Forever Fright Kingdom

October 6, 2024 — I don’t know what of value I could tell you about the place that I’ve lived in for the past sixteen years, the only place I’ve ever lived in New England. I guess I can tell you that with more than 90,000 residents and spanning seven exits on the highway, Nashua is the second largest city in New Hampshire. It’s conveniently located at almost the exact geographic center of New England (handy for a guy that explores the most obscure parts of the region like he’s running from his past) and is a mere 40 miles from Boston. But it doesn’t have much character. In the early 2000s, it was twice ranked as the “Best Place to Live” in the country by some magazine, although the city took the welcome signs announcing that honor as soon as I moved here. An older appellation for it was Trashua—which is mostly because it’s a good rhyme-insult, but really because it’s a border town dealing with a constant influx of Massholes looking for tax-free shopping and cheap booze. But the one cool thing about this city that I will argue about until I develop a New Hampshire accent myself, is that it’s home to Fright Kingdom, one of the most Halloween spots in New England.

  

I rave about this place every year (multiple times a year thanks to it also being a Christmas haunt). I’ve had so many good times here over the past decade since I first discovered it, but I also believe it’s objectively an awesome place. Sure, the five indoor haunts are top tier, but it’s more than that. It’s the ambiance and pace of the place. That you can leisurely explore the fascinating Halloween paraphernalia and horror movie prop collections and take photos with the costumed characters and at various photo ops before even entering the haunts. It’s the autumn carnival midway at the end, where you can get funnel cakes and shop at vendors and take more photos with costumed characters. Even standing in line is fun at Fright Kingdom. It just feels like the way Halloween should be.

This year, it’s gotten even better somehow. They’ve installed half a dozen massive animatronic monsters on the grounds and assembled a vintage dark ride as an extra experience—a gravity coaster of the type that is only one of six still in existence. I had a blast on that thing—as rickety-seeming as the early twentieth century and as nostalgically spooky as childhood trick-or-treating.

I don’t know if Nashua will ever develop a character and culture that separates it from any other city of its size, but at least it’ll always be able to say, “Home of Fright Kingdom.” Put that on the welcome sign.