So many wills these days require its beneficiaries to spend one night in a cobwebbed mansion full of groaning specters that lawyers simply refer to the stipulation as a "haunted housewarming." Learn to suppress your fear long enough to secure future inheritances with today's Groupon. Seasonal scare-cravers can choose between the following ticket options to Nightmare: Superstitions, located at the NoHo event center:

• $20 for a general-admission ticket (a $30 value)
• $40 for a VIP ticket (a $60 value)

This Groupon is good for the following dates only, with shows running every half hour:

• September 24: 7–11 p.m.
• September 25: 7–11 p.m.
• September 26: 7–10 p.m.
• September 30: 7–10 p.m.
• October 1: 6–11 p.m.
• October 2: 6–11 p.m.
• October 3: 7–10 p.m.
• October 6: 7–10 p.m.
• October 7: 7–10 p.m.
• October 8: 6–midnight

This year's eldritch incarnation of Nightmare has been dubbed Nightmare: Superstitions and is comprised of two attractions covering two gruesome levels of spine-tingling madness, bone-chilling terror, and various other descriptions that sound best when uttered by Vincent Price. Your dark descent into horror begins in the Fun House—a twisted carnival-style attraction run by Nightmare insane asylum's evil inmates and even-scarier-than-usual carnies—which steels your mind and body for the terrifying torment that awaits you in the main attraction. Once your screaming muscles have been adequately stretched to prevent painful cramping, you'll be inducted into the surreal insane asylum itself—a demented maze of padded walls, dark and gruesome cells, and crazed, Hades-bound lunatics lurking around every shadowy, unseen corner. As you creep through each chamber of the twisted hospital, you'll be forced to break a popular superstition and then face the horrible consequences. What those consequences may be is a mystery, since no one who has entered Nightmare: New York has ever come out again…until about 25 to 35 minutes later.

If you find the prospect of waiting in line even more terror-inducing than the maniacal massacre inside, you can opt instead for the VIP ticket option, which allows guests to skip to the front of the line. Groups of 12–15 people are sent through together, giving you a false sense of security that lasts until the first sounds of your boyfriend's girlish shrieks. Since Nightmare: Superstitions is designed to tap into an otherwise fearless adult's sheer terror, it is too terrifying for children under 12 who are not accompanied by an adult. Check the FAQ page for such common queries as "Will I be touched?" and "How many bad crypt-keeper puns am I allowed to make?"

No children under 7 admitted. Nightmare is not recommended for children under 12, but if they do attend, they must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Reviews

Nightmare's 2009 attraction was reviewed in the New York Times and was a Halloween activity last year for Neil Patrick Harris, Matthew Broderick, and Vincent D'Onofrio. Although it has a two-star average from Yelpers, who say it is overpriced, the Groupon takes care of that, and Nightmare still has more than 2,600 Facebook fans who like it nonetheless:

• Fear factor on a scale of 1 (nap inducing) to 10 (heart-attack inducing): 5. Actor enthusiasm on a scale of 1 (kept looking at watch) to 10 (actually bit an audience member’s neck): 8. – Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
• Good haunted houses are hard to find and this one really got me in the Halloween spirit and made tonight's ballerina costume look even more wussy. – Jane K., Yelp