Texas' Guinness World Record Holding Haunted Attraction Is A Legendary, Heart-Stopping Fort Worth Thrill

When you think of haunted U.S. cities to escape to in the spooky season, Fort Worth, Texas might not spring to mind. Fair enough — it doesn't have the Gothic architecture or centuries-old cobbled streets of more famous haunted cities, but what it does have is a haunted house attraction so scary that it has topped award lists for its sheer fright potential. Cutting Edge Haunted House is one of America's best Halloween attractions, complete with the accolades to show for it. In 2009, it was awarded as the Guinness World Record-holder for "World's Largest Haunted House" and "Longest Walk-Through Horror House (Indoors)." Though newer challengers have since taken over the latter record, Cutting Edge holds onto its title as the world's largest, and it continues to rack up achievements: HauntWorld named it America's best haunted attraction for 2025.

When Guinness World Records measured out the pathway through Cutting Edge Haunted House in 2015, it stretched nearly 5,400 feet in length. That's over a full mile of continuous thrills and effects, taking about 55 minutes to walk through on average. Its length is a product of over 30 years of development: Cutting Edge started in Austin in 1991 before moving to a century-old, defunct meat-packing plant in Fort Worth. It draws on its location to craft a story about the meat-packing plant being used, now, to process human bodies. The haunted house has its own "Boo University," a program for training its actors, and a zombie drumline that's won the PASIC DrumLine Battle multiple times. All of these touches give Cutting Edge the production level of "a Broadway show that you let the audience walk through," as its owner, Todd James, described in Fort Worth Magazine.

You'll find Cutting Edge Haunted House on East Lancaster Avenue, fittingly in an area of Fort Worth sometimes known as "Hell's Half Acre," which was once a red-light district and hotspot of shootouts and muggings. Today, the area around Cutting Edge Haunted House is far from the sketchy crime zone it used to be, close to well-known spots like the Fort Worth Water Gardens and about a 25-minute drive from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, though the haunted house leans into the mysteries and lore of "Hell's Half Acre" to give a local flare to its scares.

Cutting Edge Haunted House puts on its terrifying spectacle every weekend starting from around the end of September to Halloween weekend, opening daily for the week of Halloween. You can buy tickets online in advance, which are spaced out across 15-minute time slots. There's parking available at the site for an extra fee.

The scares and storylines of the haunted house change from year to year, though you can expect some consistent features. Upon arriving, attendees are ushered through a giant skull with red, glowing eyes. The horror element of the haunted house relies more on created storylines and suspense than blood and gore, though a conveyor system that transports human body mannequins through meatpacking machinery is one of its central spooks. One Google reviewer said that "the actors and the atmosphere were immersive and immaculate... This was a well-thought-out haunted house and I loved the different scenes we went through." If you're feeling up for more Texas frights after escaping the haunted house, Austin, considered one of America's most haunted cities, might be your next weird destination.