The thrills and chills return to Topeka with a grippingly frightful half-mile hike, a Zombie Crawl and cast members from AMC’s The Walking Dead.
This year’s Topeka Haunted Woods has become a frightful behemoth… outgrowing last year’s confines, even stretching its slithering tendrils beyond Forest Park Conference and Retreat Center into NOTO.
Open Fridays and Saturdays through October and designed for teens and adults, Topeka Haunted Woods features two unique on-site experiences and several on and off-site events during the month.
The Haunted Hike, the centerpiece of the attraction, is a half-mile haunted hike through the trails of Forest Park, winding through a portion of the 45 acres of natural woods. Parties of 15 attendees will be guided along the trail, with a new group leaving the home base every five minutes. Zombie Laser Tag sessions in which participants must make it through zombie infested buildings with only infrared laser tag guns for defense is a nearly 20 minute battle to eliminate the zombies, find the cure and reach your home base without getting infected.
On Thursday October 18th, get dressed in your zombie finest for the Zombie Crawl. Bring a can of food for Harvesters or an unwrapped, unopened toy for Toys for Tots and we’ll shamble through NOTO to The Norsemen Brewing Co. during Super Nerd Night and meet actors from The Walking Dead. At Super Nerd Night you can play board games, old skool video games, or just enjoy great company.
On Saturday October 20th, Topeka Haunted Woods will host the 1st Annual Midwest Zombie Fest. The event will provide the opportunity to meet horror-genre actors, directors, and sfx designers. Slated to appear are Jeremy Palko who played Andy in AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 8, and actor in The Vampire Diaries and Pitch Perfect 3… Kent Wagner; the man behind the Masks of Monsters… Lauren Henneburg, actor from AMC’s The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf and The Hunger Games; Mockingjay and also known as Selene the Survival Goddess… plus, NY Times bestselling author Susanne Lambdin; screenwriter for ST:TNG, and author of The Dead Hearts series and Realm of Magic.
“We’re delighted to bring this unique Halloween experience to Topekans,” Event Manager Mark Arganbright said. “Halloween is America’s second most popular holiday based on decorating and participation. Our goal is to give folks a wonderfully scary event to celebrate the season. In turn, this is a fundraiser for Forest Park and the local Boy Scout Council.”
Advance tickets are available at the attraction’s website.
Forest Park Conference and Retreat Center features 45 acres of woods tucked quietly away in Topeka just off Interstate 70 and Deer Creek Trafficway. The non-profit charitable organization has a variety of buildings and event structures. The facility hosts many activities including weddings, corporate retreats, summer camps, and scouting events.
