See also: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Here are all the haunted houses we have heard about, so far. The descriptions initially come from the haunt operators (or their websites), but as we go through the attractions, we will try to revise them to reflect what they actually consist of. “The worst of humanity” doesn’t give much information — chainsaw killers? politicians? We will try to keep spoilers to a minimum.
When visiting these haunts, please tell them you saw their listing on DMHauntedHouses.com.
Last Updated: 08/18/2016 11:48 AM
- Name: Ames Haunted Forest
Location: 1470 S 4th St, Ames IA 50010
Directions: 1 block eastof Jack Trice Stadium. (The address I list is an approximate location in Google maps, to help with GPS.)
Dates/Times: 11 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 23-25, and 29-31. 7pm-11pm opening weekend and Thurs, 7pm-11pm on other Fri/Sat, and 7pm-10pm on Sun.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Phantom of the Bijou
Short Desc: Movie-themed haunted walk.
Long Desc: The traditional Ames-area haunted walk returns for its 15th year, with new scenes including two very cool ones right at the end. It covers about six acres, so wear good walking shoes. Even though it is outdoors, it goes through a number of covered scenes. This year, they are taking your photo inside which you can buy at a hearse outside. They reported 2-hour waits during peak nights last year, so go on early weekends, or Sundays for lighter crowds. (2014 DMHH Award winner: WORTH THE WAIT, and KRAMER COULDN’T DO IT.)
Duration: 15-30 minutes
Admission: $15
Buy Tickets Online:
Discounts: $1 off coupon on website. $14 the first two weekends.
Category: Haunted Walk
Website: www.ameshauntedforest.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ames-Haunted-Forest-168825177811
Twitter: @Haunted_Forest
Google: www.facebook.com/pages/Ames-Haunted-Forest/168825177811 - Name: Black Ops: Zombie Paintball
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Zombie shoot.
Short Desc: Bus ride with mounted paintball guns.
Long Desc: New for 2015: Ride in a customized bus with mounted paintball guns. Shoot at stationary and moving targets as well as “live” zombies along the route. The buses feature a custom-designed lighting and sound system. Each rider starts with 50 paintballs, but extras may be purchased during the ride. (I strongly suggest buying one extra $5 load before the ride begins — you’ll want it!) There is some impressive custom work done to make this attraction possible. (Seriously. Custom circuit boards, custom-made paintballs, customized paintball guns… they even bought a 3-D printer to create parts that didn’t exist!) (Sleepy Hollow was voted 2014 BEST VALUE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 7 minute ride
Admission: $25 ($23 for 11 and under)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: Only $9 if added to a Park Pass. $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Paintball
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Castle of Blood
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Vampires
Short Desc: Vampire castle.
Long Desc: Start out by walking through the Des Moines Renaissance Faire’s torture chamber, then go where the faire-folke never get to go: in to the actual haunted castle, infested by vampires. As of the second weekend in 2015, the former theme park style show is gone, now replaced by different colored strobe lights and rock music throughout the castle. The narrated 2-minute pre-show tour was discontinued in 2014. (Sleepy Hollow was voted 2014 BEST VALUE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 5
Admission: Available only as part of a $26 Park Pass (all five haunts), or $22 Pick 3 Pass. (11 and under: $24 and $20.)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Haunted House
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Chaos
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Short Desc: Heavy metal gore.
Long Desc: In past years, Chaos has featured heavy metal and bloody scenes. In 2014, the attraction switched to an different lighting system featuring huge strobe lights. This year, they have a new “dark hallway” seen that is quite a contrast to the rest of the attraction. (Voted 2014 runner up for SCARIEST, FUNNEST, OVERALL BEST, and ONLY ONE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 5
Admission: Available only as part of a $26 Park Pass (all five haunts), or $22 Pick 3 Pass. (11 and under: $24 and $20.)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Haunted House
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Freak Show
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Circus
Short Desc: Creepy circus after-hours.
Long Desc: New for 2015: A new haunted walk themed to a spooky circus, after-hours. It features some very unique effects, and even “smells”. You will encounter the bearded lady, clowns, circus animals, and sideshow performers as you wind in an out of storage buildings, dressing rooms, consession stands and sleeping areas. It’s hard to describe. It occupies the space previously used for Duty Calls: Zombie Apcolypse and, before that, the orignial Twisted Tales haunted walk. (Sleepy Hollow was voted 2014 BEST VALUE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 5
Admission: Available only as part of a $26 Park Pass (all five haunts), or $22 Pick 3 Pass. (11 and under: $24 and $20.)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Haunted Walk
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Grinnell Fright Hike
Location: Arbor Lake, Grinnell IA 50112
Dates/Times: Oct 30, 8pm-11pm.
Calendar: Fri-30
Theme: One-mile haunted walk
Long Desc: A one-mile walk around Arbor Lake in Grinnell with spooky scenes and scares along the way. I just ran across an article about this from 2014, so it’s at least been going on two years.
Admission: $10
Buy Tickets Online:
Category: Haunted Walk
Website: getintogrinnell.com/events.cfm?eventID=3136&mode=event
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrinnellChamber
Twitter: @GetIntoGrinnell - Name: Haunted Barn (Ankeny)
Location: 3215 SE Corporate Woods Dr, Ankeny IA 50021
Directions: From I-35, exit at SE Corporate Woods Dr and go East. After you cross NE 29th St, look for the Haunted Barn on the right. (GPS may still call this road SE 72nd St).
Dates/Times: 19 NIGHTS: Friday Nights 7pm-Midnight: Oct 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30. Saturday Nights 7pm-Midnight: Oct 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Sunday Nights 7pm-10pm: Oct 4, 11, 18, 25 and Nov 1. Nightly 7pm-10pm: Oct 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29.
Calendar: Fri-2, Sat-3, Sun-4, Fri-9, Sat-10, Sun-11, Fri-16, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Mon-26, Tue-27, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31, Sun-Nov-1
Short Desc: Various scenes, indoor and out.
Long Desc: The Haunted Barn returns with a new expansion for 2015. The radio ads call it “two haunts in one”, probably because they bought the Slaughterhouse and are incorporating it in to the Barn this year. It features an indoor section with several scenes, a crawl, and then an outdoor/indoor section with more scenes … then, just when you are used to it being over, you end up in a second haunted house (more of a dark, fog maze with some surprises and one show scene). They have done even more updates since opening weekend (with lighting, sound, actors). (2014 DMHH Award winner: MOST LIKED, and BEST USE OF INFLATABLE DUMMIES.)
Duration: 15-20 (it is possible to rush through faster, or to get “stuck” and take longer)
Admission: $20 ($30 for VIP pass that lets you skip the line.)
Buy Tickets Online: desmoines.sweetdealscumulus.com/detail/265Z0BDFEF2BDF4
Discounts: $2 off coupons available at Springwood 9 movie theater. Half-price tickets via Cumulus radio station offer (see online ticket sale link).
Category: Haunted House
Website: www.ankenyhauntedbarn.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HauntedBarnAnkeny - Name: Haunted Barn (Perry)
Location: Caboose Park, Perry IA 50220
Directions: Located on the west side of Caboose Park at First and Willis.
Dates/Times: Oct 23-24 and 30-31, 2015. 7pm until crowds are done.
Calendar: Fri-23, Sat-24, Fri-30, Sat-31
Long Desc: Perry Fire Department annual haunt. In past years, it has been a haunted forest. Check the website link for a newspaper article with more details.
Duration: 10
Admission: $5
Buy Tickets Online:
Category: Haunted House
Website: http://theperrynews.com/the-haunted-barn-a-frighteningly-fearful-and-fun-experience/ - Name: Haunted Garage (Home Haunt)
Location: 612 NE 13 St, Grimes IA 50111
Dates/Times: 2 DAYS: Oct 30-31, 7pm-11pm.
Calendar: Fri-30, Sat-31
Long Desc: Please note that this is a home haunt/Halloween display in a residential neighborhood. They handle about 150 visitors each night, so plan accordingly. This is the fifth year for this home haunt. It is totally free but they accept canned good donations for the food pantry.
Admission: Free, but donations accepted for food pantry.
Buy Tickets Online:
Category: Haunted House, Home Haunt - Name: Heiser’s Halloween Display (Yard Display)
Location: 8068 Dema Dr, Des Moines IA 50320
Dates/Times: TBD
Theme: Nightmare Before Christmas
Long Desc: Per DM Juice, this home has been decked out for Halloween the past four years. This year they are presenting a Nightmare Before Christmas routine. I’ll be looking up more details.
Buy Tickets Online:
Category: Yard Display - Name: Linn’s Supermarket Haunted House
Location: 3805 6th Ave, Des Moines IA 50313
Directions: Located at Linn’s Supermarket.
Dates/Times: 16 NIGHTS: Oct 2-3, 9-10, 16-18, and 23-31. 7pm-Midnight on Fri/Sat, 7pm-10pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-2, Sat-3, Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Mon-26, Tue-27, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Short Desc: Traditional haunted house.
Long Desc: SPREAD THE WORD! This COULD BE the FINAL year for Linn’s. Go out and show your support, or visit “one last time” in case this is the end! This is the oldest haunted house in Des Moines, with 2015 being their 31st year. It is located in the basement of one of the only surviving independent supermarkets in Des Moines. Crawl and wander through complete darkness, encounter clowns with chainsaws, and stumble in to numerous ghouls that you won’t see until they want to be seen. (Voted SCARIEST, FUNNEST, OVERALL BEST, ONLY ONE, and BEST VALUE RUNNER UP by DMHH 2014 readers.)
Duration: 10-20 (depending on how fast you crawl and move in the dark and if you get “trapped”)
Admission: $14
Buy Tickets Online:
Discounts: $4 off coupons “all over town”, including Bandit Burrito, Jay’s CD and Hobby, Casey’s General Store, Halloween Express, Candy Clubhouse, Garvis Honda, and REDO. (In past years, the $4 off has been for the initial weekends, with lesser discounts during peak weekends. Go early to avoid crowds and save the most.)
Category: Haunted House
Website: www.linnshauntedhouse.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/linnshauntedhouse
Twitter: @HauntedLinns - Name: Nightmare Estates
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Hillbilly trailer park
Short Desc: Hillbilly trailer park.
Long Desc: A double-wide trailer full of hillbillies and creepy scenes. It’s disturbing and disgusting, so try not to look too closely at all the set decorations. The background music is twisted banjo tunes. (Sleepy Hollow was voted 2014 BEST VALUE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 5
Admission: Available only as part of a $26 Park Pass (all five haunts), or $22 Pick 3 Pass. (11 and under: $24 and $20.)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Haunted House
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Twisted Tales: The Next Chapter
Location: 4051 Dean Ave, Des Moines IA 50317
Directions: East of the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Dean Ave.
Dates/Times: 13 NIGHTS: Oct 9-10, 16-18, 22-25, and 28-31. 7pm-11:30pm on Fri/Sat, 7pm-9:30pm all other nights.
Calendar: Fri-9, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Sun-18, Thu-22, Fri-23, Sat-24, Sun-25, Wed-28, Thu-29, Fri-30, Sat-31
Theme: Fairy tales
Short Desc: Fairy tales gone bad.
Long Desc: A long haunted walk that goes in and out of trailers and through the woods. There is an updated pre-show this year (the magic mirror from Snow White is now up front). All the scenes are based on fairy tales gone wrong (Pinnochio killed Gepetto and made his corpse a puppet, for example). It has an elaborate background soundtrack that is syncronized throughout the entire attraction. This year they have members of a theater group (or something like that?) acting in the show scenes. (Sleepy Hollow was voted 2014 BEST VALUE by DMHH readers.)
Duration: 10
Admission: Available only as part of a $26 Park Pass (all five haunts), or $22 Pick 3 Pass. (11 and under: $24 and $20.)
Buy Tickets Online: www.sleepyhollowtickets.com
Discounts: $5 off “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” coupons at Nobbies. Buy tickets online at www.sleepyhollowtickets.com and use code “DMHH” to save $8 from gate price for “Park Pass & Zombie Paintball” ticket on any Wed, Thu or Sun night. Discount code is only valid until 7pm on the day or purchase. If ticket booth lines are long, tickets may still be bought online to skip the ticket line, but the discount code won’t work after 7pm.
Category: Haunted Walk
Website: sleepyhollowscreampark.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleepyhollowhauntedscreampark
Twitter: @shspdmscream - Name: Waukee Haunted House
Location: 1255 Warrior Lane, Waukee IA 50263
Directions: Located in the Centennial Park enclosed shelter.
Dates/Times: 2 NIGHTS: Oct 23-24, 7pm to 10pm.
Calendar: Fri-23, Sat-24
Long Desc: A one-weekend only haunt. No details are known, but they do not suggest it for young children. A newspaper article last year said it was designed for middle and high-school students.
Admission: $5
Buy Tickets Online:
Discounts: $1 off if you bring three nonperishable goods for the Waukee Area Food Bank.
Category: Haunted House
Website: www.waukee.org/475/Halloween-Haunted-House - Name: Zombie Hollow (Home Haunt)
Location: 3109 Pine Circle, Urbandale IA 50322
Directions: Located between Douglas and Hickman, just east of 86th Street in Urbandale, Iowa. (At a home in a residential area.)
Dates/Times: WEATHER PERMITTING! Check their Facebook page. 3 NIGHTS: Oct 24 and 30-31, 2015. 7:30pm-10pm. (First year to feature two weekends to see the display.)
Calendar: Sat-24, Fri-30, Sat-31
Short Desc: Elaborate walk-thru home display.
Long Desc: Haunted Mansion + Pirates of the Caribbean + Zombies = Zombie Hollow. A must-see! In past years, this has been the most amazing home display in the area. It features animated characters, surround sound, lighting and fog effects and the most immersive environment outside of a Disney/Universal Studios theme park. Last year it featured ghosts from Scooby Doo, and other years have featured Harry Potter and even Duck Dynasty zombies!
Duration: Explore at your own pace.
Admission: Free, but donations are accepted to support American Veterans.
Buy Tickets Online:
Category: Yard Display
Website: www.thezombiehollow.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Zombie-Hollow-258264987517799/
Twitter: @ZombieHollow - Name: Albia Haunted House 2015
Location: 701 Washington Ave E, Albia IA 52531
Directions: Park at Albia High School and catch the bus to the haunted house.
Dates/Times: Oct 3, 10, 16-17, 23-24, and 30-31. 7pm-11pm. Kids night Oct 31, 5:30pm-6:30pm.
Calendar: Sat-3, Sat-10, Fri-16, Sat-17, Fri-23, Sat-24, Fri-30, Sat-31
Long Desc: A bit outside of Des Moines (65 miles away), but I am listing them at their request. It is ran by Albia Community School Junior parents as a fund raiser for an after-prom party. They have been doing this for the past 8 or so years in different locations. This is the 2nd year at the current spot, and they get around 3000 people through each season.There are 9 different rooms/scenes and a hay bale maze.
Admission: $5
Buy Tickets Online:
Discounts: It’s a fundraiser. Pay more if you can 🙂
Category: Haunted House
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Albia-Haunted-House-2015/1673697502864947 - Name: Batavia Haunted House
Location: Third St and Market St, Batavia IA
Directions: Located at the Old Elevator in Downtown Batavia at the end of Main St. (Third St.) just before the railroad tracks.
Dates/Times: Oct 16-17, 23-24, and 30-31. 7pm-11pm
Calendar: Fri-16, Sat-17, Fri-23, Sat-24, Fri-30, Sat-31
Admission: $7
Discounts: $2 off when you bring a can good or non perishable item for Lord’s Cupboard in Fairfield.
Category: Haunted House
Other Indexes
We believe in cross promotion, so here are other family-friendly Halloween indexes we have found. DMHH is not responsible for the accuracy of information on these sites, but we will at least try to point out major omissions if we notice them. (Visitors beware: the national sites often list defunct attractions or have incorrect information. Always verify a haunt actually exists before driving out.)
List updated on 10/1/2015:
Local (?) Sites:
- spookydesmoines.com – updated for 2015, but some entries had incorrect dates.
- Des Moines Parent – a good listing (using information provided by DMHH).
- Catch Des Moines – a listing of just the Des Moines haunts (information provided by DMHH).
- Eat, Play, Love Des Moines – a blog post that goes in to more detail on the various haunts (guest blog by DMHH).
National Sites:
- www.findahaunt.com – a great national site ran by Haunted House legend Leonard Pickel.
- www.funtober.com – national site with a page for Iowa and one for the Des Moines area. Unfortunately, it only lists one active haunted house (Haunted Barn) and another that hasn’t operated for two years (Slaughterhouse).
- www.hauntworld.com – they do not have a Des Moines category, but do have Madrid (Tormented Souls from last year).
- www.iowahauntedhouses.com – national site with domain names registered for different states so they look regional. So far, they only one they have updated this year is Sleepy Hollow (but it’s last year’s descriptions with the old attractions).
See also: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.