Quick holiday shock offered by asylumAs Halloween rears its ghoulish head, thrill-seekers everywhere face the inevitable challenge of finding a haunted house that’s actually worth their money. For those of you who have already had your fill of cheesy “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” ripoffs, I risked life and limb to check out the Shock Asylum.”Other haunted houses have all the Halloween cliches that just get old,” said Aaron Stephens, operations director of the Shock Asylum. “I’m proud to say that I have no chainsaws in my show.”What Shock Asylum lacks in chainsaws, it definitely makes up for in details.Upon arriving at the asylum, I was greeted by “Janey,” a rather bubbly lunatic. Spinning around on her wheelchair, Janey babbled away about her life at the asylum. Luckily, a young man in black rescued me from Janey’s seemingly endless chatter. Talking into his headset, he led me to my tour group. Mistaking him for a guide, I prepared to enter the asylum.”Welcome to the Shock Asylum,” he said. “My name is Sergeant Smith, I’m with the Independent Bureau of Investigations – the IBI.”After giving us his spiel, Sgt. Smith herded our group through the door.”Good luck,” he snickered, slamming the door. Wandering blindly through the dark, smoky maze without a guide was bad enough, but having a squad of evil lunatics jumping out at us every 20 feet was even worse.After a few “surprise” attacks and chase scenes, my group had worked its way up to a healthy sprint. Stuff hanging from the ceiling kept flying in our faces. Hands crept out from the walls.Sgt. Smith and his team of IBI cronies appeared near the end of the maze. “You guys have to get out NOW!” he barked. “Go, go, go!”IBI agents scrambled around the hallway, directing us toward the exit as we literally ran out screaming.At $8.95, the Shock Asylum provides an excellent thrill with a theme, albeit a quick thrill. Unless you don’t mind making pals with Janey, it may not be worth the 45 minute wait in line. Located at Murphy’s Party Barn on State Route 750, the Shock Asylum runs tonight and Friday from 7 p.m. to midnight. For details call 794-7320.
Fear not dominant at Brewery DistrictWhile waiting in line at the “Island of Fear” in the Brewery District, guests get more and more frightened as they hear a woman screaming over and over again. A sign next to the ticket window warning visitors that live animals, including snakes, will be seen in the jungle-like atmosphere incites even more fear. Unfortunately, waiting in line is the scariest thing that happens at this haunted house, said Brian Thornton, a senior majoring in Landscape Architecture. “We were all expecting it to be really good because we heard that it had been in the past,” Thornton said. “But the scariest thing I saw was the woman who greeted us at the door.”At the entrance, guests are greeted by a woman in costume who warns them that the animals in the jungle are hungry and that they might become dinner – or maybe dessert.Once inside, there is total darkness at first. One would expect somebody to jump out and scare guests as they walk through, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, the guests walk through a series of creative island-themed death scenes waiting for a good scare.”I was really disappointed,” said Shelly Lynch, who drove from Zanesville to see the haunted house. “I kept expecting somebody to jump out and scare me. I saw people hiding in the shadows, but they didn’t even try to scare us. One guy literally just stood there and said ‘boo’.”Fortunately, at the end, this haunted house has one redeeming feature, the chain saw. This ever-present haunted house feature is sure to cause a few screams and get some blood pumping.”The only thing that scared me was the chainsaw,” said Lynch, “and that was at the very end.”The “Island of Fear” is located in the old Wasserstrom Warehouse, 477 South Front Street, behind Ludlows bar in the Brewery District. Admission is $8, and the show runs 7:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. on Thursday and 7:00 until midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Tour offers living glimpse of the deadYears ago, as a ladies club gathered for a luncheon at a museum, they looked up to see the ghostly image of a lady in a pink ball gown accompanied by a man in Civil War era clothing gliding down the stairs, through the door and into the street. Years later, a tour guide gathered a group of visitors in this same museum. Suddenly, the party dispersed, each person with a frightened and bewildered look on his or her face. “Didn’t you see that couple float through the room?” they later asked the confused tour guide.No, it’s not an episode of “Unsolved Mysteries” or an old-fashioned mystery novel set in some far-away land. The museum is the Kappa Kappa Gamma museum located here in Columbus, and the lady is believed to be somebody who lived in the house during the Civil War period. The Kappa museum is one of four haunted sites included in the “Ghost Tour,” a tour of Columbus’s spookiest places presented by the Columbus Landmarks Foundation. The other sites on the tour are the Thurber House Museum, the Kelton House Museum and the Ohio Statehouse. “All of the sites have either ghost stories, or have been the location of sightings or other bizarre stories,” said Bruce Yarnall, Director of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation.During the three and a half hour bus tour, guests hear ghost stories and drive by haunted sites in Columbus. At each of the four stops, tour guests are invited to go inside the sites to learn about their haunted histories, and possibly meet the ghosts personally. “So far this year I haven’t heard about any sightings,” said Yarnall. “But Saturday night is when most things happen, especially at the Kelton House.”The last stop on the tour, the final resting place, is a cemetery where refreshments are served for those who still have an appetite.”This is the thirteenth year for the tour,” said Yarnall. “It’s pretty much directed toward teens and adults because it’s educational in addition to being sort-of scary. It’s not like your usual haunted house.”The “Ghost Tour” starts at the Jefferson Parks Gazebo at 6:00, 6:30 and 7:00 p.m. this Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Tickets are $16 per person. Reservations can be made by calling the Columbus Landmarks Foundation.
