Author: Allen

2021 Weekend 1 recap

Last weekend was opening weekend for some of the area haunted houses. These included:

Next weekend, Ames Haunted Forest will join them, then the weekend after that, the Trail of Terror. On the weekend closest to Halloween, the haunted house for your vehicle Tunnel of Terror begins.

Normally I hear all kinds of reports from folks who ventured out, but this year has been mostly silent. After some prompting on the Facebook page, we did get some reports from folks who visited Linn’s (seemed like less actors than normal) and Tormented Souls (no lines). I’d look up some of the other comments, but Facebook is currently offline so I can’t get to that page. Thank goodness websites are still a thing 😉

Haunted Barnless

Haunted Barn’s new expanded outdoor section for 2021.

In the meantime, the Ankeny Haunted Barn continues to be a no-go in spite of a petition (requested by the governor’s office for some reason?) and now a GoFundMe to help raise support for relocating the barn for next year.

Waukeeless

The long-running Waukee Haunted House is also a no go for this season, with the decision to skip this year made back in August.

Covidity

While Covid-19 concerns do seem less this year, it is clear that there is still a significant portion of the population that is being cautious. Some haunts have had struggles finding enough actors, but that should come as no surprise since most places seem to have “Now Hiring” signs on display.

Other forms of entertainment, such as movie theaters, are seeing crowds return, but still not to the level they were before the shutdowns last year. This can no longer be blamed on the lack of content to watch since multiple Marvel movies and other “blockbusters” have come out.

Let’s hope for enough safe support for the haunts this year that we won’t lose any of them.

Your thoughts?

Be sure to leave a review for any haunt you visit this season. This is a new feature of DMHauntedHouses, and one that has only been tried a few times so I’m not 100% it fully works.

Give it a shot.

Then check back for more updates as the season progresses…

2021 Season…

Some quick updates on the 2021 season.

As expected, things are moving very slowly this year due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns. Haunts I have heard from so far include:

  • Ames Haunted Forest – will be operating.
  • Ankeny Haunted Barn – will NOT be operating, as of an announcement they made on 9/28/2021. The City of Ankeny denied their special event permit this year.
  • Linn’s Supermarket Haunted House – will be operating.
  • ScareDSM – a new haunted house, to be added to the site soon.
  • Slaughterhouse – will be operating.
  • Tormented Souls Haunt and Scream Park – will be operating.
  • Trail of Terror – will be operating.

Other haunts are either not operating, or have not contacted DMHH to help sponsor this site and be listed here.

Site updates coming by opening haunt season the first weekend of October…

2021 Haunt Season Preview

So far, we have heard from…

  • Ankeny Haunted Barn
  • Linn’s Supermarket Haunted House
  • Slaughterhouse
  • Tormented Souls Haunt
  • Trail of Terror (Baxter)

In this list are two haunts that did not operate last season. We are off to a good start.

Initial site updates began today, but full information won’t be added until later.

Last two nights for Tormented Souls (10/29 and 10/30/2020)

There are only a few more days to get chased by clowns with chainsaws before the haunts close for the season:

Tormented Souls Haunt and Screampark will be open this Thursday (10/29/2020) and Friday (10/30/2020) night from 7pm to 11:45pm.

Remember: You do not drive to this haunt. You will abandon your vehicle and they will pick you up in their Terror Bus and drive you to the haunt location deep in the woods, far away where no one can hear you scream. . .

From their website:

Pick up the Tormented Souls Terror Bus, (if you dare) at Edgewood Park in Madrid, IA; it’s the only way to reach what lies in wait – out in the middle of no where! So hitch a ride on this scream maker with your eyes wide open in the pitch dark.

https://www.tormentedsoulshaunt.com/

Have fun!

Spooktacular fun

Although the cold temperatures kept attendance low (a hundred or so), tonight’s Saylorville Event Center Halloween Spooktacular was quite fun. There was a food truck with hot food, and a window service hot cocoa and apple cider. There were some kid’s activities, a story teller, a (for pay) fortune teller, and a cool haunted forest walk through. Let’s hope for less wind on Saturday and higher attendance.

Snow advisory

Happy Iowa October, everyone. After a light dusting of snow on Sunday morning, we are now under several inches of snow. Modern cell phones have even popped up snowfall alerts (I think that’s the first time I’ve seen that, especially using the word “squall”).

While the snow should be long gone by the time haunts open up this Thursday night (Tormented Souls adds Thursday to its operation schedule this week), the chilly temperatures are going to be with us. Though current predictions show near-80s on Thursday, the overnight low will be near-freezing. It looks like we’ll stay that way for the next week at least.

Wrap up.