A new trend dubbed “scream tourism” by travel experts has thrill seekers searching for destinations that illicit a frightening feel.
Rob DelliBovi, CEO of RDB Hospitality Group and based in New York, told Fox News via email that scream tourism has always been a travel trend during Halloween time, but the tourism movement now encompasses the entire year.
“This is a new fad created by Halloween aficionados, who turned the holiday into a travel trend,” he said.Â
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DelliBovi said he’s seen an increase in scream tourism with adults having high interest.
“It’s less ‘family fun’ and more grown-ups wanting a legitimately scary experience, even crossing over to travel that surrounds a place where there might’ve been a trendy death story,” he added.Â
Destinations such as “haunted” hotels, murder scenes and ghost tours attract tourists.Â
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America Haunts, a tourism company that owns 20 haunted attractions nationwide, sees visitors who seek chilling travel experiences.
“The Queen of Haunts” at America Haunts, Amber Arnett Bequeaith, agreed that scream tourism is on the rise.
“The surge in scream tourism is evident through the uptick in airline travel and out-of-state ticket sales at our attractions,” Bequeaith told Fox News Digital via email.
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America Haunts has haunted houses in California, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.
“On the more fun side, a place like Halloween Horror Nights in Universal Studios is very successful. Theme parks and ‘created’ scary experiences are a big part of this,” DelliBovi said.
He went on, “… for the more hardcore, the actual trend would be a trip to Salem, Massachusetts – where the witch trials took place, or a famous cemetery that has a well-known name from the genre.”
Last year, Salem saw a record 1.2 million visitors in the five weeks leading up to Halloween, a local Patch newspaper reported.
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The Borden House, home of Lizzie Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts, is an operating bed and breakfast attracting true crime aficionados and ghost hunters.
Borden’s father and step-mother were killed at the home more than 130 years ago, which also serves as a museum. Borden was accused and acquitted of the slayings.
The summer and the Halloween seasons are typically the busiest at the Lizzie Borden House, with October 2022 having roughly 6,000 visitors, Fox News Digital reported.
“[It’s] great news for travel that ‘trend travel’ is back – it’s another sign that COVID-time (travel-wise) is a thing of our past. This type of travel is secondary to what we’re used to, so it means even the spooky are out and about,” DellBovi said.
