Frights, adventures and thrills are the main desires of people during the Halloween season. Many people travel to haunted houses and attractions intended to scare the wits out of them. One such attraction is the 3rd Street Asylum located in Bonner Springs, owned and operated by Steve Hoffine, Mike Clouse and Jerry Hoffine. This haunted house has been operating for three years.

It all started with the family’s love for Halloween. They had an annual haunted hayride that they put on for locals. Each year they would attend a Haunt Show, an annual show of Halloween themed attractions put on by TransWorld in St. Louis. While there they learned all of the latest techniques in scaring people.

Five years ago, the family decided to a building constructed in 1918 from the city to use as their own haunted house.

The site was originally used as a cemetery. In 1873, a one-room school was built over the top of the graves; some graves were dug up and moved, but those whose families could not afford to move the bodies remain at the site. This fact, Steve Hoffine explained, added to the haunted factor of the site.

Later in 1897, a school building with two floors replaced the smaller one. This building stood until 1918 when it was torn down and the current building was built.

This building functioned as a school until in 1984 when it was closed down and gated shut. The building remained empty until the Hoffines decided that it was the perfect venue for a haunted house. In 2007, the Hoffines and Clouse began repairing the building.

While working on the building Steve Hoffine described everyone leaving the building and coming back to tangled extension cords and rearranged materials. Many of the workers reported other strange occurrences, such as whispers, doors shutting on their own and the sound of footsteps. Curious, the crew decided to call in a psychic to see if anything was really going on.

The psychic reported seeing a man with dirty hands looking into the school watching a frightened women who was working in the building. From the man’s appearance he seemed to work for the railroad or as a coal deliverer. The man eventually killed the women and she now haunted the upper levels of the school while the man haunted the boiler room, kitchen and a section by the stage. The psychic also reported small children running through the building.

With these reports and the variety of scares 3rd Street Asylum offers, more and more people are attracted to this haunt every year. Luis Gardea, a local student, reports it being “much better from last year” and after having gone to the very popular haunts in downtown Kansas City describes it as “pretty good.”

Cassidy Halloway, also a local patron, described the scariest part as being when she had to crawl from place to place, but then added that “it’s all scary!” Many different tactics are used in the haunt to invoke fright. Tight spaces, dark and strange noises add to the involuntary paranoia of people.

Hoffine added that they used rooms dedicated to people’s primal fear, such as spiders, clowns and insanity. The actors are also made up with top of the line make up and masks. Kelsey Floyd, local, stated “the costumes are really good.” She explained she thought that many things were real.

These attractions keep everyone coming back. 3rd Street Asylum opens Oct. 5-27 from 7 p.m. to midnight, and costs $18 per person. It will also be open Oct. 31, Nov. 2. The building is located at 3rd street and Cedar Street in Bonner Springs

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