Halloween Haunt provides spooky fun for all ages

Halloween Haunt is an event that is put on by Worlds of Fun theme park in Kansas City. The event is from 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays in September and October. It features many spooky haunted houses and scary walkthroughs.

The park was chilly, spooky and exciting the night of the event. The entrance to the park donned the words, “Fear is Waiting for You” to set the mood for the rest of the evening. The park set up eight haunted houses and four scare zones with various creepy themes. Also held during the event were three shows based off the various houses. It was a night full of frightful fun.

This year included four scare zones, CarnEvil, Hexed, Outlaws Revenge and The Boneyard. Eight houses were also offered including Blood on the Bayou, Bloodshed, Chamber of Horrors, Condemned, CornStalkers, Lore of the Vampire, Khaos Unleashed, Ripper Alley and Zombie High.

The houses were the main attraction of Halloween Haunt, so they had the longest lines. Waiting in line often amped up the suspense for the house.

Blood on the Bayou is a New Orleans voodoo-themed house complete with Ouija boards and a giant alligator. Bloodshed was set up as a haunted butcher shop with crazy pig-head characters and homicidal hillbillies that chase you through the house.

Chamber of Horrors Condemned had a classic movie monster vibe, and was the most interactive experience. At the beginning you were given one flashlight per group to navigate through the dimly lit rooms. One of the scariest rooms was the one filled with creepy, faceless mannequins. This was a favorite among many of the guests, including Sohia Perez, teenager who attends Shawnee Heights High School in Topeka, Kan. She had come to Halloween Haunt with her friends.

“I love Halloween. It’s my favorite holiday and I love to be scared,” Perez said. “Chamber of Horrors was the scariest house for me because of the animatronic monsters. It was hard to tell which ones were machines and which ones were actors that were going to try to scare me.”

Cornstalkers was an outside maze, and the name gives you a clue that you are going to be dealing with evil scarecrows on a haunted cornfield. The maze, Ripper Alley focused on the main character of Jack the Ripper and was set in the victorian era with many chances for the actors to give the guests a jumpscare.

The next two houses were Zombie High and Lore of the Vampire, which were centered around Zombies and Vampires respectively. These two were the least popular because these themes are overly played out in media.

The final house was brand new this year. It was aptly named Khaos Unleashed. This house was based around everything occult. This house was more about a psychological thrill, but there was still several good jump scares from the actors. The flashing strobe lights, loud music music, and mirror walls rendered you very disoriented so it was easier to lose yourself in the experience. This new house was a smash hit with the guests although the flashing strobe lights were somewhat controversial, as they could be seen as a seizure hazard.

“I really liked the concept of the house, cults are very scary,” said Madison Strobel, junior legal studies major. “ I just ended up being disappointed because the flashing lights made were too confusing and I couldn’t even focus on the scary parts at all.”

The scare zones were smaller, outside walkthroughs. These didn’t take as much time as a house or maze, and there was no line to wait through.

CarnEvil is a carnival themed zone with clowns and circus performers. Hexed was the least scary zone, it included witches on broomsticks. This was the most family friendly attraction of the event. The Boneyard was scary, but the theme was a bit confusing. The characters seemed to be overgrown hairy vikings. The actors gave me a few frights but it wasn’t terrifying like some of the other events.

Halloween Haunt is a great way to get your adrenaline pumping and spend some times with your friends. The tickets are inexpensive at $38 for 6 p.m. to midnight Friday night and $39.99 for 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday night. For that price it makes spending money on gas and food worth it for a night full of spooky fun.

Overall, this event is a fun way for teenagers and adults to get into the Halloween spirit and enjoy a fun weekend with friends and family.