👻 Best haunted houses near Pgh

PennDOT Considers Expanding Rail Routes

A new statewide rail plan includes several long-term infrastructure proposals, including the Midwest Connect Corridor, which would link Pittsburgh with Columbus, Fort Wayne, and Chicago. [Post-Gazette]

• Have thoughts? Join today’s virtual public meeting at 3:30 p.m., or submit feedback via email. [Advancing PA Rail]

City Councilmember Proposes Spending Freeze

Councilmember Theresa Kail-Smith plans to introduce a bill for a partial hiring and spending freeze to help the city avoid a tax hike. While Mayor Ed Gainey’s current 2026 budget proposal doesn’t include a tax increase, the city is facing financial challenges and revenue streams are drying up. [KDKA / 🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

• Could Pittsburgh actually go broke? We ask City Controller Rachel Heisler. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

PA Supreme Court Mailers Are Misleading

Campaign mailers created by a conservative PAC, backed by Republican financier Jeffrey Yass, falsely blame the state Supreme Court for an unconstitutionally gerrymandered congressional district map. [WESA / 🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

• Here’s what to know about the upcoming race and how your vote will shape the PA Supreme Court. [🎧 City Cast Pittsburgh]

City Paper Halts Weekly Editions

Pittsburgh City Paper announced it will no longer produce free weekly print editions and instead will focus on online content and four super-issues per year, starting in December. Five employees were laid off as part of these changes. [Pittsburgh Independent]

Looking for a scare this season? We called in Pittsburgh Haunters Club leaders Stacey Federoff, Dave Archer, and Allie Lampman-Sims to share their favorite frights and delights around Pittsburgh.

💀 Hard-Core Horror

Explore more than 70,000 square feet of gore at the Chippewa Lake Slaughterhouse, located east of Akron, Ohio, inside an old meat processing plant. The tour starts with an introduction from Grandpa Karver, a fictional namesake based on the Karver family who supplied meat for locals since 1948. Yes, that means you can expect cleavers, blood, and guts!

We’ve all seen a horror movie set in an old, creepy school — you can step inside that real life nightmare on three floors of Crawford School of Terror in Connellsville, Pa. The 1916 building is a complete scare season destination with a thrilling escape room, axe throwing, and a coffee shop.

Guard your soul down in West Mifflin, where a demonic force named Rulos lurks in the walls of an abandoned building. Rulos, the devious mastermind behind Pittsburgh’s newest professional haunted house, Portals of Fear, offers VIP experiences — including snacks! — and lots of dates all throughout October.

With a continuous walk through five themed houses, Hundred Acres Manor in Bethel Park is a classic for any Pittsburgh scare season. Their immersive scares feature all kinds of add-ons, like a beer garden, chainsaw maze, enigma escape room, and even a burial simulator voiced by horror icon Tom Savini.

🕸️ Less Scary, Still Fun!

A Victorian cemetery, a hayride of no return, and chainsaw-wielding killers — find it all at the Fright Farm in Smithfield, Pa. This haunted attraction has been entertaining Halloween junkies in Fayette County for over three decades.

The Factory of Terror in Canton, Ohio has five unique spine-chilling attractions. And if you need a minute to work up some courage, there are a few bars throughout the site: Carnevil, Poison Ivy’s Greenhouse, and French Quarter at the Factory. Shake out all of your fears at the Fear Fair Back Alley dance club, a new addition this year.

Tickets to Haunted Hollow in Somerset County get you access to four attractions, including a boarding house and asylum, sinister hayride, swamp walk, and cornfield, as well as DJs, food and drink concessions, and nightly bonfires. Check for discounts. Admission is free for most dates if your birthday is in October!

Explore a decaying estate once known for its glamour, a grotesque circus, or a pulseless trail at the Haunted Hills Estate in Uniontown. Plan for an hour and a half, plus wait times.