It doesn’t have to be Halloween to scare yourself out of your wits, because any time is good to visit the Mysterious Mansion in Gatlinburg. This three-level haunted attraction is open throughout the year and has been scaring the young and old since 1980. How young? Hmm, probably older than about 7-8 years – experience it yourself before you take very young ones, or friends who don’t like too much fright. This is a very scary place.
Image courtesy of Mysterious Mansion
What To Expect From The Mysterious Mansion
The Mansion is an old home in classic 1900’s Victorian style. It’s known as one of Gatlinburg’s oldest, scariest and spookiest haunted houses. Major renovations to the house in recent years paused the horror briefly to add some state-of-the-art to the old, and now lots of ghouls, goblins, and ghosts have returned to their favorite hideouts.
The house has a scary feel in all aspects even as you approach it, from the graves in the outside flower beds to its eerie light. The tour is self-guided, which is a nice way of saying you have to find your own way out, and hope you don’t open the wrong doors!
There are human actors in the experience, but with no discernible role, so you’ll never know where they might appear. It’s a no-touch situation in the house so you can breathe a sigh of relief on that score – but it’s the only relief you’ll get.
You’ll make your way through the mansion in a group of around 8 guests, so if you’re a hardcore scare fan you’ll want to be at the front to get the full effects of the actors and their macabre surprises. The more timid could go at the back – as long as they don’t look behind them.
It should be said that this mansion is scary. It works really well. People scream all the time, and even the most hardened skeptic gets a thrill. Three floors of suspense and sheer uncertainty take their grim toll on the nerves, and the special effects and rooms filled with every spooky artifact conceivable work their dark magic.
This is one of the scariest haunted houses in an area with lots of scares available. By the way, there are also ways to get out of the house in a hurry if you can’t take any more, and people do take the opportunity, frequently!
The Mysterious Mansion in Gatlinburg is open year-round, 7 days a week from Spring Break through October, and all weekends all year. Christmas thru New year is a special occasion, and the month of October presents the House of the Macabre on weekends, for a special dose of scare.
The Mysterious Mansion is located at 424 River Rd, Gatlinburg, TN. For more information see the Mysterious Mansion website. And here’s a video taste of the Mysterious Mansion:
TIP: For a less scary and more historical view of the spooky, check out the Gatlinburg Ghost Tour.
