A Hellish Haunting The haunted houses in Kansas City’s West Bottoms District are now open for their 41st season and are as scary as ever. BY LANEY ULOWETZ PHOTO EDITOR
I feel my stomach drop to the gravel as I slide out of the car. The door slams shut behind me and I look up, surrounded by rundown buildings and darkness. An eerie howling tumbles towards me, carried by the wind. I listen carefully and slowly wander past a corner when suddenly, I sense something. I feel someone, or something, following me. I quicken my pace and hear a pit-pat pit-pat speed up in rhythm behind me. My stomach turns to knots and a panic arises inside of me when I hear a muffled snarl that can only be found in my worst nightmares. The Beast is following me. And I would do anything to get to Hell already. Entering into their 41st season, the haunted houses located in Kansas City’s West Bottoms District are infamous for providing nights filled with exhilarating terror. Open Thursday through Saturday from 7:30 p.m. until Hell freezes over (11:30 p.m.), as well as the Sundays of Nov. 1, 6 and 7, these annual attractions draw in crowds ready for a fright. There is a peculiar man staring me down when I reach the steps of The Edge of Hell. I take a closer look and notice a rat squirming in his clenched mouth. Disgusted, I hurry through the doorway and immediately gravitate towards the only noticeable source of light in the room - the ticket booth. While I nervously stand waiting for my turn, I hear a high, shrill whisper in my ear “LOOK! Look
at these!” I jump and turn around to see a girl’s dark, mysterious face glaring back at me. She holds up what appears to be spiders just below my nose and I scramble to get away. My heart is already beating out of my chest and I have yet to ascend up the long flight of stairs into the gloomy twilight that is The Edge of Hell. Finally, I reach the lady at the ticket booth and breathe a sigh of relief because she in fact looks like a human. The woman informs me that a single ticket for The Edge of Hell is priced (Photo by Aubrey Makar) at $27 or a discount is available with haunt combination tickets. We do our exchange and she cackles as I cautiously turn around to make sure I am not being followed. I glance at the pack of middle schoolers waiting to enter next to me and am oddly comforted by their childish and awkward aura. I laugh at myself for being so easily jolted. If they can do it, so can I. I stand at the foot of the sinister stairs and peer upwards into the unknown. I swallow hard and think this will be fun. This will be fun. This will be FUN with every step. I reach the top and turn towards the darkness. Loud noises of crashing and screams fill my ears. No going back now. I could tell you about the adventure that awaits at the top of those stairs, but you’ll have to go find out for yourself. Enter into the blackness that is The Edge of Hell if you dare. And let the fun begin.
THRILLING //
Fun Fall Finds
Louisburg Cider Mill Louisburg is home to one of the top 10 Cider Mills in America that has everything from farm animals to a corn maze and pumpkin patch. Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday -Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Johnson Farms
This pumpkin farm is filled with pig races, pumpkin cannon launches, a pumpkin chomping dinosaur, delicious fall treats and more. Open noon to 6 p.m. Monday Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday - Sunday.
Dunn’s Cider Mill Well-known in the Belton community for its locally made apple cider and donuts, Dunn’s has a lot to offer including apple butter and mulling spices. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday - Sunday.
(Photos by Laney Ulowetz)
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LE JOURNAL October 2015
