BOO! All right, that wasn’t scary, but if you want to be scared senseless this Halloween season, visit Wisconsin’s haunted houses. They are happy to have you be their ghost—or is it guest?
The Morgan Manor, a Victorian-themed mansion, is a “low-gore, high-startle haunted house” according to Ann Marie Gavinski, who co-owns the house with her husband, Tim.
“People are attracted to haunted houses the way they are to roller coasters: They want that extra thrill, but they know they’re safe because we can’t hurt them,” Tim Gavinski said.
The Gavinski’s aim for the “Four Ps” in their haunted houses: they want to make people “poop, pee, puke or pass out.” They keep a tally every year of how many people have to quit the tour; last year the number reached 142. At the haunted house next door, Morgana’s Torment, visitors will experience “extreme emotions,” Gavinski said.
Another option is the Splatter Haus, which the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named one of the top haunted attraction houses in the state for six out of its 10 years.
“Splatter Haus is really designed around deception and misdirection,” said Jim Fergades, co-owner and operator. It also features narrow hallways, spurting blood and pounding music. “Our big draw is the fact that we’re so intense,” he said, adding that visitors “won’t settle for people in makeup going, ‘boo!’”
The Theater of Lost Souls in Oshkosh is known as the scariest, most intense haunted house in the area, according to producer and director Ron Lindberg.
“This year we have professionally-designed scenes and sets and extremely well-painted things, but we don’t forget the reason people go to a haunted house: to be scared,” Lindberg said.
“During people’s visit, they’ll travel through Hades, they’ll encounter flesh-eating zombies, vampires, psycho evil clowns and travel through a psych ward, a CSI room, as well as many other thrills and chills,” he said.
Last year, 119 visitors quit and 30 people wet their pants according to their “tinkle tally,” Lindberg said. For people who can’t handle the violence and gore, A Theater of Lost Souls offers a Mini Monster Day/Lights on tour Oct. 27 for a behind-the-scenes look at the haunt.
But be warned: These attractions are not for the faint of heart.
