Haunted Houses Scare Up Holiday Fun

by Merydeth Cummings
10.24.07

Through the cornucopia of haunted houses, many times it is difficult to distinguish the truly terrifying from the unconvincing houses. Let’s face it, haunted houses are not the cheapest Halloween attractions.

Compared to the olden days of free candy and “trick or treats,” wasting money on some “haunted” hay-rack ride is not my idea of fun. So I decided to sort out the horrifying from the humdrum.

My quest for the true Halloween spirit began on 120th and Giles, where I immediately found the entrance to Haunted Hollow marked by a black hearse.  As I walked up to the admissions booth, I was surprised to find that the price for two people was $26, $13 per person.  I thought to myself, “This had better be good.”  This haunted house being my first, I had no idea what to expect.  Slowly, cautiously I ambled up a path that lead to a few choices.  I could begin with the house, or take a right and watch some kind of a movie being projected against the side of the run-down house.  I chose the house- big mistake.  My plan was to ease into the terror, slowly. 

This time I ended up ripping the Band-Aid off.  Upon entering the house, I immediately found trouble navigating my way. With the flickering lights (a nice effect, I give them props for that) and the constant banging on the walls, I found myself in a labyrinth of sorts.  Again, slowly but surely, I ventured into the maze of wooden walls, and there came a newfound terror: the terror of the unknown.  A few steps later, a creak, and I peeked around the corner to find not a human face, but a masked face about two inches from my own.  Immediately, I sprinted back through the labyrinth, never looking back, my accomplice shoving me into walls, stumbling, and to our relief we eventually fell out of the house. I knew it could not be over, though.  I heard a very familiar sound when I got outside.  One that might be heard when being chased by a man in a hockey mask with a chain saw.  I later identified this man as Jake Thomson, not Jason Voorhees, though he was quite convincing.  After thoroughly scarring me for life, I regained my composure and asked him a few questions.

“I love inflicting terror upon people,” Thompson said. “I have a real job besides this, but this one’s better because I get to dress the part and play fantasy here.”

The costumes and acting were so-so, with the exception of the fortune-teller, who was more comforting than terrifying.  That is, until the chain-saw man came back, chasing us all the way back through the entrance.

My next horror trip was to Shadow’s Edge, located at 3457 S. 84th St. For a mere $10, a person can experience all the thrills of a traditional haunted house, in a more modern form.  Instead of being located on an acreage, it is located next to Mangelsen’s, in a large building.  At first, the decorations outside looked amateur, as if they were bought inside Mangelsen’s itself.  I would find out later it was not the case. 

A man with a headpiece greets groups at the door to layout the instructions.  I immediately understood why he was chosen for this job.  He firmly stated, “I have some rules for you all.  Make sure you don’t drop your cell phones, cuz’ I don’t wanna’ go looking for them. Stay in your group and keep moving, and if you want to leave, use the doors.”  By this time he had my entire group shaking in their boots.  As I entered, I once again found myself in total darkness, and I would have run into some walls had there not been glow-in-the-dark arrows.  I walked through numerous rooms full of disturbing sights and very good actors. 

Little by little, they had worked up the terror from clowns, dead babies and mental patients to a large man in a pig costume with a bloody chainsaw, eventually chasing me out of the house. Shadow’s Edge compared to Haunted Hollow was more comforting because there were walls, whereas Haunted Hollow was in the wide open where visitors are always vulnerable.  As long as you aren’t the last one in your group, the house is actually leisurely compared to the wide open spaces of the Haunted Hollow fairgrounds.  If you are looking for a full night of terror, Haunted Hollow would definitely be the place to go, whereas Shadow’s Edge only took 20 minutes total to complete.  So good luck, and happy hauntings!

photo by Merydeth Cummings