Forget Salem — this New Jersey town is the real Halloween capital

👻 One New Jersey town is named among America’s 12 spookiest small towns by Fodor’s.

🕸️ The Jersey Shore town joins legendary haunts like Salem and Sleepy Hollow.

👻 Check out the other spooky towns that made the list

All across America, towns are gearing up for Oct. 31, with next-level Halloween festivities.

Popular travel publication, Fodor’s, has put out its list of “America’s 12 Best Spooky Small Towns for Halloween Haunts.”

ALSO READ: Check out this cool haunted house in Sea Girt 

Some destinations celebrate gruesome stories and historic events associated with their name, such as Sleepy Hollow’s Headless Horseman and Salem’s witch trials. The town of Tombstone, Arizona, hosts wild west ghost tours.

“Every October in tiny towns across the U.S., the spirit of Halloween gets turned up big time. Many communities proudly come together to transform their quaint main streets into a semblance of Jack Skellington’s haunted village in Nightmare Before Christmas. Bats and cobwebs dangle from awnings, grinning Jack-o’-lanterns sit on neighborhood porches, and costumed parades take over streets,” Fodor’s wrote.

Toms River named one of America’s best spooky small towns

One New Jersey town was lucky enough to make Fodor’s haunted dozen list, joining towns like Tombstone, Sleep Hollow, and Salem.

Ranking 9th on the list is Toms River, earning its place for hosting the world’s second-largest Halloween parade for the past 86 years, attracting hundreds of thousands of people.

Toms River’s legendary Halloween parade draws massive crowds

“Halloween gets the Jersey Shore treatment with an enormous, rambunctious, blinged-out nighttime parade every October 31st. The Toms River Parade debuted in 1937 and grew over the years into the world’s second-largest Halloween procession (after NYC’s Village Parade). Today, over 100,000 spectators turn out for a seemingly endless stream of glitzy floats, marching bands, decorated fire trucks, and terrifying creatures of the night. The spectacle has become so popular that Toms River holds trick-or-treating on October 30th, allowing families to attend the Halloween parade. During the daytime, celebrants can check out spooky downtown window paintings and scout out sites from the 1979 Amityville Horror film, which was shot here,” Fodor’s wrote.

The Toms River Volunteer Fire Company No. 1’s 86^th annual Halloween Parade is Friday, Oct. 31, in downtown Toms River beginning at 7 p.m.

Registration begins today at the firehouse on Robbins Street from 6 p.m. to 8 pm.

America’s spookiest small towns: from Salem to Estes Park

If you’re looking to take a trip, the spookiest small town for Halloween haunts in America is Estes Park, Colorado.

According to Fodor’s, horror novelist Stephen King stayed at Estes Park’s Stanley Hotel in the 1970s, which left such a spine-chilling impression that it became the inspiration for the setting of his infamous book, The Shining.

The 1909 colonial-style hotel is set against tall, gloomy mountains. It has long, carpeted hallways, and an eerie wood-paneled ballroom, supposedly haunted by a chambermaid.

Other spooky haunts that made the list include

Mesilla, New Mexico, which hosts Day of the Dead traditions

Laconia, New Hampshire, is home to the Pumpkin Festival, where tens of thousands of pumpkins are added to a 35-foot-tall ziggurat that looms over the town.

Sleepy Hollow, New York, is home to the Headless Horseman. The Hudson Valley haunt is filled with 18th-century Gothic manors, the grave of Van Tassel, the woman who inspired the heroin in Washington Irving’s legendary tale, a glass pumpkin patch showcase, and haunted hayrides.

Romeo, Michigan, features Tillson Street, a neighborhood dedicated to Halloween. For the past 35 years, residents have transformed their homes into “Hollywood-worthy horror houses.”

For a complete list of the best spooky small towns in America for Halloween haunts, visit here.

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