As the Halloween season reaches its peak, people of all ages have started to turn towards haunted attractions in preparation for the big day. Everyone waits in line for a chance to get in on the fun and, well, be scared. 

Students at Manhattan High are no exception for the ghoulish festivities. Some peers turn to a more realistic approach to “get their scare on” than simply watching a horror movie in the comfort of their homes. 

One of the ways they do this is by visiting popular haunted mazes or haunted houses near them. The most popular of those attractions is Zombie Toxin. This haunted house is located in Junction City and has been running consistently for several years now.

“I think having a very good scary atmosphere and actors that know what they’re doing keeps you on your toes,” sophomore Haley Hastings said.

The overall theme for the haunted house has also remained fairly consistent since the attraction opened. It centers around a fictional “Dr. Von Monschture” and his fixation on discovering immortality, which is where the business gets the “Zombie”in Zombie Toxin. The entire building is divided into multiple multiple theme-rooms — such as clowns, spiders and fog. When visitors first arrive at the house, they are met with a building decorated with statue-like fixtures on top of the gates and a television screen depicting cartoonish versions of the legends of the doctor.

 There are two options for tickets; the “regular pass,” which costs $18 and gets you in a wait line or the “speed pass,” which costs $25 and gets you in to a separate line with minimal wait time. The lines can get pretty long, with some customers waiting up to three hours. As a remedy of this and to prepare guests for the spooky surprises, actors will walk around the lines in hopes to scare people. 

“I liked the actual haunted house. The suspense leading up to it was awful but the house was great,” Linley Wilson, freshman, said.

Some of the actors spotted include Fizz the mad scientist, a pregnant nun, a doll, a tall robed monster and many others depending on the time. The actors are more than happy to take pictures with the guests as long as they ask and often try to pose for the picture. 

The house itself takes around 20-30 minutes to go all the way through and they let you in in groups of around six people. First after being left in, you go into a room and are shown a video similar to the one presented outside, that shows a bit of a background of the house. Throughout the house there are “chicken exits” for people who are too overwhelmed to continue the whole house. 

Despite the whole nature of the experience, it’s actually quite safe. Upon arrival, you can immediately spot multiple security guards surveying the area and myriads of families. The policies also play a big role in making it a safe place. The actors, for one are not allowed to purposely touch a guest for any reason, inside or outside the house, and security cameras are in use at all times to prevent anything major from happening. 

Due to the increasing popularity, Zombie Toxin has added two new attractions to its original haunted house: two escape rooms, Dr. Von Monschture’s five-minute Head Shed, which costs $5 and Jack the Ripper which costs around $15 to get into and include scares and clues.

There are multiple other haunted houses in the area but none of them are more popular or more classic than Zombie Toxin.