Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to haunt the maze as families attempt to find their way through it. Be sure children wear sufficiently warm clothing under their costumes, as it is often cold during this season.

A good corn maze will be somewhat challenging to navigate. It is traditional for there to be several ancillary program features.

Snacks such as kettle corn, cider, hot cocoa, caramel apples, roasted nuts, etc. are common delicacies. Some corn maze operators include an expanded menu to also embrace Oktoberfest. Bratwurst, beer and pretzels are therefore often included as menu choices.

Usually, carnival games are also offered attractions. These come in the form of ring toss games, bouncing tents, miniature bowling, etc. It is common to also see seasonal games such as bobbing for apples, costume contests, pumpkin carving and the like.

Remember to bring a camera to capture treasured images of your children playing, as well as walking through the maze. Many operators offer aerial-view maps of a given corn maze, in order to assist you on your journey. Even so, a good maze can prove difficult to complete. Therefore, there are usually several “emergency” exits along the way. Restroom facilities are normally provided in the form of portable toilets.

Clearly, there is a lot more to a corn maze than one might think. The veritable plethora of activities and treats available are sure to please all members of the family.

Parking is provided free of charge in the Boondocks Fun Center parking lot.  Forms of payment accepted are cash, Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Admission to the Boondocks Fun Center is free, as always, however, you do have to pay for attractions if you decide to play.  Hours of operation are Sunday through Thursday from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM and Friday and Saturday from 7:00 PM to Midnight.  While there is no age limit to enter The Asylum Haunted House, due to the graphic nature of the layout, it is not recommended for small children.  The house is handicap accessible. Photography and video recording are not permitted in The Asylum Haunted House.  The layout and features of the house are different every year.

There are live animals, reptiles and insects incorporated into the layout.  Visitors should not attempt to touch or otherwise handle them.  There are other hazards incorporated into the layout.  However, if you walk where directed you will make it through without incident.

However, there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in North America, where trick-or-treating may have developed independent of any Irish or British antecedent. The custom of wearing costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them, In Scotland for instance where the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white. Ruth Edna Kelley, in her 1919 history of the holiday, The Book of Hallowe’en, makes no mention of ritual begging in the chapter “Hallowe’en in America.” Kelley lived in Lynn, Massachusetts, a town with about 4,500 Irish immigrants, 1,900 English immigrants, and 700 Scottish immigrants in 1920. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. The editor of a collection of over 3,000 vintage Halloween postcards writes,

There are cards that mention the custom or show children in costumes at the doors of Denver Haunted Houses, but as far as we can tell they were printed later than the 1920s and more than likely even the 1930s. Tricksters of various sorts are shown on the early postcards, but not the means of appeasing them.

Thus, although a quarter million Scots-Irish immigrated to America between 1717 and 1770, the Irish Potato Famine brought more than a million immigrants to North America in 1845–1849, and British and Irish immigration to America peaked in the 1880s, ritualized begging on Halloween was virtually unknown in America until generations later.

The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, near the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street guising on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Another isolated reference to ritual begging on Halloween appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920.

The earliest known use in print of the term “trick or treat” appears in 1927, from Blackie, Alberta, Canada:

Hallowe’en provided an opportunity for real strenuous fun. No real damage was done except to the temper of some who had to hunt for wagon wheels, gates, wagons, barrels, etc., much of which decorated the front street. The youthful tormentors were at back door and front of Denver Haunted Houses demanding edible plunder by the word “trick or treat” to which the inmates gladly responded and sent the robbers away rejoicing.

Trick-or-treating does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the first U.S. appearances of the term in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939.

(Source: wikipedia.org)

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.

Here is a video we found on You Tube that shows a real ghost crying.  For more haunted videos, see ghost activity in a haunted house and the asylum in Denver.

Children choose their costumes based upon any number of criteria, such as how popular it is, how scary it is, etc.  There are other factors that should be considered by the child’s parents.  It is often cold on Halloween night, so be sure that a costume is either warm enough by itself, or that it is loose-fitting enough to accommodate a warm layer of clothing underneath it. 

Also, be sure that the costume does not obstruct the child’s view.  This is one of several safety considerations.  Inspect the costume to make sure that there are no parts that could act as a tripping hazard.  Likewise, see to it that any accessory items do not have sharp edges or points.

Visibility is important, as well.  Give each child a flashlight or glow stick so that motorists and other pedestrians can see them.  Each adult should also have a flashlight to help children find their way around large bushes, shrubs, etc.  It is also important to monitor the children when approaching darkened porches and doorways.  A good flashlight is invaluable in this application.

Finally, when you get home all items received must be inspected for tears in wrappers, pinholes and the like.  Instruct the children not to consume any of their candy or other treats until they have been looked through at home.  If you are at all uncertain about the safety of a given item, discard it.  It is better to be safe than sorry, especially if the children were trick-or-treating in a somewhat unfamiliar area. 

Halloween should be a fun and carefree holiday for children.  A small group of responsible adults can ensure the safety of the children and allow them to have a fun time.  Harmful incidents on or around Halloween are rare, and are often the stuff of urban legends.  Taking a few precautions will provide a comfortable level of safety for all those involved.

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.

John W. Springer was a man of impeccable family and background. His family was of German descent and traceable back to 1089. Reputation was what he strove for his entire life. A scandal involving drugs and promiscuity with his second wife, Isabelle Paterson, must have just about unhinged him. For a complete scenario on this escapade, read Dick Kreck’s book, “Murder at the Brown Palace.”

As a postscript, Isabelle died in April of 1917 in the Pauper’s Hospital, Blackwell’s Island, NY. This was a mere six years following her divorce from Springer. Alcohol and narcotics now ravaged her former beauty.

Regarding the haunting of the Springer Castle, most prominent is the ghost of Julia Kistler, daughter of the fifth owner, whose father abandoned her for his stepsons. There are claims that her figure has been seen silhouetted in her bedroom on days the castle was known to be vacant, and several workers throughout the upper halls have heard her soft, anguished sobs.

Other odd incidences have occurred in the castle. Several years back, the mammoth clock in the great hall was heard to chime during a meeting, although the mechanism has been out of order for years.

Caroline Smith, docent and president of the Highlands Ranch Historical Society, reports a day when, waiting for a group of school children, she suddenly smelled a strong bouquet of flowers, although there were none in the building. Later, a mother commented on the aroma as well.

There are many things to do in the Denver Metro Area on and around Halloween. The choices available accommodate people of all ages and abilities. Similarly, admission fees vary, and just about anyone ought to be able to afford an outing. There are many events targeted at families, such as hayrides, corn mazes, and seasonal programs at the Denver Zoo and Denver Botanic Gardens. There are also several commercial haunted houses, such as those operated by Screamworks Entertainment. There are also many “real” haunted houses, and even haunted castles, in the Denver area.

One such example is the South Broadway Christian Church, located at Ellsworth and Lincoln. John Sutton built the structure in the early 1890s. Nicknamed “Uncle” John, Mr. Sutton lived in a two-room apartment in the tower. Many haunted house stories have very logical explanations for the strange noises, footsteps, or eerie happenings, but the goings-on here are pretty hard to attribute to natural causes.

Today, somebody lives in the church, and some guess it’s Uncle John. “He” is a talented fellow, and plays the organ when the church is dark and the organ is shut up. Once a member, Dustin Adkins, was vacuuming, with the cord coiled at his feet, when the vacuum stopped. Dustin turned to find the plug on the floor. Puzzled, he plugged it back in and again started vacuuming, when it quit again. This time, the plug was on the floor and four feet from the outlet, and it was obvious that tension had not caused the cord to pull out. Dustin left, in a big hurry.

Rochelle Chartier, president of the Denver Classical Guitar Society, was at the church alone late one evening. Pushing on the front door, she just couldn’t get it to open, though she tried for several minutes. Finally, and quite suddenly, the door released and opened with the greatest of ease. She left again for more boxes and the problem repeated itself. Neither before nor since has the door stuck; never again has Rochelle stayed late alone.

Source: (”Castles of Colorado,” Westerberg)

What exactly is a ghost? In terms of psychic research, a ghost appears to be a surviving emotional memory of someone who died traumatically or tragically, but is unaware of his or her death. Those ghosts who do know are confused about where they are, or why they don’t feel quite the way they used to feel. When a person has lived in a place for a very long time, acquiring certain routines and becoming very attached to the premises, sudden death comes as a shock. Unwilling to part with the physical world, those human personalities stay on at the spot where their tragedy or their emotional attachment existed prior to their physical death.

In seeking out a haunted house, keep in mind that a relaxed, open-minded attitude toward the phenomena is helpful. Patience is a must. What might not happen on the first visit might very well occur on a subsequent trip. There is no hard and fast rule concerning a successful ghostly experience, but there is a reasonable likelihood of experiencing something in a haunted house if one is somewhat psychic. If one is psychic to a high degree, chances are that one will at least feel something of the unseen inhabitant of the place. Whenever possible, take photographs using black and white film and a timed exposure. Something that the naked eye doesn’t see might very well show up on your film.

But even if you don’t encounter ghosts or have a psychic experience in a haunted house, you will find them fascinating places. As an adventure in historical research, haunted houses have no equal.

(Source: “Hans Holzer’s Travel Guide to Haunted Houses”)