Haunting: 10 places to get spooked along the Front Range
There is just something about a crisp autumn night, standing in line with your closest friends after a pumpkin beer, waiting for a guy with a chainsaw to jump out at you. What, what?
A strange sensation comes over us in October. We want to be scared. We want to have complete strangers in costumes jump out at us and invoke terror. We allow our hearts to beat out of our chests as anticipation builds through dark, strange lands.
Many of the Denver area’s most
popular Halloween attractions have already opened their doors, so the time to plan your weekend scares is now. Here is a roundup of some haunted houses around the Front Range. (Scheduled days and times of events are as of Sept. 28):
ELITCH GARDENS FRIGHT FEST
Elitch Gardens offers two experiences: a family-friendly daytime spooktacular and a Fright by Night, which means all bets are off when the sun goes down. Daytime activities include a trick-or-treat trail, a costume contest, crafts, a screaming contest and interactive Halloween-themed activities for the little ones. Then, around 6 p.m., Fright Alive opening ceremonies begin and the haunted attractions open. No Vacancy, Big Top Freaks and Séance find guests weaving through dark pathways as they explore a night mareish inn, a carnival graveyard overrun by flesh-hungry clowns, and stories of the undead. Some Fright By Night haunted attractions are an extra charge. Fright Fest hours: Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays from through Oct. 29. Hours: Fridays 6 to 10 p.m., Saturdays noon to 10 p.m., Sundays noon to 9 p.m. Combo ticket (admission and Fright Fest): $54.99 online. Elitch Gardens, 2000 Elitch Circle, Denver. elitchgardens.com/fright-fest; 303-595-4386
13TH FLOOR
The number 13 may be unlucky in theory, but not for this Halloween attraction, which is one of the most popular in Denver. So popular, in fact, that this year it has moved on up to a bigger location with an extra 10,000 square feet for even more scares, parking and line-waiting. And, (un) lucky you, the 2017 attraction hosts its own Friday the 13th this October, with a special event for $33.99. The 13th Floor is a multistory adventure through your nightmares with Darkest Dreams, Undead and Slaughter. Each attraction will resurface fears of demented creatures, spirits and the ever-popular crazed murderers. If you’re looking for sheer terror, Blackout makes you enter the 13th Floor with a single glow stick for your entire group while you try to find your way out as the monsters roam freely on Nov. 10 and 11. Ticket options include skipping the line at an additional cost. Hours: Sept 29 and 30 Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31. Nov. 3 and 4: 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Oct. 3,4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19: 7:30 to 10:30; Oct. 6, 7, 13, 20, 27: 7 p.m. to midnight; Oct. 14, 21, 28: 6:30 p.m. to midnight; Blackout event: Nov. 10 and 11, 7 p.m. to midnight. Closed Oct. 2, Nov. 1 and 2. Tickets: $19.99 to $67.99. 13th Floor, 3400 E. 52nd Ave., Denver, 303-355-FEAR (3327); 13thfloorhauntedhouse.com
THE ASYLUM
The Asylum is also put on by the Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group and this year is a secret resting ground for lost souls. The 2017 attractions are Contagium, Primitive Fear: Walkers and Ridgegate, The Condemned. As you enter the Asylum, you and your group quickly need to work together to escape the first attraction inside an autopsy room, only to find yourself along streets with bloodthirsty zombies. Your tour ends in a hospital for the deranged. Ticket options include skipping the line at an additional cost. Hours: Sept. 29 and 30, Oct. 1,8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19: 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m. to midnight; Oct. 12 : 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, 28: 7 p.m. to midnight; Oct. 15, 22, 24, 25, 26: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Closed Oct. 2-5. Tickets: $19.99-$53.99. 6100 E. 39th Ave., Denver, 303-355-FEAR; asylumdenver.com
HAUNTED FIELD OF SCREAMS
One field, three chances to be scared. The Haunted Field of Screams is the main attraction on the grounds, but the terror doesn’t stop there. Lit only by the moon, visitors navigate a trail surrounded by 16-foot-tall cornstalks as characters from all walks of nightmares — from zombies and clowns to chainsaw-wielders — wait around every corner. Additional attractions include the Dead Man’s Night Maze — because it’s not hard enough to navigate a corn maze during the day so they needed to add darkness and monsters. Zombie Paintball Massacre prepares you for an attack of the undead. The Movie on the Field series offers free outdoor movies, with a mix of horror movies and family friendly films Sept. 30 and Oct. 8, 13 and 22. Concessions of hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, candy, beer and spirits will also be available for purchase. Attractions open at sundown Friday through Sunday until Oct. 29 and they are also open on Halloween night. Tickets sold Thursday and Sunday until 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until midnight. Tickets start at $24 for a general admission single haunt pass and go up to $125 to access all three with no wait. 10451 Mckay Road, Thornton, 720-408-0006; hauntedfieldofscreams.com
TERROR IN THE CORN
What is waiting for you in the corn? You’ll just have to enter to find out. Anderson Farms in Erie offers a terrifying experience as you retrace the steps of the veiled, masochistic Wells twins who terrorized Eerie in the 1800s and then disappeared. Another option is the Zombie Paintball Hunt, with special zombie-hunting wagons equipped with a paintball gun for each passenger. Teams are taken into a zombie-overrun cornfield. Open Friday through Sunday until Oct. 29 and Thursdays starting Oct. 12 with the first ticket for 7 p.m. Tickets start at $22 for one experience and $45 for both. 6728 County Road 3 1/4, Erie, 303-828-5210; terrorinthecorn.com
EXTINCTION HAUNTED HOUSE
If you have some frustrations to let out, this could be the haunted house experience for you. Inside live-action house of horrors, you will lose the lasers and shoot actual BBS at the monsters and miscreants you’ll encounter. It’s up to your group of four or six to make it out of this post-apocalyptic setting alive. Open Friday through Sunday until Oct. 29 from 8 p.m. to midnight, also open Halloween night. Tickets are $25 to $35. 4100 Grape St., Denver, 303-377-2329; extinctionhauntedhouse.com
CITY OF THE DEAD
City of the Dead features three attractions in one location: Curse of Darkness, The Carnival of Carnage and, of course, City of the Dead. Wear your walking shoes, because this haunted house comes in at just over 30,000 square feet of scary sights, sounds and smells. Not only has every attraction here been entirely rebuilt for 2017, the City of the Dead is now sponsored by Budweiser. Nothing like a cold one as a light at the end of the tunnel. Open Friday and Saturday 7 p.m. to midnight; Sunday and Thursday and Oct. 24-26 and 30, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Oct. 31, Nov. 3, 4, 10, 11, 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Admission: $20-$55. 7007 E. 88th Ave., Henderson; cityofthedeadhaunt.com
HELL SCREAM
This multistory, multi-attraction haunted house is created by film, television and special effects professionals, and is known for its detailed sets that feature not only haunted houses, but live-action escape games and murder mysteries, too. Haunted House tickets can be purchased online or at the door, escape room, murder mystery and laser tag tickets must be purchased online to reserve your seat. Oct. 29, 6, 8, 15, 19, 22, 25, 26, 29, 30 and 31, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Sept. 30, Oct. 7 and each following Friday and Saturday 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Nov. 3 and 4, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. for a Blackout event. $20-$50.67. 3021 N. Hancock Ave., Colorado Springs, 719-650-4483; hellscreamhaunt.com
THE FRIGHTMARE COMPOUND
The Frightmare Compound boasts itself to be the first Denver haunted house, founded in 1983 by Brad Holder. As the tale goes, Holder constructed the attraction for over 16 years before he fell fatally ill. It’s even said he is buried somewhere in the haunted house. The Hollywood quality haunted house is built to be as horrifying as ever, and is not for the weak-hearted. Open every Sun.-thurs. in October (closed Oct. 2), 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. $25.99, Fri. and Sat. through Nov. 4, 7 p.m. to midnight, $27.99, On Nov. 11 and 12, its final two nights, the lights will be turned out in the haunted house for groups, 7 p.m. to midnight, $25.99 (general admission prices, option to upgrade for no wait available). 10798 Yukon St, Westminster, 303-467-2273, thefrightmarecompound.com
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Victorian Horrors at the Molly Brown House Museum: What better setting to hear chilling tales than the Victorian mansion of a Titanic survivor? The ghosts of Edgar Allan Poe, The Brothers Grimm and more will come to life (well, the actors are alive) to share spooky stories through the halls of the Molly Brown House for an hour-long performance advised for ages 12 and up. Open Oct. 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, and 28 with tours every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are $16 for kids, $19 for adults. 1340 Pennsylvania St., Denver, tickets and information at 303-832-4092, ext. 16; mollybrown.org/victorian-horrors/Great Room Escape: You can choose to be invaded by zombies while you try to solve puzzles or escape a (fake) serial killer while you try to solve puzzles. Cost is $39.95. 4120 Brighton Blvd., Unit C-1A, Denver, 303-586-2689. greatroomescape.com/denver