Pumpkins are ripening on the vines, the leaves are changing and the temperature is dropping rapidly. It is finally October. A favorite time of year by many, Halloween allows fully grown adults to play dress up and decorate their yards with fake murder scenes, and cemeteries. It’s the only day of the year youngsters are allowed to talk to strangers and take their candy. We college-aged students may be “too old” for trick-or-treating, but our desire to get spooked is still strong. Surviving midterms deserves reward, so treat yourself to a fright filled night out on a Topeka Ghost Tour or Haunted House in Kansas City. Topeka Ghost Tours

Three in-town spooky, haunted tours are offered in Topeka which save gas, time and still induces fear inspired goose bumps instead of just winter chill bumps. Ghost Tours of Kansas offers tours of West, Downtown, and North Topeka. The West Topeka program tells the stories of haunted hospitals and a spirited country club that are visited. Downtown Topeka explores the capitol building, the haunted Topeka High School, and the small Curtis family cemetery. The eerie exhibits of North Topeka feature the Overland train station, a collapsed bridge, and a bar fit for Hollywood and the Albino lady that haunts it. All ghost tours are for ages 12 and older, and costs $19.50 per person. For Tickets or more information, check out ghosttourkansas.com. Kansas City Haunted Houses Kansas City is striking fear into the hearts of its visitors, and it is not being induced by the crime rates. Located in the West Bottoms district of KC, four major haunted houses occupy old buildings amidst the decrepit stockyards and warehouses. The Edge of Hell is nicknamed “Kansas City’s Granddaddy of All Haunted Houses” because it was the first major spooky attraction in the area. The “Edge of Hell” is five stories tall with a slide that descends the entire length of the building. Special effects, animatronics and made up theatrical characters do their best to make you jump and scream. Bats, raging dogs, and Dracula among others try to spike your heart rate. One character, Ratman, appears to bit the heads off of live rodents. Ophidiopobes, those that have a fear of snakes, beware. A live 24-foot-long, 300 pound reticulated python occupies the haunted house, along with an anaconda, and boa constrictors. “The Beast” is equipped with lurking monsters, cemeteries, and an eight foot alligator. “The Beast” features Werewolf Forest which is foggy and difficult to find the exit. Do not bother with asking the Werewolf for help, he will breathe down your neck, sending chills down your spine when you least expect it. The “Macabre Cinema” and “The Chambers of Edgar Allen Poe” have also sprung up in the West Bottoms area. The “Macabre Cinema” is a “haunted” 1930’s movie theater in which thirty dramatic horror scenes from classic and contemporary movies are played out as you walk through and experience them. There are four floors and a dungeon for those brave enough. The “Chambers of Edgar Allen Poe” is based on his writings, tales and poems. This scary attraction is not for Lit majors only, these scenes prey on primal fears of all mortals such as being buried alive, suffocating and claustrophobia. Each of these KC haunted houses individually are $20 a person, and $33 for a combo of The Edge of Hell and The Beast or The Macabre Cinema and The Chambers of Edgar Allen Poe. More information for all attractions can be found at theedgeofhell.com