Honoring the legacy of Merlyn Linn (December 1, 1937 – September 17, 2026)
Per their Facebook post today:
“THE HAUNTED WOODS WILL BE CLOSED DUE TO THE RAIN OCTOBER 15TH. WE WILL BE BACK OPEN ON FRIDAY THE 16TH @ 7PM. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.”
https://www.facebook.com/hauntedwoodsdsm
I have made a note on the calendar, but the directory may still have the original dates.
Linn’s Haunted House opened last Friday night, as originally planned before the unfortunate passing of its founder, Merlyn Linn. The family vowed to operate the haunted house this year as Merlyn would have wanted.
This year, they are doing a new series of T-shirts. Here are what the old ones looked like, back in 2013:
The new shirts can be ordered at the following link — though in 2026, they cost a bit more, as expected:
But hurry! According to their website, the cutoff to place an order is October 6th.
And speaking of Linn’s shirts, I wore my 2013 edition out to breakfast at Drake Diner today.
Through this experience, we really started to understand how many people know Merlyn Linn. The worker who sat us at the table noticed the shirt, and talked about Merlyn a bit — saying he would often come in and order TO GO.
Another server saw the shirt, and asked if we’d heard the news about Merlyn’s passing.
I expect to hear from many more folks this season as I wear this shirt while out and about.
Anyway, order a new shirt. Go to Linn’s Haunted House. Have a great October.
One weekend down, three more to go…
Welcome back, again, Bouton Haunted House.
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565172877405
…and Oasis Car Wash is back with their Tunnel of Terror but this time it will be at their Altoona location:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581477073579
If your car wants in on the haunted house action, check out Tommy’s Express in West Des Moines this year. They will be having their “haunted” car wash again:
They have posted this teaser video to YouTube… Is your car brave enough?
The man behind Linn’s Supermarket Haunted House, Merlyn Linn, has passed away at age 88. Currently, the family plans to continue his wish to operate Linn’s Haunted House this season. For details on Merlyn’s passing, as well as the haunted house plans for this year, visit their website or Facebook page.
https://www.linnshauntedhouse.com
I chatted with Merlyn so many times over the years and was always amazed he was still going full speed ahead each season. He’d be crawling through the tunnels with a vacuum, or popping up and down the basement stairs with a flashlight, non stop. Just watching him made me exhausted.
I will miss him very much. I still have not come to terms with this news.
Can someone with more better math count the days that Haunted Woods is open, and tell me what you come up with? From their website:
https://www.hauntedwoodsdsm.com
I count twenty nights of screams. We haven’t had haunts running this many nights in awhile, have we?
After rebranding from “Barnum Circus of Freaks” to “Barnum Carnival of Freaks”, it looks like with have the fifth name for a haunted house at that location —
I have not heard any details on this yet, though, but believe it is the same ownership/management because they still are using the old e-mail address from the Circus/Carnival days, and even still call it “Barnum Carnival of Freaks” on their contact us page.
If I hear anything, I’ll update…
New for 2026 is a great way to see two very different haunted attractions. Charters on Vine (a bus charter service) has a special deal where you meet up at Whiskey River in Ankeny and then board one of their trolleys for a night of halloween fun. The trolley heads out at 6:45 p.m. with the folks who made it on time 😉
https://whiskeyriverankeny.com
The trolley will take you to The Slaughterhouse in downtown Des Moines where you will get V.I.P. admission to the haunt.
Next, it rolls over to Monsterama PubCade, a monster themed arcade/bar.
https://www.monsteramapubcade.com
After this, it ends up at Haunted Woods in Carlisle for one of the coolest outdoor haunted walks you have ever experienced.
Eventually, they will return you to your car at Whiskey River in Ankeny (estimated to be around 11:30pm or so).
https://whiskeyriverankeny.com again, for those not paying attention.
The ticket price includes:
I would caution that the haunts may not let you in if you appear drunk, so… pregame responsibly…
Sounds like a fun way to have a night out and see some haunts without spending hours in line 😉
Check it out here:
I just added a small haunt/walkthrough that Holiday House in Infianola is having. See their poster for details:
There are $2 off discount coupons found at Boone area businesses (not sure which ones), and they have a Facebook page for the event:
