Local Haunts

During the month of October we meet up with our friends and begin an annual pilgrimage to the local haunted houses. We kicked-off the fun this year with a visit to the haunts of Ft. Worth. These are without a doubt the best — and most consistently scary — haunted houses that we’ve found in the DFW area.

Hangman’s House of Horrors

Celebrating its 20th year, Hangman’s is the top charity-benefiting haunted house in the nation. To date, the house has entertained 484,000 victims and donated over $1.5 million to local charities. It’s a little pricey, but well worth the cost of admission. The main house takes about 30-45 minutes to traverse. It offers a variety of rooms, scares, twists, turns, and complicated mazes. There are three other attractions at Hangman’s — The Beast, Hillbilly Cafe, and 3-D funhouse. None of the attractions are worth the individual ticket prices, but if you get the combo ticket for $20, it’s a good deal.

One of the cool things they are doing this year is “flashlight night”. On Saturday, Nov. 1, you can travel through Hangman’s in complete darkness, armed with only one small flashlight per group. Yeah, really creeepy — and fun!

Hangman’s sets the right mood outside its haunted houses. There are live bands, karaoke, midway rides, concessions and more. If you want to visit a scary house with a fun environment, then this is the place for you.

Rating: A

Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge was voted one of “America’s Best Haunted Attractions” and ranks #5 in the nation of “The 13 Best Haunts for Halloween.” The awards are well-deserved. It is THE BEST haunted house I’ve ever visited — and trust me, I’ve been through lots of them. Visit their website, and read the reviews. They are all true. The attention to detail, high quality special effects and scare factor are beyond compare.

Cutting Edge claims to be the world’s largest haunted house. It is located in a 235,000 square foot warehouse built in 1908. It was formerly a meat packing plant, and they make good use of the facility. From the minute you walk into the haunted house, all your senses are accosted. The hallways are dark, the noises (and cutting edge music) are extremely loud, and you never know when someone is going to jump out at you. Like Hangman’s, this haunted house offers a variety of well crafted rooms that are complete with twists, turns and mazes. They also offer a Cutting Edge version of the Blue Man group that plays extremely loud, but cool, percussion instruments. In the middle of the house is an attraction called “the pit”. It’s an extremely complex maze that’s pitch dark and impossible to escape. You are given a small glow stick before you enter and are instructed to find a door called “I want to live” before time runs out. I don’t think anyone ever finds it, but it’s fun anyway.

The only part of the haunted house that I don’t enjoy is the last room. It’s filled from top to bottom with bubbles (or soap suds). You can’t see anything except a huge wall of suds. You get completely wet, it’s unnerving, it’s claustrophobic, and you inhale the bubbles as you try to create a path through them. I did it once and will NEVER do it again. That’s not the kind of scare I’m looking for. Fortunately, they now give you an escape option before you get to the room.

Cutting Edge is expensive. Tickets are 26.50 (plus tax) per person, but you do get your money’s worth with this attraction. It takes more than an hour to tour the house, and you will get scared.

Another thing that’s scary is the line. This is a very popular haunted house, so it draws big crowds. We opted for the “speed pass” ticket. It’s $10 more than the standard ticket, but it allows you to go to the front of the line — no waiting!

If you can only visit one haunted house this year, this should be it.

Rating: A+