Everybody knows that Amarillo Scaregrounds is the area’s largest and longest running haunted attraction. But do you know our history? Joey and Vona Adams have long loved Halloween and everything spooky. Before opening their original haunted attraction in 1998 they had a short career as school carnival haunted house operators. It turns out an elementary school carnival haunted house can be too scary… They would also decorate their home extensively for one night of scary fun each year, which would inevitably cause traffic jams throughout their neighborhood as seemingly half the city would show up to see the spectacle. Then after they had their fun it was time to tear down and store everything until the next year. The Adams family was one of the few families that can boast of more coffins in their garage than cars.
When their children graduated from High School and moved out, Joey and Vona suddenly found themselves with a lot of free time, and so their first professional haunted attraction, Terror on 10th, was born. For the next three years Terror on 10th was set up in the Party Palace Event Room, but it had to be torn down entirely to make room for other events. So Terror on 10th was moved to 1701 SE 10th, where it would stay for several years. This location allowed the majority of the haunt to stay up year round while sections would be torn down and redesigned. With only 6,000 sq/ft they quickly outgrew the inside of the building and began using the 3,000 sq/ft fenced-in yard. In 2009 Joey and Vona opened their second haunted attraction in conjunction with Terror on 10th. Dark Carnival was an outdoor haunt that utilized roughly 3,000 sq/ft of parking area as well as the fenced yard. It also gave us the opportunity to stretch our haunt legs and offer two different styles of haunt.
After two years of having Terror on 10th and Dark Carnival at the same location, we once again needed more space. After much searching, Joey and Vona purchased 2736 SW 10th, which offered more than 50,000 sq/ft of potential usable space. Amarillo Scaregrounds began operations in 2011 and originally held two haunts: Insanitarium — a mental hospital overrun with zombies; and Terror — a nod to our origins of various phobias. Since that first season we’ve had time to create more attractions: The Basement — an industrial area that houses all the reasons you stayed out of the cellar as a kid; B-Trail — our 2,500 sq/ft unmanned haunted walk through; Xscape Room Village — a collection of 5-minute escape games; Blackout (retired); Zombie Apocalypse Training (retired); Axe Slingers Society (retired).
In addition to the multiple attractions, Amarillo Scaregrounds also offers a snack bar with a large patio for patrons to relax in between attractions, an authentic graveyard with real tombstones and crypts, and all season long Amarillo Scaregrounds hosts a graveside funeral where you can relax with other mourners. So if it’s October and you have some time to kill, come hang with us.