DU’s Programming Board (DUPB) hosted a festive fright night, dubbed Spook-A-Palooza, on Friday, Oct. 26, featuring what Hauntworld Magazine has called for the past seven years one of “America’s Best Haunted Attractions:” the 13th Floor Haunted House.
The night started at 6 p.m. with a viewing of the 1980 horror classic, “The Shining,” in Davis Auditorium and an opportunity to pick up free tickets to the haunted house, along with a custom Spook-A-Palooza mug. With candy corn, typical movie snacks and favorite fall drinks like apple cider and hot cocoa, DUPB promised nobody would be scared on an empty stomach. They also offered a cookie decorating station with frosting and edible googly eyes to make even the sweetest of treats a little spooky.
A luxurious tour bus left from Asbury Street at 6, 7:30 and 9 p.m. for the roughly 20-minute ride to the haunted house, where students agreed to meet back at the bus around an hour and 45 minutes after arrival. Little did the bus driver or DUPB know that the line alone to enter the attraction would take two hours, leaving students wondering if they’d make their bus ride back or if an Uber would have to be hailed.
More than just the haunted house, the 13th Floor offers scary carnival games (like trying to snipe down animatronic zombies), coffee and other snacks for purchase, a fire dancer, the new ShriekEasy Bar for attendees 21 and older and a hearse as a potential ride home, in case anyone is scared to death. Like Disneyland, the two hour wait yielded an unproportionate attraction time, with the tour of the haunted house taking around 15 to 20 minutes.
If not for DUPB’s awesome sponsorship, the scariest part of the night may have been the hefty price tag. General admission to the 13th Floor starts at $20, but for students who don’t have transportation, that would be on top of about $20 each way in an Uber. While the house had its moments of scared delights and unexpected interactions, it appeared there was a consensus that it could have been scarier.
Freshman Piper Doyle said the attraction seemed a little “overrated” and “overhyped,” adding that she had been to scarier horror parks in her home town of Grand Junction, Colo.
Don’t want to miss out on more free, fun events like this one? Follow DUPB on social media to stay updated on all the chilling details.
