Spooky season is officially here at Nashville Nightmare. They were just certified as a 2025 Top Haunt (given to only 67 haunted attractions in America), and it’s easy to see why. I had the privilege of attending this past weekend. I’ve been multiple times over the past few years, and I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few changes made to this Halloween edition.

The first haunted house I checked out was Horror High. Gone the last time I was there, this popular house was brought back for Halloween 2025. They revamped the look, giving it a neon vibe by adding glow in the dark paint everywhere. Step inside an abandoned school with classroom after classroom full of high school monsters that call out things like “Your late for your final exam!” Cool props included a lunch buffet, cheerleading outfits, a locker room, and plenty of chalkboards.

In the next house, titled Area-X, you are greeted by two robotic aliens. From there you step into a giant laboratory where aliens are being examined. There is a military aspect to it, very official looking. They had the aliens last time, but they added some new scenes. The best was one where it looked like the alien was being beamed back up to the mothership. The coolest prop had to be the monster they had crawling on the floor with its legs separated. Of course, there were gigantic aliens everywhere you looked.

The Boogieman Haunted House invites you to enter the place of your childhood nightmares, the closet. Walking through you are bombarded with some of your biggest fears. There are spiders, gigantic ones with webs that stretch across the ceiling, and huge larvae sacks throughout. The coolest thing though? They brought the room back with the green mist, that makes you feel like you’re walking through a maze with floating monsters.

Keeping the throwback vibe, the final house “Fairytale Hell” is a twisted version of a storybook children’s tale. It begins with the doorkeeper, a character that reminded me of Mad Hatter. Every turn features different aspects from books including dragons, a pirate scene, a graveyard, and more. But the best part? A mirror maze straight out of Wonderland. There’s even a pirate scene. This was my favorite, and the scariest house (in my opinion). The actors were also the most engaging.

In addition to the changes in the four haunted houses, there was plenty to see outside. There were a handful of new photo ops including a haunted birthday cake and a gigantic pumpkin creation machine. The animatronic sign out front was working again. Actors, dressed in various costumes walked around and took photos with guests. Others that did tricks with fire. There was a brand-new circus tent complete with a live DJ spinning beats all night.  

There are various experiences you can add onto your ticket including mini escape games, a clown maze, and a zombie shootout. I love escape games and much to my delight, they had a new one called “Mummy’s Curse”. The “Zombie Apocalypse Training Facility” was fun, but it would have been more fun had my gellyball gun not quit working. The secret bars in the houses add a nice touch for photo ops and guests to chat while they try Halloween themed alcoholic beverage.

As a child clowns were my favorite, so I had to visit the clown maze. I found it highly entertaining. The actors were great, engaging with guests as they did their whole bit. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they revamped the maze, keeping the tent but adding an indoor section with scenery. In the past I felt like I was just stumbling through the tent, not sure which way to go. But not this time.

Being early October, it wasn’t too busy yet, so there was plenty of time to do everything. If you are a haunted house fanatic, I highly recommend the Platinum ticket option. It allows you to skip any lines, visit each house unlimited times, plus experience all the extras. Nashville Nightmare runs until November 9^th. Get your tickets at nashvillenightmare.com today and see for yourself what everyone is raving about!