Nightmare Forest, Brandenburg

On a normal day, the 2,600-acre Otter Creek Outdoor Recreation Area accommodates typical outdoorsy activities, such as mountain biking or disc golf. But from dusk until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in September and October this peaceful riverfront park is overtaken by Nightmare Forest's cavalcade of famous movie monsters. Scares emerge from every direction at the drive-in, where horror film icons, such as Jason from Friday the 13th series and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, depart the silver screen to petrify visitors in person. Further fear presides over a trail swarmed with hungry zombies and a corn maze where spirits lurk behind every twist and turn. One night each season, Nightmare Forest ramps up the terror with its flashlight tour, where only flashlights or mutant glow worms illumine the pitch-black attractions still teeming with freakish ghouls.