Under the veil of Kansas moonlight, far from the main road, lies a hidden trail where the creatures come out to play. This ½ mile haunted trail will guide you down winding paths, dark forests, and abandoned shackles with the moon as your main source of light. Hope you’re not too afraid of the dark!
This family-owned attraction on the outskirts of town is currently the only haunted trail in Topeka. The trails are fairly level ground and easy terrain, so you don’t have to fear a monstrous hike or workout to complete it. They will continue to operate in some rainy conditions, so be sure to bring shoes that can get dirty just in case there’s mud. This haunt doesn’t feature any nudity, overly gory or disturbing content, so it’s a great option for families or younger haunters.
While the number of scare actors for opening night felt a little on the light side, the haunt overall seemed fully covered, and there were quite a few scares. A variety of characters can be found throughout the haunt, with no or very few repeats. It was a mix of unique or generic creatures scattered about, but always relative to the scene.
Most of them had noticeably short dialogue, screams, or were silent and stalking, but a few were more talkative. I did not hear any real cliché phrases that I noticed, other than just screaming during jump scares. Some silent actors used their environment to express their character. When you’re walking along and all of a sudden, the grass rustles behind you and you see a pig creature running on all fours through the grass, coming right at you, no words are needed.
There was overall good energy from the cast, and they enjoyed what they were doing.
There were a variety of characters and costumes used. Most of them consisted of unique and detailed full-head masks, but some scare actors had face paint. The outfits themselves seemed mostly detailed and matched the character and scene theme. It was dark, so I could not make out any real embellishments or added effects, but aside from one or two, there was at least some thought put into them.
My favorite costume was a white, detailed bodysuit that a very slender actor wore with a white full-head mask of a demonic, alien-looking creature. The actors built with the costume were perfectly fit and made the character look unhuman, believable, and creepy.
Very few characters held weapons or props, but the ones that did seemed appropriate. For example, the Grim Reaper was holding a scythe. At one point, I heard what sounded like a chainsaw in the distance, but I never saw one in the haunt.
You will find most of the haunt’s information on their Facebook page and Hauntpay website. They have basic information, including ticket prices, dates, and online tickets, but truly little about the haunt itself.
To get to this haunt, you need to go down a gravel road around the side and back of the sports complex. Some small signs help point out the way, but it may not be obvious where to go. You are going to the parking lot for the baseball diamonds; checking out the satellite view map on the website might be useful. The gravel parking lot area is not lit or marked, but the road is blocked off to vehicles at the end, so you cannot go any farther. A short walk down the vehicle-blocked-off road will lead you to the haunt. There was no lighting along the path itself, so people were using flashlights or phone lights to see better. The floodlight near the haunt shining in that direction only helped so much.
The ticket booth area and queue area are lit and easy to see. The haunt will still operate with rain and mud, and they don’t offer refunds if it does. Be prepared and wear a pair of shoes that you can get muddy if needed.
For the hunt itself, they recommend smaller group sizes, but do not enforce a strict group size limit. They allowed a single person or a group of seven to go through if they wanted. On a slow night, like my experience, groups were spaced out by 5 minutes, and on a busier night, they do 3 minutes. While you may wait in line a little longer, I never ran into or even saw another group during the haunt, so it was a very personal experience. The staff taking tickets at the haunt entrance was nice and talked to me a little bit about the haunt while waiting. The trail itself was well-maintained and did not have any safety or trip hazards that I noticed.
The scares started as soon as I got to the haunted grounds. Michael Meyers spotted me before I could even reach the ticket booth. I tried to pay him off, but it did not work. He followed me into the queue line before silently walking off and stalking other patrons. The queue area had music playing at a perfect level to hear, but also to hear a conversation. Between the music, the three queue scare actors, and the distant sounds of screaming created a fun party vibe with good energy.
I quickly met Woogy (the clown) and his silent son, Wally (the clown). You must watch out for Wally, though; he just appears out of nowhere right behind you and has no problem chasing after screaming guests. It was quite fun to watch.
Once it is your turn to enter, you are greeted by an old wooden shackle that you must pass through to make it to the actual trail. When you reach the haunted trail itself, you will find a well-marked grass path lit with LED candles. The winding trail leads you through a variety of barns and shacks that you must survive. If you manage to escape, your hope will quickly diminish as you enter the werewolf forest. There are more than just wolves in those woods! Seriously, they hired a squirrel to shake random bushes and scare you for added effect, and it works!
As you claw your way through, you will run into an abandoned tent. When I saw the tent and the clown beckoning me inside, I had high hopes for this display. Unfortunately, it was a little bit of a letdown. The walls inside were obviously all wooden plywood panels, and I only noticed one small animatronic that made sounds and music. It was a winding path, which did make it interesting, but the space and concept have greater potential. It could be equally amazing as the rest of the haunt, with a little more detail. The clowns at the entrance and exit were great and did make the scene better.
Now I will not reveal too much about what the finale entails, but it was the scare actors that really made it a great ending. Once you get past them, you will walk out around the tree line and exit to the side of the haunt entrance.
This haunt relies heavily on its natural elements for its atmosphere and vibe. It is a haunted trail after all; it would be crazy not to. Since it sits so far back and I heard multiple generators running, I’m pretty sure there’s little electricity out in that area. This would make normal electrical special effects difficult.
The natural sounds of the crickets chirping and the rustling of wind and grass fool you into thinking you are safe. You start listening to every sound, trying to hear what is coming, and jump when a random stick breaks behind you. This makes the wolf howl sound effects in the woods more believable and realistic.
For lighting, the moon is the main light source throughout the haunt, with LED candles marking the path. I went on a full moon night, and it worked great; even then, there were dark spots in the woods. I was honestly concerned the full moon would be too much and reveal everything, but it did not. How dark it might be on a new moon is another story. It plays on the fear of darkness.
There is some accent and added lighting in the buildings for effects and visibility. A few lasers and fog machines, and at least one instance with a strobe light. There was one animatronic for sure, and maybe a second one. I heard it, but it was too dark to see if there was something there.
Nothing over the top effect-wise, but you do not always need a ton of effects if you can use natural elements that already exist.
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7
My finale was starting great, but got cut a little short due to a maintenance staff member interrupting the scare and needing to fix a safety issue. I omitted this issue from the review and tried not to let it affect the scoring.
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 7
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 7
While the majority of the scares felt like jump scares, this haunt used a number of different scare tactics to keep things fresh. Distractions, build-ups, the fear of clowns and darkness, intimidation, and scares from all directions are some of the ones I witnessed.
There were moments when I thought a scare might happen, and it didn’t, but plenty of times when the scare came as a surprise. I was surprised more times than not.
The finale was the strongest part of the haunt for me, and as mentioned before, it was the actors who made it. The main scare actor in the Scream mask was continually active and did a great job. He grabbed other actors, and I soon had three actors chasing me out of the haunt.
This haunt currently does not offer any additional entertainment outside the haunt itself. There is a photo opportunity with a giant skeleton, but that is about it. They do occasionally host special events like trunk-or-treat or exceptional group events, but nothing standard every night.
There is also no concession stand or merchandise booth, but there is queue music! A porta-potty can be found near the haunt exit.
Overall, the haunt lasted 20 minutes. It was an easy ½ mile walk on flat and easy terrain to navigate (at least when it’s dry). If you are looking for a good family-friendly haunt, it is worth the time and money.
3909 SW Burlingame Road, Topeka, Kansas 66609
