October means pumpkin spice and everything nice for some people, but for others, it’s all about the thrill of being scared witless. People have been paying for scary experiences for centuries. According to the Smithsonian, early relatives to modern haunted houses began experimenting with morbid themes like dismemberment, for example, at the turn of the 20th century. However, the traditional haunted house didn’t become a cultural icon until the opening of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion in 1969.