Pumpkins sitting on patios, gigantic candy sales at grocery stores and slutty costumes in storefront windows? Yep, it’s Halloween season.

With the festivities approaching, this weekend couldn’t be a better time to explore Tucson’s best haunted house: The Slaughter House.
Boasting four new haunted houses in one confined area (and with just one price of admission for all four houses), Tucson Screamers’ The Slaughter House excites and scares in ways many are unaccustomed to.

This isn’t some cheap Hollywood rip-off with predictable chainsaw-wielding dudes guarding the exit; the four houses are based off unique ideas and offer some of the best scares in the American Southwest. True scare connoisseurs know that haunted houses offer better scares than the cinema, and that’s never been more true in Tucson now that The Slaughter House has opened.

“The Boiler Room” offers an experience focused around the zombie apocalypse. It’s absolutely a breath of fresh air compared to your usual claustrophobic corn maze. The actors’ talents border on professional and both the atmosphere and impressive makeup really drive this section of the park home.

Equally terrifying is “City Meats,” where the name of the park explains itself: the meaty decorations and copious amounts of blood and gore play off the claim that the ground on which the park was built used to be haunted (and still may be). A circus-themed area and a creepy mortuary round out the selections, making sure there’s a scary choice for every taste of fear.

This isn’t the kind of place you go for a relaxing evening with friends, because even the most steel-nerved will fight the urge to take off running at least once (and if you do need a quick escape, there are panic exits throughout the haunts, just in case).
In the case of The Slaughter House, wanting to run away is a good thing.

For students, there’s even more incentive to go: On Thursdays and Sundays, pay just $7 per haunt in The Boiler Room, City Meats, Carn-evil or Twisted Tree or get two-for-one admission with a CatCard at the door. If you don’t get all four done in one night, come back with the wristband and complete the rest at a later time.

Plus, if you’re getting a bite to eat beforehand, Brushfire BBQ offers coupons for The Slaughter House, or if you’re still in need of a costume, Halloween Express also has coupon deals.

And the money raised from The Slaughter House admissions goes to local and national charities such as different student organizations at Marana, Canyon Del Oro, Ironwood Ridge, Salpointe and Flowing Wells high schools, and the American Diabetes Association.

For those who have grown tired of boring corn mazes and Wild West-themed haunted saloons, The Slaughter House couldn’t be a better change of pace this Halloween. With such varied attractions, Tucson finally has its premier location for scare addicts looking to get their fix in October.

Like The Slaughter House says: Is it scary? Yes. Is it fun? Double yes.