Denver Haunted Houses | 2010 Haunted House Season

There is a lot of excitement centered around the upcoming 2010 Haunted House Season in Denver.  Here at HauntedRatings.com we have been receiving several emails about new haunted houses that are planning to open up their doors this coming season.  We have also gotten updates from several different Haunts that you enjoyed last year.   The 13th Door Haunted House, Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch, The Haunted Mansion, The 25th Hour Haunted House, The Butcher Haunted House and the City of the Dead Haunt are among the many that will be returning for 2010.

New this year to HauntedRatings.com we will be adding a new feature called HOME HAUNTS.  A Home Haunt is one that is usually set up in a garage, back yard, driveway and in some cases, a Home Haunt can utilize the entire home.  They can run for 1 or 2 days up to several weekends.   There usually isn’t a charge to see them, but donations are appreciated.  A person who runs a Home Haunt spends hours and hours putting it together and does it for several different reasons.  Some do it for a specific charity while others do it for a neighborhood activity, but all of them do it because of their love for Halloween.  Several of Denver’s Home Haunters have gone onto run some of the best Pro Haunts in Denver.

So, while the rest of the country is depressed, Haunters in Denver are feverishly building and painting walls, constructing props and figuring out the best way to scare anyone who is brave enough to enter their establishment.

We will begin updating listings for HauntedRatings.com in mid August.  If you have a haunt that you would like to have listed, you can send me the information at hauntmaster@hauntedratings.com or call me at (720)261-0570.  I will have a form online that you can fill out or you can just send me the information and I will take care of it for you.  Remember the listings are FREE! Feel free to contact me with any questions.  I just love to talk Halloween!!

Haunted House Hauntrepreneur on CNN

Local Hauntrepreneur Interviewed For National Story

The big snow storm in Denver put a damper on many of the area’s haunted houses, but KathE Walker remains upbeat about the prospect for scares this weekend. KathE was interviewed about running haunted houses in Denver and had quite a few interesting comments about what it is like scaring people for a living.

The news story includes video and photos of many of the different characters that can be seen at the haunted houses that KathE’s family runs.

As a bit of an update to the story, The 13th Door and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch are now scheduled to be open for business (due to demand) through November 1st from 7pm-10pm. It’s kind of a scare-extension.

You can see the entire article and video at cnn.com

This news is brought to you by the same people that build the best Denver haunted houses.
How about taking a look at a couple of our Denver haunted house videos? 13th Door Haunted House and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch

Haunted Houses & Snow

Haunts That Just Won’t Close

The big storm has really done a number on most of the haunted houses the last couple of days, but there are some that just won’t close. Tonight you can get your scared on at The 13th Door and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch (I-225 & Parker Rd.). They will be open from 7pm until 10pm tonight. The 25th Hour and The Butcher haunted houses will be dark tonight, but reopen for business on Friday and Saturday.

Also, because of the incredible demand and the inclement weather this year, The 13th Door and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch will be staying open one extra night. You’ll be able to get in one last scare on Sunday, November 1st from 7pm until 10pm.

For more details about all the Denver haunted houses, make sure you visit the links below.

This news is brought to you by the same people that build the best Denver haunted houses.
How about taking a look at a couple of our Denver haunted house videos? 13th Door Haunted House and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN

Win a DVD copy of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE PLAN
Available today on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download

So what does this have to do with haunted houses, you ask? Well the story is about modern science creating a race of killer robots that eventually destroy humanity in a multi-planet horror show. Or we could say that it taps the same pleasure center in your brain that a good zombie flick does. In any event, people (us) love a free movie – that’s reason enough.

Set just after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, Battlestar Galactica: The Plan follows multiple versions of the Cylon models One and Six who have infiltrated the remaining humans, both on the planets, and those who have escaped into space. From there, the events of the series are shown from a Cylon perspective, and their underlying plan is revealed.

This highly-anticipated film was directed by Edward James Olmos and stars Olmos, Dean Stockwell, Michael Trucco, Grace Park, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Callum Keith Rennie, Kate Vernon, Rick Worthy, Lymari Nadal, Matthew Bennett, Rekha Sharma, Tricia Helfer, Alisen Down, and Tiffany Lyndall-Knight. It is available today on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download.

If you would like to win a DVD copy of this new chapter in the BG saga, play our quiz/contest.

Website: battlestargalacticadvd.com

This quiz/contest is brought to you by the same people that love Denver haunted houses.
How about taking a look at a couple of our Denver haunted house videos? 13th Door Haunted House and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch

Denver Haunted Houses l 4th Annual Zombie Crawl – October 24

Are you ready for the 4th Anual Zombie Crawl?  As the Denver Haunted Houses gear up for the last two weeks of the 2009 Haunted House season, it seems only appropriate to have a Zombie Crawl part of the festivaties.  Announcing…

The 4th ANNUAL DENVER ZOMBIE CRAWL 5:00pm SATURDAY OCTOBER 24TH, 2009

*** WE WILL BE ATTEMPTING TO BEAT THE WORLD RECORD, OVER 4000 ZOMBIES! ***

This year Zombies will be meeting at Skyline Park at 16th and Arapahoe St. The route will make a big loop down the 16th St Mall and regroup at Skyline for a costume contest and concert!

*NOTE: This is not a pub crawl. There is no drinking during the crawl, only slow moving zombies in search of brains. This is a family friendly event!

Tentative Schedule
3:00pm Zombie Makeup 101
4:00pm Costume Contest (ages 12 and under)
5:30pm Thriller dance!
5:30pm Meet and prep for crawl
6:00pm ZOMBIE CRAWL (down 16th st.)
7:30pm Costume Contest (13+)
8:30pm The Widow’s Bane (live music!)

3pm-6pm DJ set from Marc the Postman

Costume contest prizes include:
-Gift Certificates
-Cash

The Zombie Crawl is completely free! We do however ask that you bring non-perishable food items which Food Bank of the Rockies will be collecting Here are a few types of canned and dry goods that make nice donations: Tuna, ham, beef stew, chili, baked beans, fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, soup and pasta.
Non-glass containers are preferred. Pickled Brains are optional.

If you have always wanted to be part of a Zombie Crawl, than this is your chance.  Dig up those old tattered cloths, brush some dirt in your hair and brains…zombies just love them!  For more information about the Zombie Crawl go to http://eatheartbrains.com.

When you have finished with the Crawl you can drag yourself over to some of the haunted houses that will be opened until midnight on Saturday.  For a complete listing go to HauntedRatings.com.  Happy Haunting!

Denver Haunted Houses l Haunted Attraction Magazine Grand Tour

This Halloween season, Haunted Attraction Magazine will be sponsoring a Grand Tour of Haunted Houses throughout the country.  It will be like their version of the CBS’s popular reality show – The Amazing Race.  Twenty four different states and over 70 Haunted Houses, Hayrides and Haunted Trails across the country are on the schedule. Reviewer and intrepid traveler, John Kennedy, will be flying/driving to haunted houses all across the country to bring you pictures and reviews of some of the countries best and most interesting Haunted Houses. The tour began in late September and will continue until the 2009 Halloween season is over.

On October 12,  the Grand Tour stopped to visit a few of the Denver Haunted Houses.  John was able to get to four different haunted attractions. He stopped first at Primitive Fear and 13th Street Manor in Commerce City and finished the night up at the Legendary 13th Door Haunted House and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch in South Denver. Here is a sample of what John wrote in his blog after seeing the 13th Door and Slaughterhouse Gulch.

“My second stop of the night took me to visit The 13th Door and Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch Haunted Houses. These two haunts are located in a former shopping center in Denver but are very different haunts. I visited 13th Door Haunted House first. The haunt is themed as a hotel with a good story behind the haunt. The Barrington Hotel was owned by wealthy Denver Millionaire, John Barrington. On a cold October night in 1912, John Barrington, was throwing his annual All Hallows Eve party in the Hotel’s Penthouse suite. Unfortunately, a disgruntled nephew with a gambling problem starts a fire killing everyone inside, except for one person who found the 13th door.

Unfortunately, I got there later in the evening and had to go through by myself, but I still enjoyed the haunt. The haunt has good scenes and energetic actors who were doing their best to scare. There is a good variety of scenes and has plenty of dark spaces.

The second haunt I visited was Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch which is similar to 13th Door but edgier and more intense. As you can guess by the name, it is a slaughterhouse themed haunt. This attraction featured solid scenes and enthusiastic actors just like 13th Door.”

When all is said and done, John will have traveled over 15,000 miles! Most of the tour will traveled via the trusty Haunted Attraction Hybrid with a couple airplane trips to get out west.

You can follow Johns adventures as he travels across the country via his Blog at http://www.hauntedattraction.com or you can follow him on Twitter @hauntmagazine.  Happy Haunting, John!

Denver Haunted Houses l When Less Is More

Less is More

MAKING YOUR HALLOWEEN CREATION STAND OUT
– Tips for Halloween Costuming from a veteran Haunted House builder –

As the Denver Haunted Houses race towards Halloween, we asked Stephen Walker what does it take to create the perfect costume to get the best scare. “One of the biggest mistakes, when creating a Halloween character, is trying to do too much. The scariest moods are realized in the minds of those you are trying to impress. People aren’t really scared at our haunted houses by our high-tech lighting and multi-thousand dollar sound systems,” says veteran haunted house builder, Stephen Walker, “it’s usually some teenage actor in a tattered robe and a little makeup that gets our biggest scares.” Stephen Walker, the creator of Denver’s 25th Hour haunted house continues, “It’s about getting inside the imagination of the individual and making it personal that provides the big payoff scares.”

Stephen further described the kinds of materials that should be in a shopping basket when someone wants to hit the local Halloween store. He’s not a big fan of the expensive latex masks that can be seen hanging on the walls of most stores. His advice is for would-be haunters to invest in a simple wig, some well-used clothing and a little makeup. He also adds that in his opinion you should stay away from the expensive costumes and get one’s fingers into a little greasepaint. Steve says the problem with most masks is that they limit one’s range of vision and make it impossible to express facial features. He emphasizes that by simply accentuating the natural lines, wrinkles and imperfections that everyone has, a much more convincing and scary creature can be created. A flesh and blood – living face not only delivers the scares, but is capable of a wide range of emotions and movement that no mask can hope to duplicate. “With just some cotton balls, a little black makeup, fake hair and spirit gum – one can create some really wicked whiskers and harry moles,” Stephen chuckled. He reluctantly added that some cheap blood would help, but stressed that too much blood can ruin things and turn a good makeup job into a really big mess.

If you think you might be interested in being an actor at the 25th Hour Haunted House, you can fill out an application by stopping by the haunt ast C-470 and University Blvd. (next to the Players Bench). Applications are now being accepted weekdays from 10:00 to 6:00 at that location.

About The 25th Hour and Stephen Walker
The 25th Hour haunted house is located in Highlands Ranch Colorado and is produced by Effectech. Effectech has been producing and building haunted houses in Denver for over 17 years. In 2009 the company is building four haunted houses in the Denver Metro Area: The 13th Door, The Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch, The 25th Hour and The Butcher Haunted House. Stephen Walker is the manager of The 25th Hour haunted house.

Denver Haunted Houses l Will The Real #1 Rated Haunted House Please Stand Up!

Trying to decide what haunt to go to drove him MAD!

With the Denver haunted house season fast approaching, it seems especially important to understand where haunted house ratings come from. After all, if you are counting on these ratings to determine which Denver haunted houses you would like to visit, it is probably a good idea to find out what the ratings are all about.

In the newspaper, on the Internet or on the radio, you will see and hear all sorts of claims from different haunted houses about being the scariest, the best, the longest. It seems like every ad in the newspaper is advertising one or more haunted house as the best haunted house in Denver. On the radio, every station will advertise the #1 rated haunted house or the scariest haunted house in Denver and very seldom will they be the same haunted house. So how can they all be rated the ‘best’ or ‘#1″?

It’s easy. Since there are no regulations on ratings, anyone can present their own opinion and advertise that they are the ‘best’, ‘scariest’, ‘rated #1″, haunted house in Denver. That is what it really boils down to…an ‘opinions’ game. Think about it, who, in their right mind, would spend money advertising that their haunted house is the ‘lamest’ or ‘rated #6′?

Everyone has an opinion about what makes a great Haunted House. Just ask your friends. Some of them will tell you that they like lots of special effects, while another will tell you they like a haunted house with a story line, still others will say that they are only scared if the haunted house has a chain saw at the end. Opinions! Everyone has them and for the most part they are happy to share them with you.

So how does this help you find out which haunted house is going to be the best fit for your scare needs? There are two directories on the Internet that give you complete listing details of all the Haunted Houses in Denver. One of them is HauntedRatings.com and the other is Scared.com.

HauntedRatings.com gives you detailed information for all of the Denver Haunted Houses, including dates and times they are open, admission prices, a synopsis of what the haunted house is all about and directions on how to get there. Several Haunted Houses offer discounted tickets and this is the best place to find out that information as well. Scared.com also lists all of the haunted houses in the Denver Metro Area.   Now all you have to do is figure out which haunted house experience would suit your needs best. Armed with this knowledge you can now feel confident that the Haunted Houses you have chosen to visit will offer you the best scare for your buck.

So, get passed all the hype and go to the Denver Haunted House that sounds the most interesting to you. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Denver Haunted Houses l So you think you can Scare?

Ready to Scare!

As October approaches, several of the Denver Haunted Houses put out the notice that they are looking for actors. What does it take to qualify someone as an actor for a Haunted House?

Stephen Donnelly, Manager of the 13th Door Haunted House in Aurora, had this to say about it. “Anyone can jump up and yell “Boo!”. We call that a “Boo Scare”. Short, sweet and in your face. However, the actors that are the real ‘keepers’ are the ones who understand the subtlety of scaring. They are the ones who make the customer feel slightly uncomfortable without having to utter a single word. It’s the way they look at them, the way they are almost stalking them that really leaves the customer with the best scares.”

“Most people think that it is easy to scare someone.” Michael McElhaney, Manager at the Butcher Haunted House at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield added. “Sure, you can jump out at them and give them a “startle scare” but then what? The customers are standing waiting for the actor to do something else. If all the actor has is that ‘startle scare’ then the customers aren’t going to stay scared very long. What I want is an actor who can add onto the first scare and really creep the customer out. This kind of actor adds volumes to the customers haunted house experience and becomes an asset to have at your haunt.”

Dave Allen is one of those rare individuals who loves to work at a haunted house. He spent 5 years working as a clown at CarnEvil. When that haunted house closed, he went onto being a Butcher at the Butcher Haunted House and is currently working as a Zombie at the new 25th Hour Haunted House. David had this to say about being an actor. “I really enjoy sneaking up on people and invading their personal space. I don’t have to say anything, I just have to get up close and personal and then break out in an evil laugh or cackle and they are out of there.”

The average age of a Denver haunted house actor is 20, although there are some actors who are more seasoned.  “The actors who have some real life experience under their belts can give some of the best scares of all.” Karolyn Jobin stated.   When asked why people want to be work in a haunted house Karolyn had this to say, “It is a great way to make some extra money for the holidays. Each actor is paid a certain amount of money for what amounts to 3 hours of work during the week and 5 hours during the weekend. The hours worked can vary depending on which haunted house an actor works at. Costumes and makeup are usually supplied, but actors are encouraged to use their own creative ideas for the characters they are about to portray as well.  Ofcourse, you have those actors that just love being part of the haunted house experience.” 

One of the first questions everyone asks when buying their ticket for a haunted house is “Is it scary?” Maybe what they should really being asking is “Do your actors really know how to scare?”

Denver Haunted Houses l Where the Real Scares Are in Denver.

 

Scare 'ya later!

Real Haunted Houses – every city has them according to the website: RealHaunts.com. Denver is no exception to the rule. Here are just a few of the more notable places that are said to be the home of some very interesting ghosts.

THE MOLLY BROWN House in Denver. The unusual activity in this house has been reported by several employees. Hauntings include dark shadows moving about rooms when there is no light to produce them, and piano keys moving on their own, but making no sound. In this building, many people report the pungent smell of fresh cigar smoke; Mr. Brown was known to be an avid smoker of cigars.

The home has been restored back to the way Molly Brown had it when she lived in Denver. The atmosphere in the home is rich with the past. The thought that she or her husband might still be taking care of the home make you believe that they are only there to welcome you as guests rather than trying to scare you away.

STATE CAPITOL BUILDING. The Colorado State Capitol Building is connected to several others by a series of tunnels. Originally, these tunnels were used to move coal from place to place for heating purposes. One female apparition who wears long turn of the century style dresses is known to haunt the area. She has been seen in all of the buildings and the tunnels themselves. Very inquisitive, the woman is said to have been seen reading over the shoulders of employees.

Politics are scary enough, ’nuff said.

BROWN PALACE Hotel in Denver. Also connected to the series of cold tunnels, this building is plagued by the incessant sound of someone coughing. It is also frequented by the same ghost that haunts the capital.

Maybe she is hoping the news is better at the Hotel. The food certainly is.

Bradmar Tudor Manor can be found, in a large and exclusive, well-to-do, sparsely populated area in the countryside, outside the city in Denver, Colorado. The Manor is located at the end of a long road, that is lined with giant cottonwood trees. It is privately owned, so respect the owner’s privacy.

BUCKHORN EXCHANGE Restaurant. Presently a restaurant, when the fur trade began, This building was one of the first trading posts in the area. It is said that the building is haunted by many of the traders. There have been reports of tables moving suddenly. Also, many have reported hearing voices and footsteps when no one is talking or there.

The problem with a Real Haunted House is that the ghost has to be in the mood to scare you. You could be waiting a long time before you actually see something. To get immediate scares try visiting one of the many Denver Haunted Houses in the area. Some of the best Haunts known for their scares include: 13th Door Haunted House, Slaughterhouse Gulch Haunt, Haunted Mansion, 25th Hour, City of the Dead and The Butcher.

With the Halloween Season upon us, here is your chance to see some real and not so real ghosts.