16 Real-Life Horror Movie Locations You Can Visit This Halloween

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Jump to: Bonus international horror movie locations

Elm Street house from A Nightmare on Elm Street

It might be a little disheartening to learn that the house from A Nightmare on Elm Street isn’t actually on Elm Street, but finding out that the outside has been kept intact ever since filming should cheer up horror aficionados a bit. In the first movie, it belonged to Nancy Thompson and her family, then to Jesse Walsh in A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge, and later served as Freddy’s dream house in subsequent films. Visiting here requires the same respect as other locations that are actual people’s homes, so be sure to take photos respectfully — without loitering or damaging the property.

Where: 1428 N Genesee Ave, Los Angeles, CA

The boardwalk from Us

Jordan Peele’s Us opens with a young girl who slips away from her parents at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and stumbles into a mirror-filled funhouse, where she comes face-to-face with her double. Years later, the Wilson family revisits the same seaside setting, and the terror begins again.

The boardwalk is California’s oldest seaside amusement park, which has been open since 1907, with rides like the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Looff Carousel still in operation. Peele also included a nod to The Lost Boys (1987), another cult classic filmed here. Admission is free, and the rides and arcades operate seasonally, making it easy to see the filming location during an ordinary visit.

Where: Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, CA

The house from Poltergeist

In Poltergeist, the Freeling family’s sunny suburban home becomes the epicenter of paranormal chaos — from disappearing children to the infamous scene of skeletons rising from a backyard pool. While much of the interior action was filmed on soundstages, the exterior at 4267 Roxbury Street in Simi Valley is unmistakable.

For decades, fans could only drive by and snap a photo from the curb. But in 2024, new owner Rachel Powers poured $165,000 into transforming the four-bedroom home into a fully themed Airbnb. Inside, you’ll find era-specific props and staged rooms that recall the Freelings’ cursed household: a clown doll slumped in the corner, a vintage television humming with static, and a kitchen that still mirrors the film’s layout — now updated with modern appliances.

The 16,000-square-foot property sleeps up to eight and comes with a pool, spa, and fire pit. Rates start at $600 a night. And for those who like their scares “unscripted”, the house recently appeared on Ghost Adventures: Poltergeist Curse, where Zak Bagans reported flickering lights, cold spots, and objects moving on their own.

Where: 4267 Roxbury St, Simi Valley, CA

The town and woods from The Blair Witch Project

Back in 1999, The Blair Witch Project terrified with its jittery camcorder realism, convincing many that the story of three students lost in the “Black Hills Forest” was a true account. Those opening shots of the trio driving into town were filmed in Burkittsville, Maryland — a place so small that the sudden rush of fans led to stolen town signs and more than a little local irritation.

While the movie suggests the woods are just beyond Burkittsville, the forest sequences were actually shot about 25 miles away at Seneca Creek State Park. Today, you can still walk the same trails the actors stumbled along, particularly near the moss-covered ruins of Black Rock Mill.

Burkittsville is still a quiet, close-knit town that never signed up to be a horror landmark, so it’s best to keep any stop there brief and respectful. Take a quick photo, then head to Seneca Creek for the real atmosphere. The park is open year-round, with miles of trails that darken fast under the trees. Keep walking, and it’s easy to see how audiences left the theater in ’99 convinced they’d just watched a documentary.

Where: Burkittsville, MD (town); Seneca Creek State Park, 16500 Black Rock Rd, Darnestown, MD

The farmhouse from The Conjuring

Long before Hollywood got its hands on the story, the Arnold Estate in Harrisville, Rhode Island, was already infamous among paranormal circles. In the 1970s, the Perron family reported beds shaking, doors slamming, and the mother, Carolyn, supposedly levitating during a séance led by Ed and Lorraine Warren. Their decade in the farmhouse inspired James Wan’s 2013 The Conjuring, cementing the property as one of America’s most notorious haunted houses.

For years, owners of the house have opened the doors to brave visitors for day tours and overnight investigations, where guests could set up cameras in the cellar or try sleeping in the Perron girls’ bedrooms. While tours have currently been paused, the house is scheduled for auction on Halloween 2025, and its next owner will decide whether the doors stay open to the curious.

Where: 1677 Round Top Road, Harrisville, RI

Timberline Lodge from The Shining

Stephen King published the novel The Shining in 1977. Just three years later, Stanley Kubrick produced and directed its screen adaptation. While it was mostly filmed in a studio, several exterior shots at the Overlook Hotel, where most of the film’s action takes place, were shot at the Timberline Lodge, though King’s inspiration for the Overlook is said to be the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. According to the Timberline, Kubrick was asked not to film scenes of room 217 (the room number used in the book, the movie’s is room 237) so that future visitors wouldn’t be afraid to stay there — but in a maybe not-so-unexpected twist, it’s the most requested room. Staying at the hotel from the Shining also affords visitors access to amazing to snowboarding, skiing, and hiking trails.

Where: 27500 E Timberline Road, Government Camp, OR

The lighthouse from The Fog

John Carpenter’s second horror movie, The Fog, opened in 1980, just two years after Halloween. In it Stevie, a DJ, goes to a lighthouse to host her radio show after her son shows her a piece of wood that he found on a beach near the lighthouse. Eeriness ensues, and the lighthouse becomes a significant location where Stevie is able to see the fog closing in on the town. The lighthouse is Point Reyes Lighthouse in California, and fans are able to walk right up to the lighthouse and go inside. It’s a steep, 308-step walk down to the lighthouse, and it’ll almost always be covered in fog — making it seem almost as if you were in the movie yourself.

Where: Inverness, CA

The stairs from The Exorcist

The Exorcist, filmed in 1973, is definitely a movie that’s gone down in cinematic history as one of the best in its genre. In the supernatural horror, a mother is living in Georgetown while working as an actress when her 12-year-old daughter becomes possessed by a demon after playing with a Ouija board. After taking her daughter to a number of doctors, Regan’s mother is recommended to perform an exorcism, and they meet Father Karras. These stairs are where part of the movie’s climax takes place; Karras confronts Regan’s demon and is then possessed by it. He sacrifices himself by jumping out of a window and falling down a myriad of stairs, taking the demon with him.

Where: On the corner of Prospect St NW & 36th St NW in Georgetown, Washington, DC

The gas station from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre saw many people complaining about the sheer amount of violence in the film and was banned from several countries from the get-go. However, it grossed over $30 million, surpassing its limited budget of under $200,000 tremendously. The gas station is one of the more infamous locations, though it initially seemed harmless. The group in the film stopped to get gas only to be told that there was none; they happen upon a house soon after where most of them are killed. One woman, Sally, manages to escape to the gas station, where she then is caught and tormented by the owner. The actual gas station had been abandoned for a while until it was turned into a horror-themed barbecue restaurant full of memorabilia called The Gas Station. And if you really want to have a fright fest, The Gas Station has converted space in the back of the station into cabins that guests can book a stay in.

Where: 1073 TX-304, Bastrop, TX

Crystal Lake Diner from Friday the 13th

Regardless of whether or not people are horror movie fans, almost everyone has heard of Jason — the main antagonist and serial killer of the Friday the 13th franchise — or seen his iconic mask somewhere. The first movie came out in 1980 and is set in 1958 at newly refurbished Camp Crystal Lake, just a year after a boy drowned in the nearby lake. In the beginning of the movie, one of the camp counselors, Annie, heads into the Crystal Lake Diner to ask for directions to the camp. While Annie didn’t survive long after that, the diner where that scene was filmed still stands today and is open for business in New Jersey. Its real name is the Blairstown Diner, and every Friday the 13th fans flock to it in honor of the movie.

Where: 53 NJ-94, Blairstown, NJ

The library from It

While It and its sequel, It: Chapter Two, take place in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, filming took place around Canada. The town of Port Hope, in particular, was taken over completely for filming and used for several important scenes and locations, as well as various exterior shots of Derry. One of the more significant settings is the Derry Public Library — it’s where young Ben writes a poem for Beverly and discovers the series of unexplained mysteries that have plagued the town, where he’s chased by Pennywise, and where adult Mike lives and shows Bill the origins of Pennywise, just to name a few scenes. While the library’s interior is a mix of shots from other locations, its exterior is that of Port Hope Town Hall. Within walking distance are other locations like Memorial Park, where the Paul Bunyan statue scenes take place; the street where the Losers ride their bikes and end up arguing; and the delivery door where young Mike is haunted by Pennywise.

Where: 56 Queen St, Port Hope, ON, Canada

The cemetery from Pet Sematary

Stephen King didn’t have to imagine a creepy burial ground — he lived near one. When Pet Sematary was filmed in 1989, several scenes were shot at Mount Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine, including King’s own cameo as a minister. The State Street side of the cemetery, with its steep hillside and old stone steps, served as the backdrop for some of the movie’s most memorable moments.

Mount Hope is still an active cemetery as well as one of Bangor’s oldest landmarks, so visits should be respectful. King fans often stop here as part of a broader Bangor tour, and the Historical Society occasionally offers guided walks that point out the filming locations.

Where: 1048 State St, Bangor, ME

The house from The Amityville Horror

Few haunted houses are as instantly recognizable as the Amityville house on Long Island, with its Dutch Colonial shape and sinister “eye” windows peering from the attic. The 1979 film — and the best-selling book before it — turned the Lutz family’s alleged haunting into a pop culture phenomenon. By the mid-1980s, the address was changed from 112 Ocean Avenue to 108 in an effort to throw off relentless sightseers.

Today, the house remains a private residence. The original windows have been replaced, and renovations have softened its eerie aura, but fans continue to make pilgrimages, often standing across the street for a quick snapshot. Locals, however, are quick to discourage gawking and trespassing. If you do go, keep your visit brief and quiet — after all, the house may look ordinary now, but its reputation as “America’s most haunted home” ensures it will never quite escape its past.

Where: 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, NY

Michael Myers’ house from Halloween

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Michael Myers is an iconic boogeyman character, right up there with the likes of Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. He first appeared in John Carpenter’s Halloween in 1978, and the movie’s success paved the way for the series to flourish, turning it into an 11-film franchise. One of the more recognizable locations is the Myers house, where the film opens to him murdering his older sister and her brother. While it takes place in the fictional town of Haddonfield, Illinois, the house is actually located in Pasadena, California. The house is private property, home to the Alegria Chiropractic Center, so fans aren’t able to walk the property unless they’re being seen by one of Alegria’s doctors. That said, a pretty good view of the house can be seen from just across the street.

Where: North of 1000 Mission St, South Pasadena, CA

Palazzo Vecchio from Hannibal

If you’re a fan of the cannibal serial killer’s story and have been looking for a push to visit Italy, look no further. Florence’s Piazza della Signoria is famous for a number of reasons: It’s one of the most highly trafficked plazas in the city and home to the copy of Michelangelo’s David statue, the Loggia dei Lanzi with its wide arches on top of Corinthian-style columns, and the marble Fountain of Neptune. The Romanesque Palazzo Vecchio also finds its home in the plaza and is the city’s town hall. In Ridley Scott’s Hannibal (2001), the fortress is used as the setting for one of the more gruesome murders in the movie.

One of the plotlines in the film is Rinaldo Pazzi, Chief Inspector, investigating the disappearance of a library curator. During his search, he talks to who he thinks is Doctor Fell, the library’s assistant curator, but is actually Hannibal pretending to be Fell. When Pazzi learns of the bounty on Lecter’s capture, he becomes enraptured by greed and tries to capture the killer himself. Lecter baits Pazzi into a room in the Palazzo Vecchio, ties him up, cuts out some of his gastrointestinal organs, then hangs him over a balcony — right next to some of the plaza’s famous statues.

Where: Piazza della Signoria, 50122 Firenze Florence, Italy

Dr. Frank N. Furter’s mansion from The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Those who have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show will never forget it, and those who haven’t can’t stop hearing about it — and for good reason. What began as an unemployed-at-the-time actor’s project to keep busy turned into a stage production and then into the 1975 science-fiction, horror-comedy musical we all know and love. It was shot in England at Bram Studios and on location at the Oakley Court Hotel. Fans may recognize Oakley Court as the mansion of the enigmatic Dr. Frank N. Furter, where central characters Brad and Janet find themselves after their car breaks down in the rain. During filming, it was an empty estate with no working utilities, but it has now been turned into a fully functioning hotel. Many of the original structures from the film remain. There are 118 guest rooms, all designed in typical country-British fashion; a spa; swimming pool; tennis courts; a croquet lawn; a golf course; and boat and bike rentals. You’ll be able to live it up in the English countryside and have an easier time of it than Brad and Janet.

Where: Windsor Rd, Water Oakley, Windsor, UK