Halloween Road Trip Part 2 — Northeast True Crime and Haunted Houses

Quick Facts: Halloween Road Trip Part 2

• The route runs about 430 miles from Gardner, Massachusetts, to Philadelphia, with roughly eight to nine hours of total driving.

• You can sleep where the Bordens were killed, since the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River operates as a six-room bed and breakfast.

• Annabelle has left Connecticut, moving to the new Haunted Warren Museum in Salem, which opened August 27.

• The Warrens' Monroe home rents for private overnight stays for up to eight guests, with more than 600 original artifacts still inside. Booking stays from April 13 through December 31, 2027, go on sale October 14 at 3 p.m. ET.

• The Amityville house is a private residence, so it's a drive-by photo stop only.

• Eastern State's Halloween Nights runs October 2 through November 7, with general admission from $49 to $79 depending on the date.

• There's no event parking at Eastern State, but a $22 online parking and shuttle package runs from the Philadelphia Zoo garage.

Stop #1: S.K. Pierce Haunted Victorian Mansion, Gardner, MA

About an hour west of Boston, the S.K. Pierce Haunted Victorian Mansion makes an appropriately eerie first stop. Furniture magnate Sylvester Knowlton Pierce built the 7,000-square-foot home in 1875 in Gardner, once known as the chair capital of New England. Its grand Victorian rooms later became part of a boarding house with stories of drinking, gambling, and several deaths. If the place looks familiar, you may have seen it on Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventures.

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You can book a 90-minute guided tour to explore the mansion, or join a paranormal investigation if you’re curious about what might be lurking in those Victorian rooms. For a longer visit, the S.K. Pierce Mansion also offers overnight, weekly, and monthly rentals.

Spending the night takes this road-trip stop to a whole other level, especially when every creak comes from inside the house. From Gardner, it's about 85 miles and an hour and a half south to Fall River.

For a look inside before you book, the mansion's YouTube channel has video from the house.

Stop #2: Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, MA

The Lizzie Borden House, site of the 1892 Borden murders, now a bed and breakfast in Fall River, Massachusetts SEO caption: Andrew and Abby Borden were killed inside this Fall River house in 1892, and today you can book a room there for the night.

If you’re the person who always has a true crime podcast playing in the car, this stop belongs on your route. On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were killed with a hatchet inside their Fall River home. Andrew’s daughter Lizzie was tried and acquitted, leaving a mystery people are still debating more than 130 years later. If Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has you curious about the real case, you can step inside the house where it happened and hear the history beyond the dramatization.

The 90-minute daytime house tour takes you through every room, while nightly outdoor ghost tours explore Fall River’s history and reported hauntings. Want to investigate for yourself? Guided ghost hunts take place on the first floor and in the basement, and there’s an unguided overnight basement experience with ghost-hunting equipment provided. You can also visit the Bordens’ graves on a guided tour of Oak Grove Cemetery.

For the full experience, book one of the inn’s four rooms or two suites, including Lizzie and Emma’s former bedrooms or the Morse Room, where Abby Borden was found. That’s quite a story to take home, assuming you get any sleep. Breakfast costs an additional $20 per person, so you can follow a potentially restless night with pancakes, eggs and coffee before the roughly 140-mile drive southwest to Connecticut.

Stop #3: Ed and Lorraine Warren's Home, Monroe, CT

The real Annabelle, a Raggedy Ann doll, left the Warrens' Monroe home for Salem's Haunted Warren Museum in August.

If watching The Conjuring made you nervous about strange noises at night, imagine sleeping in Ed and Lorraine Warren’s actual home. The paranormal investigators whose cases inspired the films lived in Monroe, Connecticut, where their Occult Museum closed to public visitors in 2019 over zoning issues. Today, you can book a private overnight stay at the Haunted Warren House for up to eight guests, with access to the home and museum, paranormal investigation equipment and an on-site museum guide. The operators say more than 600 original Warren collection items remain. Whether your group spends the night investigating or nervously checking the hallway is up to you.

This takes some advance planning: all nights through April 12, 2027, are sold out. Public bookings for April 13 through December 31, 2027, are scheduled to open on October 14, 2026, at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. There are no daytime tours, and the exact address is shared after booking, so this isn’t a stop you can spontaneously drop into along the route.

One important detail before you book: Annabelle has moved out. The famous doll, the Shadow Doll, the Conjuring Mirror and several other headline artifacts are now at the Haunted Warren Museum in Salem, which opened August 27, 2026, at 259 Essex Street for a limited run. There, you can explore the collection through flashlight experiences and paranormal investigations. If you followed Part 1 of our Halloween road trip, that’s a tempting reason to return to Salem. Otherwise, continue toward Amityville, allowing around two hours from Monroe and extra time for New York traffic.

Stop #4: The Amityville Horror House, Amityville, NY

The DeFeo murders and the Lutz family's story made this Long Island house famous, but it's a private home, so enjoy it from the street.

After the Warrens’ home, the next stop takes you to a story they helped make famous: The Amityville Horror. In November 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were killed inside this Dutch Colonial on Long Island’s South Shore. The Lutz family moved in the following year but left after just 28 days, claiming terrifying paranormal experiences. Their account inspired the book and film franchise, though the haunting claims remain disputed.

Unlike the other houses on this route, Amityville is a private home, with no tours or overnight stays. Treat it as a brief, respectful drive-by: stay on public streets, keep driveways clear and give the residents their privacy. Then take a breather by the village’s waterfront before the final stretch to Philadelphia, roughly 130 miles and three hours away, depending on traffic.

Stop #5: Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia, PA

The crumbling halls of Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia make an eerie final stop on this Northeast Halloween road trip.

The final stop comes with towering stone walls, crumbling cellblocks and a former inmate you’ve definitely heard of: Al Capone. Opened in 1829, Eastern State Penitentiary is eerie enough on an ordinary day, but Halloween Nights takes things further. Running select nights from October 2 through November 7, its 35th season features five haunted houses, including an expanded Crypt that’s twice its previous size. Prefer real history to jump scares? Take the 20-minute flashlight tour through the old hospital block.

General admission costs $49 to $79, depending on the date, with tickets booked by half-hour entry window. There’s no on-site event parking, so reserve the $22 parking and shuttle package from the Philadelphia Zoo garage online. For one last seasonal twist, the November 6 and 7 finale becomes REMIXED: Holiday Havoc, giving Christmas and New Year’s Eve a horror makeover. It’s quite a finish to a road trip that started at a Victorian mansion in Massachusetts.

Al Capone once served time behind Eastern State's iron gates, which now open each fall for Halloween Nights' five haunted houses.

Five stops, plenty of unsettling stories, and a good chance you’ll want to sleep with the lights on. From the Borden mystery to the Warrens’ collection and Eastern State’s cellblocks, this Northeast road trip gives you plenty to talk about between destinations. Book tours and overnight stays ahead, leave room for New York traffic, and decide how brave you’re feeling. There’s no shame in choosing a daytime tour and a hotel with fewer ghost stories.

Frequently Asked Questions: Halloween Road Trip Part 2

Can you stay overnight at the Lizzie Borden House?

Yes. The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River operates as a bed and breakfast with six rooms, including the room where Abby Borden was killed. It also offers daytime tours, ghost tours and ghost hunts.

Can you visit the Warren Occult Museum?

The original Monroe, Connecticut, museum closed to the public in 2019. The Warrens' home now rents for private overnight stays, with nights from April 13 through December 31, 2027, going on sale October 14. Annabelle and other famous artifacts moved to the Haunted Warren Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, which opened August 27, 2026.

Where is the Annabelle doll now?

Annabelle is part of the Haunted Warren Museum at 259 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, which is open for a limited run. Check the museum's website for current dates and tickets.

Can you go inside the Amityville Horror house?

No. The house is a private residence, and the address has been changed to discourage visitors. You can see it from the street, but be respectful of the people who live there.

When is Halloween Nights at Eastern State Penitentiary?

Halloween Nights runs select nights from October 2 through November 7, 2026. General admission costs $49 to $79 depending on the date, and tickets are sold by timed entry.

How long does this Halloween road trip take?

The route covers about 430 miles with roughly eight to nine hours of driving. Plan on at least three or four days to fit in tours and an overnight stay or two.

Is the S.K. Pierce Mansion open to visitors?

The mansion has hosted tours and overnight paranormal investigations, including events in 2026. It was listed for sale in 2025, so confirm the current schedule before you go.