St. Paddy’s Day Haunted House Opening in Pennsylvania

If you miss Halloween and love St. Paddy's Day, then you're in luck, pun intended. Pennsylvania is getting its first-ever St. Paddy's Day-theme haunted house. I'm all for it. Why not mix two super fun holidays into one big event?

Lincoln Mill Haunted House is presenting "A St. Paddy's Nightmare." Expect green lighting and St. Patrick's-themed design elements all around the Hill. They also promise a new storyline that includes leprechauns, banshees and goblins.

"Skip the green glitter beer and bar crawls and head to 4100 Main Street in Manayunk," the Philadelphia haunted attraction says in a press release. "Guests will descend through the hidden chamber and into the darkness where they will find live scare actors, production quality sets, animatronics and special effects." They also warn that "this experience is meant to be scary," so don't go if that's not your thing. The haunted attraction will also boast more than 30 scare-actors. Moreover, tours leave between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and tickets are $32 per person. Tickets are available now at www.lincolnmillhaunt.com.

"Saint Patrick’s Day is an Irish celebration known for parades, drinking, and all things green. We wanted to offer something a bit different to do around this holiday," Lincoln Mill Haunted House Co-Founder Jared Bilsak said in a statement. "There’s also a lot of interesting characters in Celtic mythology that we thought would be interesting to integrate such as leprechauns, banshees, and goblins."

He added, "Saint Patrick’s Day is a religious and cultural holiday observing the death of Saint Patrick, the patron Saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick’s day has a long history in Philadelphia dating back to 1771 where many Irish immigrants migrated to America. Many Irish immigrants worked in the textile mills and we thought it would be interesting to tell a story about the mill owner’s fear of their uprising." For more information, visit the attraction's official website. In addition, Lincoln Mill Haunted House is a partnership between owners Brian Corcodilos and Bilsak.

I always get a little frustrated when I see an ad on TV for a restaurant with delicious food, but it's not a restaurant located in my area. Why even advertise? I get that some of these are national ads, but why the tease? In that spirit, I was recently thinking about fast food restaurants we want to see in Pennsylvania.

Before we get to these hot spots that we'd like to see come to Pennsylvania, let's look at some of the state's most popular fast food restaurants. Foodandwine.com recently did a story highlighting the best fast food spots in every state. In it, they state, "Fast, easy, typically quite affordable, and nearly always imbued with a deep sense of place, these restaurants often end up pulling double duty as ambassadors for their place of origin — they can be a great introduction to an unfamiliar place, the perfect place to tune in to the local vibe." In Pennsylvania, they picked Wawa as the top. Moreover, they praise the restaurant's "breakfast sandwiches, the soft pretzels, the iced teas, the ice cream, and the nearly limitless TastyKake reserves." Also, looking next door, in New Jersey, they picked Jersey Mike's. That's actually my dad's favorite.

Another outlet, TasteofHome.com, also did a story about the best fast food in each state. For this article, they actually highlighted regional and local chains, not the super national ones. "Move over McDonald's and Chipotle—these treasured regional fast food spots should be on your bucket list!" they state. They picked the combination gas station / fast food restaurant Sheetz, Altoona as the best in Pennsylvania. Love me some Sheetz. "They offer made-to-order sandwiches that let you pile the toppings high, along with some pretty killer sides," the article states.

Now, let's get into five fast food restaurant we want to see in Pennsylvana.

Steak 'n Shake delivers just that: tasty shakes and steak. The chain was founded in 1934 in Normal, Illinois, so they've been around for more than 85 years. According to their website, "The word 'steak' stood for STEAKBURGER. The term 'shake' stood for hand-dipped MILK SHAKES." They were in Pennsylvania for a while but closed locations during the pandemic. Hopefully they come back.

If you like your ice cream made with custard, then Culver's is your haven. This spot is known for its ice cream and shakes, as well as fast food cuisine. It was founded in Wisconsin and is mainly found in the middle of the U.S., and not in Pennsylvania.

Whataburger is a burger favorite across America. The chain is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and has more than 900 locations. Pennsylvania is not one of them. Maybe one day.

Jack in the Box has made the news lately for expanding into new states. But, they aren't coming to Pennsylvania. Yet. Please come.

Wingstop is all about the great wings and chicken items. "What began as a small buffalo-style chicken wing restaurant in Garland, Texas, continues to soar to great heights," they state on their website. Right now, Wingstop has more than 2,000 restaurants open. When you go to their official website, it says they don't have any Pennsylvania locations, but they actually do have some, including in Allentown and Easton. We want to see more, and we'd like them to proudly list them on their site.