The Hovenweep area began with small, scattered units, pueblos built on the mesa around 1100, and evolved after 1200 into sophisticated masonry-walled pueblos, with large structures interspersed, often at the head of the canyons.  Water was the life-blood of the Ancestral Puebloans, which, in this dry, arid climate, they diverted into the fields to grow food, using innovative farming methods like terrace farming and irrigation.  Modern scientists examined tree rings from the logs used for construction in the area and found that from 1250 to 1300 there was a severe drought, which likely caused a large migration of the Puebloan people.  Additionally, there now are no trees here, although logs were a corporate part of the construction.  This indicates a depletion of a vital building material and fuel.  Not everyone left however, as they are believed to be the ancestors of the modern tribes of the Hopi, Zuni and Pueblo.

It is widely believed that the Hovenweep Castle is an ancient haunted houses, cursed by the spirits of the Ancestral Puebloans who were forced to migrate during the drought of 1250 – 1300.  Modern-day visitors have reported hearing Native American drumming in the distance.  Others have reported smelling the odor of sage smoke, often used in Puebloan ceremonies.  In a sense, the Hovenweep Castle is one of the most interesting and unusual Colorado Haunted Houses.

With a name like the 13th floor, I was really curious as to how they were going to pull that off and make it feel like you’re climbing multiple floors. Well… they did it! You step into an enclosed elevator room and suddenly you feel like
you really are in an old rickety elevator that could drop at any second. The actors here did a terrific job making you believe that you could too. Once on the 13th floor, the scenes began to unfold. One thing that really stood out in
this particular haunt, were the props looked very movie quality real. There was a severed head in a container that was awesome! I thought the coolest gag, which I am sure all the critics also dually noted, was the ghostly bride. She
slithered in and out of the rooms in the dark and was really creepy the way she moved. Just like if you were to really see a ghost, she was there for a split second, and gone the next.

The acting I felt was fantastic. The little scenes I thought were great! The smoke was perfect! I like it when you can’t see much in front of your face and don’t know exactly where you are going. Over all, I really loved this entire haunt. I felt it really held up to all the others that have had the benefit of running for years. I can’t wait to see the adjustments made and how much further it goes in years to come.

1. Know what time the Haunted House closes. Some of these attractions can be a bit of a drive and it’s a real bummer to get rejected because they are closed or the line is too long to get in before they close.  (I learned this the hard way last year.)  Some haunted houses have a number you can call to check on the status of the line but in all cases just get there early!

2 . Check on the ticket options. The average price is around $15 per person, but you might want to see if there is a “VIP” ticket and online ticketing options.  The VIP tickets will cost a little more, but could save you a lot of time.

And don’t forget to find out if there are any discounts available.  Some of the venues give a small discount with a canned food donation.

3. Get the scoop on the the “fright factor”. Ask friends and co-workers to see which ones they like/dislike and how scary they are before choosing your Haunted House.   Picking a Haunted House is like picking salsa – do you want Mild, Medium or Hot?

4. Who are you going with. When you ask your friends, co-workers, and check the review boards about the particular haunted houses you need to keep in mind who you are going with.  Are you planning on having a few beers and going with your buddies?  Are you planning on attending with a younger child or girlfriend who might not appreciate the blood and gore.  Keep this in mind when choosing a haunted house!

Here are two websites that are good resources for a lot of this information.   Haunted Colorado | Haunted House Guide

With its history, it would be surprising if the castle did not have spirits.  Lisa Barnes, who lived there as a child, believes the castle is truly an entity, with its energy deriving from the structure being made of solid rock, with materials all from the surrounding area.  Wright, the man who actually created the castle, was building his own dream.  And the rock is granite, Lisa adds, which vibrates at a very low frequency and has accumulated its history over time, both positive and negative.

Lisa is a Sensitive, or Medium, and has been aware of a multitude of spirits around the castle.  As a child, she often heard footsteps along the long hallway from the garage into the house, though no one visible was there.  In fact, guests staying in the lower bedrooms adjacent to the hall, complained to her parents about the noise that disturbed their sleeping.  Another annoyance was a spirit dog whose nails clicked on the terrazzo floor and whose panting would awaken Lisa.

Following the airplane crash, the castle was on the market for four years, with several interested buyers.  But Lisa found it disturbing that these potential owners were interested in the land only, and planned to scrap the castle and rebuild.  Then Mike Dunafon and Debbie Matthews found the estate, and it was the castle that they wanted, and wished to restore.  Soon after, Lisa encountered the spirit of her mother who assured her that they were the right people to own it.  With its many unsolved mysteries, the Dunafon Castle is among the greatest Denver haunted houses.

If you are wondering which haunted house you want to bring your friends to or maybe even a date, you are going to want to check out Colorado Haunted Houses.   It is a website dedicated to reviewing all of the Haunted houses in Colorado.  The great thing about this site is it doens’t just list the good ones, you also get a taste of the bad ones and what people thought about them as well.

There is also a map section on the site that has all of the haunted houses in Colorado so you can see which ones are in close proximity and which ones are kind of a hike.  This way you can plan out a way to visit a few haunted houses in a night!  With the reviews on the site you can also see which ones are worth driving the extra mile for an extra scare.  Along with the map section of the site there are links that will directly take you to the Haunted House websites themselves.  This is nice so you don’t have to open another window and look up the haunted house on Google.

I would highly recommend checking out the site to plan your next halloween night!  There is nothing worse than waiting in line for a half hour for a haunted house that just isn’t worth it.  Save yourself some time and check out the haunted house review site for Colorado haunted houses.  I promise it will be worth it!