My night with Edgar Allan Poe and screaming teenagers
(part of my ongoing Unexpected Literary References series)
Last night I went with a few friends to the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe Haunted House in the 12th street West Bottoms area of Kansas City. This has become a bit of a tradition for us, going to the haunted houses, which many people consider to be the best in the nation.
Being the literary nerd that I am, the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe house was especially intriguing to me. This is not to discredit the others (The Beast, The Edge of Hell, and Macabre Cinema – this last one is designed to replicate famous horror movie scenes; I’m looking at you Stephen Graham Jones). They are all great, but being able to experience Poe’s stories in full round simply meant more to me.
This was the first year for the Chambers of Edgar Allan Poe house, and in being so, lacked some of the pizazz I was hoping for. The experience was amazing, definitely, but I wanted more Poe immersion. The house felt more like someone took iconic (re: well-known) Poe imagery and fluffed the scenes with traditional horror garb. Ravens and black cats galore, yes, but where was the Mask of the Red Death? What about the The Cask of Amontillado? Perhaps these were included, but if so, they were so buried by strobe light and fog that I couldn’t tell.
However, the Tell-Tale Heart room and the crawlspace illusions were worth the ticket price alone. If you are in Kansas City, definitely go. If you are not, consider making a trip this way to take in all four of the houses.
They should get you really drunk first for true Poe immersion.
Correction: This was not the first year for this haunted house.I drove with 2 friends last year to experience this haunted house for Poe’s 200th anniversary of his birth. Did they not have the full floor replica of Poe’s graveyard,and gravesite. They did last year,and it was awesome. We let people pass us in line,and spent 20 minutes looking at all the details of the graveyard included. We loved it. I do hope they continue to add more, as you suggested, but I hope they haven’t dismantled the graveyard. If so, they need to reinstate it. It was amazing. It took up a full floor of the building,and we loved it.
Hope to hear from you, Caleb, about that floor!
gary
Thanks for the correction, Gary. I do remember a graveyard with fog and a metal gate that felt a bit maze-y. I might have overlooked the coolness of it due to the obnoxious crowed of high schoolers filling the area. I hate to be the cranky 28 year old, but I guess I am. I’ll definitely go back, and this time will be sure to take a bit more time with it.