly preserved despite a remodel of the mall. Other rooms in the museum feature memorabilia such as a replica of Michael Jackson's zombie character in the "Thriller" music video, screen sets from "The Evil Dead," and the Maul of Fame, a wall covered in the (artificial) bloody handprints of cast and crew members from famous zombie productions.

Annually during the month of June, the museum hosts Living Dead Weekend, a horror-filled convention that features booths of zombie art and collectibles, movie location tours, photo ops, movie screenings, and celebrity appearances. Past special appearances have been made by Melissa Dunlap, a little girl zombie from "Dawn of the Dead," and zombie makeup artist, Jerry Gergely. Tickets for the event range from $20 single-day to $150 VIP passes, and can be purchased here.

If you want to explore more zombie film locations around town, visit the Evans City Cemetery. Located down a winding road atop a hill, the 19-century graveyard was used in the opening scene of "Night of the Living Dead." Wander the rows of graves to locate the iconic "Blair" headstone shown in the film, and the old chapel that was saved from demolition and repaired in 2014. You can also visit the bridge from the film on Ash Stop Road just outside of Evans City, as well as the site of the farmhouse, which was demolished after filming but remains in spirit.