Explore Halloween’s connection to creepy historic buildings with AMERICA HAUNTS Halloween Countdown #4!
Halloween, like most celebrated holidays, is in many ways about tradition, and the history of the spirit of the season. It is as much about memories and past experiences that enhance the present as it is anything else. There is a certain special air about holidays that is enriched by the legacy of years gone by, and in the case of America’s haunted attraction, that air breathes new life into the historical buildings in which they reside.
In the heart of Kansas City’s historic West Bottoms district lies “The Beast”, the country’s largest haunted house. Standing in the shadow of the city’s 12th Street Bridge, you instantly feel the influence of bygone days when this part of the city bustled with activity as one of the country’s most successful cow towns. Daunting in nature, this “open format” haunt dares visitors to wander through the scenes as shocks and scares await around every corner. Culminating in a four-story plunge down a slide to exit, The Beast certainly lives up to its name.
“Lemp Brewery Haunted House” takes visitors several levels underground, into dark caverns and caves beneath the city’s streets and the famous Lemp Brewery – once the largest brewing company in St. Louis. Built in the 1860s adjacent to the Lemp family mansion, this notorious business was believed to be a source of numerous tragic deaths in the Lemp family from the early 1900s until 1949. Many have related stories of unearthly encounters in this REAL haunted house, newly expanded in 2012. Multiple paranormal investigators have made their way to Lemp, to confront the wandering spirits of yesteryear, making it one of the most unsettling haunted attractions in the United States.
http://scarefest.com/haunted_house_in_stlouis_missouri_lempbrewery/home.cfm
Ohio’s “Dent School House” dates back to 1894, when the Dent Public School opened its doors to children of all ages from kindergarten through 12th grade. It had a stellar reputation until 1942, when students began to disappear. Now home to Cincinnati’s top haunted attraction, it is believed to be populated by the spirits of these unfortunate lost souls. Not for the feint of heart, Dent School House is sure to elicit more than a few shudders as guests find themselves face-to-face with the dark legacy of this institution.
“Haunted Hotel”, located in San Diego’s historic Gas lamp District, is the city’s longest running haunted attraction. This has long been known as one of the most haunted cities in the nation, and the Haunted Hotel literally breathes with the essence of the supernatural. Descending into the eerie basement, visitors must make their way back up to street level through a labyrinth of terrifying scenes and creatures of the night, as the spirit of haunted San Diego lingers in the air.
http://www.hauntedhotel.com/pages/main
“Macabre Cinema Haunted House” plunges visitors into the very depths of horror film history in this 1930s movie theater-turned unique haunted attraction. Guests find themselves living among scenes from classic and contemporary horror films in the legendary West Bottoms area of Kansas City, once a thriving stockyard that succumbed to devastating floods in the early ’50s. Blending Hollywood’s rich legacy of dark entertainment and the spirit of the city’s punishment my mother nature, Macabre Cinema Haunted House delivers a haunt experience like no other venue.
