And so it begins…
Carlisle Haunted Woods half off discount.
First, there is a discount for opening weekend visitors:
And here is their calendar for this year:
And lastly, they chose some quotes from online reviews that might intrigue you in to visiting. Based on our visit last year, these quotes seem legit to me 😉
See you there!
Cityview haunt article
As I get news alerts on articles covering local haunts, I add them to the haunt page. Here is one about Linn’s Haunted House (click there to see other articles). It also mentions Slaughterhouse.
Bing A.I. list of Haunted Houses
For fun, I asked Bing.com’s Copilot AI about haunted houses in Des Moines. Here is the list:
Sleepy Hollow may not be pleased to see this say that Adventureland is “Iowa’s largest Halloween event” since they have been saying they are “Iowa’s largest and most elaborate Halloween theme park” for many years.
But it is a nice listing, even including the new Haunted Woods (re-opened in 2023) and the new Future Nightmares show (also opened in 2023).
It gave me five links it used for reference, so this may just be scraping a Des Moines Register article that actually listed all the haunts. There have been many times over the past decade where the media listings would be incomplete. If the A.I. truly can figure this out, I can retire this website and get alot of my time back 😉
Tunnel of Terror haunted car wash returns to new location.
Tommy’s Carwash just let me know they are doing their Tunnel of Terror haunted car wash again this year. Last year, it was at their Grimes location, but this year it will be at their newest location in West Des Moines.
Find details on their website:
CALENDAR UPDATED
All the local haunts should be in the calendar now. There are many that are a short drive from Des Moines I haven’t gotten information from yet, but I’ll try to get them added soon.
Haunts: if you want to be listed here, send me a quick summary of your haunt dates and hours, and that will help me out. Thanks!
Trail of Terror confirmed.
If you want to visit the longest (surely) haunt in the area, take a short drive to Baxter, Iowa and check out this outdoor haunted walk. They take over a nature trail. There are many steps up and down and lots of rough nature terrain, so dress accordingly. It can be quite the workout when you are being chased by chainsaws through the woods.
This year they seem to have a theme — “The Ashton Chainsaw Massacre“.
This event only runs the last two Fri/Sat nights of October, and they leave ample spacing between groups (in the past, 5 minutes) so you really feel “alone” — until you run and catch up with the group in front of you, I suppose.
Index now updated.
Fire damages Linn’s Haunted House.
There was a fire in the basement at Linn’s Supermaket on September 10th, 2024. Merlyn Linn no longer owns the grocery store, but my understanding is they have a contract/agreement with the store’s current owners that allows them to keep running the haunted house in the basement. Now they have cleanup/repair to do in order to meet the opening weekend.
There is a Go Fund Me page for folks who would like to help this haunt continue to operate. This will be its 40th year (established in 1984).
Here is the Des Moines Register article discussing it:
Adventureland Halloween $29.99 offer.
Adventureland is running a $29.99 discount for their Phantom Fall Fest. If you plan to go, buy tickets now and save some money.
Note that there is a $4 processing fee, plus taxes, and you will need to pay $21 for parking, bringing the total to $58.56.
You can save money by carpooling and splitting that parking fee with your friends. Also be sure to read comments and reviews from last year. Like all haunts in the area, some folks praise it as the “best thing ever,” while others say it was a complete waste of time and money.
Linn’s Haunted House back for 2024
Des Moines’ oldest haunted house, Linn’s Supermarket Haunted House, has announced it will be open this year. Since the sale of the supermarket, there has been serious concerns about whether or not the haunt would continue.
Per their Facebook page, this year’s haunt will open on October 4, 2024. I will update this site with more details when I have them.