Haunted Houses and Attractions near IC

It’s about to be Halloween weekend in Iowa City, a time when the girls are looking a little extra freaky and the guys a little too creepy.

While bobbing for apples (or beers in our case) can be a good time, if your feeling extra spirited its always a great time to check out some local haunted houses.

In case you didn’t know, Iowa is home to hundreds of haunted houses and other spooky attractions that are open all weekend long. I’ve done some research and found the two spookiest, most bone chilling places to check out.

Circle of Ash Haunted Attraction

412 7^th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, Open weekends 8-12 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT0_OsNUO9k&feature=player_embedded--Check out this promo video!

This place has one of the freakiest websites I have come across. Think Saw meets Silence of the Lambs meets the Joker. This is a self-guided tour through an indoor haunted house maze. They encourage you to walk extra slow so you don’t miss any of the hidden features. Eeeeekk! They recommend you go in groups no larger than 5 people because of space and group interaction. They say they don’t touch you by surprise but they do ask you to interact with set pieces and other cast members.

Nightmare Manor

525 H St. SW, Cedar Rapids,

This 100-year-old creepy riverfront warehouse is full of nightmares. It has boarded up windows and has several deaths that have been said to occur there. Homeless Tom “Jackson” Howard was a man that did odd jobs for the hotel in trade for a place to sleep. After a while he got uncomfortable and left, but always showed up for Halloween season. His old living space was below the electric chair and he would count how many “executions” took place each night. In 2003, Tom became ill and hallucinatory and on fall evening the landlord found him dead. No one claimed Tom’s body and so the landlord has his ashes hanging out on the mantle, until they scatter them someday. This house is known as a “too scary to complete” haunted house. Paranormal investigators have seen some action around his ashes and even heard voices and seen strange movements.

Hope you all make it out to a haunted house, have a little liquor courage, wear your sexy costume and maybe shit you pants too!

-Carly Hurwitz