Lake George's original horror attraction since 1974, where static wax dioramas of Burke and Hare, the Salem witch trials, and Jack the Ripper give way to a walk-through haunted dark maze.
213 Canada Street, Lake George, NY 12845
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Adults $14.02; students 14–17 $13.08; children 6–13 $9.35. Prices subject to NYS sales tax. Tickets available on-site only.
Access
Limited Access
Multi-floor wax museum with stairs and narrow corridors in the dark walk section; may not be fully accessible. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1974 · 50+ Years of Continuous Operation (1974–present) · Lake George's Original Horror Attraction · Historical Crime Dioramas — Burke and Hare, Salem, Jack the Ripper
The House of Frankenstein opened in 1974 on Canada Street, the main commercial spine of Lake George Village on the southern end of Lake George in Warren County. The timing placed it early in the development of the themed horror attraction as a tourist industry genre — predating most of the purpose-built seasonal haunted houses that would proliferate through the 1980s and 1990s.
The format is deliberately old-school: static wax figures and constructed diorama scenes depicting historical atrocities and fictional horror scenarios, supplemented by animatronics, recorded sound, and atmospheric lighting. The subject matter of the dioramas spans several centuries and genres, including the Burke and Hare body-snatching murders in Edinburgh, the Salem witch trials of 1692, the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888, and classic Universal and Hammer monster archetypes.
The attraction's signature second component is the 'Dark Walk,' a separate walk-through section designed as a winding maze of corridors and small rooms where the static display aesthetic gives way to a more active scare experience. This section incorporates hidden figures, timed sounds, sudden air blasts, and darkness as its primary tools.
The museum operates seasonally from approximately April through November each year. It has remained a consistent presence in Lake George Village across five decades of operation, outlasting numerous other seasonal attractions in the region. In 2026 it opened April 18 for its 52nd season.
Sources
The House of Frankenstein's reputation is built primarily on its theatrical content, but at least one strand of its haunted history lies outside the manufactured programming. Accounts documented by visitors and regional ghost guides describe a female spirit that has been observed moving through the building's corridors — separate from and inconsistent with the deliberate scare placement of the Dark Walk experience.
The report is consistent across multiple accounts in its gender identification and general location, though the figure's identity and origin are not documented. The building's location in Lake George Village, an area with continuous European-American settlement since the mid-eighteenth century and the site of significant military conflict during both the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, provides some historical context for the claim — though no specific historical event has been linked to the apparition.
The Roadtrippers Magazine coverage of the attraction documented both its 50-year theatrical history and the parallel claim of genuine paranormal activity, treating the two as distinct layers of the site's identity. The museum itself does not appear to actively market the genuine haunting claim, keeping its public-facing materials focused on the theatrical experience.
Notable Entities
A self-guided tour through static wax dioramas depicting historical crimes and horror scenarios — including the Salem witch trials, Burke and Hare, and Jack the Ripper — followed by the 'Dark Walk,' a dimly lit maze of corridors with animatronics, sound effects, and hidden figures.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Bellport, NY
The structure at 215 South Country Road in Bellport dates to 1827, built for Charles Osborn and later purchased in 1884 by J.L.B. Mott, who hired Stanford White to design a new wing. In 1941 Harry C. Pomeran converted the property into a summer resort; theatrical programming began in 1950 with a production of The Taming of the Shrew staged in the barn. By the 1960s the Gateway had become a professional regional theater.
Smithville, TX
Scream Hollow opened in Bastrop County, Texas as a seasonal Halloween attraction on a 20-acre rural property outside Smithville. It expanded over the years to five haunted houses and a tractor hayride. Artist and collector Jayme Holderby established the Texas Halloween History Museum on the property — a curated collection of vintage costumes, horror memorabilia, funeral-industry artifacts, a real human skeleton, and documented materials from a serial killer's home, promoted as the only museum of its kind in the world.
Tyler, TX
The Tyler Pipe foundry on East Oakwood Street operated from the 1930s through 1973, earning the nickname 'The Mangler' for a documented pattern of industrial accidents and worker deaths. A catastrophic fire in the 1970s killed several workers. The property later became the site of a homicide when a homeless man was found beaten to death with a cinder block.