Many readers may be unaware, but the basement at the Times-Union is a very scary place.
Especially during this time of year.
But if you think you can suppress your level of fear and anxiety, stop by the Times-Union and check out the second annual haunted basement and the "Ghosts of Stories Past."You see, over the years some pretty heinous events have occurred in and around Kosciusko County.
And of course, the Times-Union has been here since 1854 to report on each and every one of them.
Many of the subjects of those stories were not very happy about their circumstances the stories we wrote and they come back each Halloween to let us know it.
So stop by if you dare.
The haunted house will be open from 7 to 11 p.m. each Friday and Saturday night from now until Oct. 30. Cost is $5.
Our regular haunted basement is age appropriate for those 13 and older. But on Oct. 29, during Warsaw's Downtown Spooktacular, we've asked the ghouls to tone it down a bit and they have begrudgingly complied.
On that night, from 6 to 8 p.m., the haunted basement will be fun for kids 12 and under. The price will be $2 for kids and parents can accompany them for free.
All proceeds from the event go to help fund our Newspapers In Education program.
Stop by if you dare.
Your evening of terror begins with an elevator ride into the basement haunted by the "Ghosts of Stories Past."
Immediately you will enter the clown maze, but don't expect to laugh. These are clowns who have lots to be angry about. You see, long ago they were happily on their way to a party clown convention when their inattentive charter bus driver pulled in front of an oncoming train.
The result was, well, hideous.
The maze is particularly creepy, but don't worry. We probably can help you find your way out.
From the maze you enter the asylum. Some may remember the asylum from last year's haunted basement. Ghosts are restless souls who are caught between the worlds of the living and the dead. But the souls in our asylum are those of the most violent criminals ever reported on over the years. And they're not happy. And they're closer to you than ever before. Beware.
Perhaps you recall the story of the poor orphaned child in last year's haunted basement. She was found living alone in an abandoned, rundown house. Times-Union reporters at the time noted the child was completely reclusive and deathly afraid of other human beings, surviving only on rainwater, insects and vermin found in the home. The child was institutionalized and died many years later. But the ghosts of those childhood experiences still inhabit the haunted basement. The collection of toys in her bedroom has become quite impressive - or, should we say, horrific.
Our amateur coroner is reprised with his usual cast of hapless victims. Surely all these years after being executed for performing autopsies on still-living innocents, his ghost by now would have honed his technique. Or not.
Suffering from a peculiar and particularly morbid disposition, a man years ago was arrested and jailed for cannibalism. He died in jail, but he and his kitchen are alive and well in the haunted basement.
One fine day many years ago, a school teacher, after being humiliated for many years by her students, snapped. No one knew how severe her mental disorder was until she took an entire classroom of students hostage and ...
Well, let's just say the outcome, as reported in the Times-Union, was not pleasant. Her students live on in the haunted basement.
An ice storm many years ago caused the power to go out all across Kosciusko County. Coupled with a waxing crescent moon phase and cloudy skies, it was the darkest time ever in Warsaw. All manner of ill events occurred during the great blackout, as chronicled by Times-Union reporters. The only place darker is our blackout room, until the lights come on, that is.
Please. Stop by for a visit. Our friends in the haunted basement are dying to see you.
