Issue date: 10/15/09 Section: A&E

Media Credit: Hunter Creel/Alestle

Media Credit: Sean Roberts/Alestle

Media Credit: Hunter Creel/Alestle

Halloween is drawing nearer, and the Metro-East area is getting ready to put the scare in anyone who steps into the various haunted attractions located throughout the area. Whether you're looking for a scare, a place to take your family or a local place to hang with your friends, our surrounding cities offer a plethora of opportunities to enjoy the Halloween festivities. Another annual pastime of All Hallows' Eve is the ever-present haunted house. Locally, the St. Louis/Metro-East area has a distinct reputation for a number of great haunted houses, and this year, horror fans around the area will be in for a treat. Here are some of the most notable haunted houses to visit. Each attraction is rated on a scale of one to five based on price, quality and scare factor.

The first and easiest Haunted attraction to get to is SIUE's Haunted Trail, located behind Bluff Hall. The trail event, hosted by the fraternity Sigma Pi, runs through about half of the running/walking trail here on campus, which ends up near the soccer fields. Viewers will walk the dark path, with various members of the fraternity jumping out from the woods to scare walkers. From masked individuals with seemingly real life chainsaws, to actors banging sticks and buckets in the woods at the right time, Sigma Pi finds a way to use SIUE's wooded area to its advantage. Those who walk the trail will be escorted by an actor dressed as the grim reaper who creates his own scare tactics with his daunting demeanor. The creative use of props and the woods makes it an interesting walk. The overall event takes about 10 to 15 minutes to walk through and runs from Oct. 23 through 25. Admission for SIUE students with a valid Cougar Card is $5, while non-SIUE students will pay $7. The event begins at dark, and it supports an SIUE Greek organization, so bring a group of friends and enjoy the Sigma Pi Haunted Trail. Due to the slight reach in price of admission and the lack of scariness, the Haunted Trail is rated at 2 out of 5.

The best family attraction around the area is located in Grafton, home to the Great Godfrey Corn Maze. More of a local type feel, the maze is actually held year round. The focus is more on family, as they have children's costume contests and pumpkin painting when the maze switches to its Haunted Corn Maze format in early October. The maze is split into two paths, both paths featuring the same attractions, however. A Renaissance theme is implemented, as scary ghosts and dead knights roam the maze, making the faint of heart scream. The corn stalks are narrow and tall, making taking the next turn a fear for any potential viewer. Just when you think you've figured out the gist of what this maze is all about, swooping bats and other creatures of the night pop out of nowhere, making anyone with a weak stomach's skin crawl. The overall scariness of the attraction isn't too bad, as it is designed for a younger generation, so use this as a chance to spend some time with your younger siblings. Admission is minimal compared to the others, at $3 charge. The Haunted Corn Maze is open on weekends, starting at dusk and lasting until 10 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Sundays. Given the lack of overall scariness, but cheap ticket prices, the Haunted Corn Maze gets 3 out of 5.

For those who are less faint of heart, another great haunted attraction closer to home is The Darkness located on South Eighth Street in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis. The Darkness has multiple ways to send a shiver up your spine. Throughout three floors, The Darkness explores both the dark and unreal aspects of horror, sure to scare any person who enters. The Darkness costs $20, but the price of admission is worth every minute of terror viewers are sure to experience. On the first floor, tourists walk through the "City of the Dead," a huge floor with scary beasts including a 15-foot minotaur at the entrance. After walking through a city full of head-hunters, seemingly live snakes and other monsters, including a large T-Rex, viewers will head up to the second floor, home to the Witch's Swamp House. This floor is even more intense than the first, full of voodoo magic and swamp monsters swimming and hissing from wall to wall. Viewers will have their sea legs tested, as the entire floor sways back and forth, throwing off anyone's equilibrium. People who aren't too scared to turn back will walk up to the final floor of The Darkness, the Greenhouse. A massive Venus flytrap is the final feature, which is real enough for any mother to grab onto her small child. If anyone manages to get through all three floors of The Darkness, they finally come to rest in the gift shop, which houses scary movie memorabilia for all to enjoy. The hours are 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on weekendsincluding Fridays, and 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on weeknights Overall, The Darkness is one of the best places to visit in the area, which is why it gets a 4 out of 5.

If you want the best bang for your buck, Creepyworld is definitely the place for you. Located in Fenton, Mo., about a 45-minute drive from SIUE, Creepyworld, takes the prize this year as being the top haunted attraction to visit around the area. What separates Creepyworld from other haunted houses throughout the Metro-East is thatt it is four attractions built into one. For a standard fee of $20, thrill-seekers will go through: Raven's Mansion, Dominion of the Vampire, the Tombstone Haunted Hayride and finally, the historic Silo-X.

Raven's Mansion features an indoor/outdoor type of exhibit. As tourists walk through Raven's Mansion, they will walk through haunted rooms, with an exuberant amount of detail, down to the little cracked mirrors on the dressers, which pop open mysteriously, a shock for any passerby.

Viewers will next walk to the Dominion of the Vampire, which starts off outside in a haunted graveyard and eventually winds through a foul-smelling swamp full of wicked beasts who come within inches of walkers. As you make your way through the blood-sucking brides and creepy bats swaying every which way, tourists will then enter Creepyworld's third attraction, the Tombstone Haunted Hayride. About a half-mile long, the hayride will take adventurers through the Old West, filled with blood-soaked cowboys and a long road of skeletons. If someone can get through the first three stages, they will reach the final and oldest of haunted attractions in St. Louis to date, Silo-X. This portion delivers what many people come to haunted houses for - a scare. With a sci-fi type of feel, Silo-X features haunted mazes full of deranged military base officers, who suffer from stomach-turning, genetic mutations.

All of these attractions surely appeal to any haunted house buff, and that's what makes Creepyworld the best-haunted attraction in the area. Creepyworld is open 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays until Halloween, and 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. every other day of the week. Final Rating: 5 out of 5. Something potential viewers may want to take part in is the deal offered by the company that owns both Creepyworld and The Darkness. For $30, any thrill seeker can purchase a ticket package good for admission to both haunted attractions, saving time and money.

These are some of the more recognized haunted attractions throughout the area, all featuring their own version of horror. Whether it's SIUE's own version of terror with Sigma Pi's Haunted Trail, the family renaissance scare tactics of the Haunted Corn Maze, the overall frightening nature of The Darkness or the sights and unique sounds of Creepyworld, anyone with a slight interest in being scared and enjoying this time of year will find their niche around the area. Happy Halloween to all, and enjoy the festivities, no matter where you're at.

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