Be prepared to be scared and terrified in Kansas this Halloween!

10-10-2011

 

Kansas Is The Spookiest Place To Be This Halloween Season 

Topeka, Kan., … Get into the spirit of things throughout Kansas this Halloween as ghost tours, a zombie prom, a scary train ride and the oldest Halloween parade take over the state. From Atchison and Hays to Kansas City, be prepared to be scared and terrified in Kansas this Halloween!

 

Check out the Haunted Atchison Tours in Atchison now and throughout the month of October, where visitors climb aboard a trolley or motorcoach to visit more than 20 haunted sites and learn about the reported paranormal incidents of the town. Each Saturday evening, one home on the tour will open its doors to take curious visitors to where unusual happenings have been discovered. For more information, visit www.atchisonkansas.net or call 1-800-234-1854.

 

Take part in one of the oldest Halloween celebrations in the country; Independence’s Neewollah (that’s Halloween backwards!) has been happening since 1919. This year, visitors can check out Neewollah from October 21 to 31. Neewollah is the largest annual celebration in Kansas. The city of Independence will grow from a town of just under 10,000 citizens to 75,000 in the final days of the 10-day celebration. This year’s celebration includes three parades; a Doo Dah Parade, Kiddie Parade and a Grand Parade. A chili cook-off, hometown musical and queen's pageant also add to the festival activities. The main downtown is filled with 30-plus food vendors, a large carnival and bandstand for nightly entertainment. The arts and craft show and Great Pumpkin contest along with the band competition, fun run and bike ride provide activities for everyone. For more information, visit www.neewollah.com.

Spirited spooks will be at The Little Red Barn Halloween Fest at Custer Farm just northeast of Hays on Oct. 26-29. Take a hayride through the lighted forest of Halloween displays that covers five acres. Enjoy an outdoor fire pit, live animals, a ghoulish graveyard, a goblins gift shop, Halloween movie and other kid-friendly activities. For more information, call 785-625-4582.

Take Midland Railway’s Night Trains of Terror to Creepyville! Departing from the historic Santa Fe Depot in Baldwin City, these specially decorated haunted trains pull out into the night with passengers unaware of the thrills and chills that await them as scary creatures that haunt the train are allowed to roam free. The Night Trains of Terror run Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29. For more information, visit www.midland-ry.org or call 913-721-1211.

 

Be careful of ghosts while visiting the historic buildings during the Ft. Riley Ghost Tours on Oct. 23. Listen to the ghost stories and myths of historic Ft. Riley during a walking guided tour and see where scary occurrences have happened. For more information, call 785-239-2737.

 

The oldest Halloween parade in the nation takes place right in Kansas, in the small town of Hiawatha! The 97^th Annual Halloween Parade on Oct. 30 is a family-friendly event featuring two parades, one in the afternoon and a grand parade in the evening. For more information, call 785-742-7136.

 

Also in Hays, learn the true history of the oldest boot hill cemetery west of the Mississippi River during Haunted Boot Hill on Oct. 31. Some of the first burials at this cemetery were rather notorious characters, ones who often quite literally “died with their boots on.” Learn about the violence and misfortune that claimed this cemetery’s inhabitants. For more information, visit www.elliscountyhistoricalmuseum.org or call 785-628-2624.

 

Enjoy the artistic work as the Santa Fe Depot takes on a completely different form during the Children’s Haunted House festivities in Garnett on Oct. 31. Visit the Santa Fe Depot as it’s transformed into a festive children’s Halloween haunted house – fun for the whole family. For more information, visit www.prairiespirittrail.org or call 785-448-5496.

 

For more information, visit www.TravelKS.com. Find Kansas on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TravelKS and on Twitter at  @TravelKS.

 

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