What Are the Best Haunted Houses in the Tri-State? [VIDEO]

Halloween just used to be a day. Now it's a whole season. And I LOVE IT! Haunted houses just used to be houses. Now they've added many dimensions. And I LOVE IT!

That's right. "Haunted house" is now a blanket term for any established place to get the you-know-what scared out of you.

In this rundown of some of the best I've ever visited, you'll find places that aren't houses at all...and one that isn't even INDOORS!

Plus, I've added a "haunted house" I've always wanted to visit but never have. It's a Halloween bucket list item for me.

Let's start with our very own Old Courthouse Catacombs and House of Lecter in downtown Evansville. The lines wrap around the blocks. And the team that puts this together utilizes one of the naturally creepiest buildings in the tri-state...the old Evansville courthouse.

What a great tradition.

Now, during recent trips to Louisville and parts unknown (not kidding), I have joined a host of others in experiencing some truly creative terrifying experiences.

Take, for example, the Haunted Hotel, square up in the middle of Louisville:

Not too far way from the Haunted Hotel is another locale known as The Devil's Attic:

Across the river in Jeffersonville, Indiana is where you'll find the enormous Industrial Terrorplex, a huge warehouse that joins together multiple haunted houses in one place. Incredible.

Now, here we go. Last year, we took off for Bonnieville, Kentucky. It's just off Interstate 65 between Louisville and Bowling Green. The destination was The Hollow of Unrest, billed as the scariest haunt in south central Kentucky. This was not your typical haunted house, only because we were rarely INSIDE. And it takes about 45 minutes to get through it. Brilliant.

Now, I have one more. It's legendary. I've seen it featured on the Travel Channel. I have to go in this lifetime. It's the historic Waverly Hills Sanatorium.

Yep, I'd say there's plenty around here to scare the bejeezus out of anyone who, you know, wants to rid themselves of whatever the "bejeezus" is.