Don’t miss Cursed Castle Haunted House at The Children’s Museum

It’s haunted house season once again and I’m pretty picky about what type of haunted house I take my kids to. My approach is right out of a Goldilocks story: I’m not looking for one that’s lame, and I’m definitely not interested in one that’s too scary. I want a haunted house experience that’s “just right.”

Every year The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis does a great job of finding the right Haunted House balance and this year is no exception.

The “Cursed Castle” is the theme for The Children’s Museum Guild’s 53rd Annual Haunted House. This year you’ll be joined by princesses and knights as you invade the village and storm a castle haunted by Burnadette the fire-breathing dragon. {Side note: No fire extinguishers necessary. Burnadette has kid-safe fire-breathing skills.}

In case you missed our writeup earlier this week, this is worth the peek: A behind-the-scenes glance at what goes into creating the elaborate Children’s Museum Haunted House!

And before we get into this, keep in mind that haunted houses are meant to be kind of dark and spooky. So if the photography doesn’t look it’s finest, that’s because the lighting isn’t exactly Ansel Adams worthy!

Upon entering the Castle, the fun begins…

This year, each room inside the Castle includes mini storyboards to help situate what you’re seeing. This mini improvement over year’s past helps families follow along with story of Burnadette, the Castle and the entire cast of characters.

While in the castle, stop by the bedroom of the child princess known as the Tower of Tantrums. Broken toys are scattered everywhere, stuffed animals are ruined and more in the wake of the bored and spoiled princess.

Discover the Ghostly Grounds where eerie topiaries grow. Their shapes are spooky and guarded by some even spookier characters.

Those aren’t the only eerie views. Here were a few more favorites:

Another fun fact: Each room of the Castle has a special dragon “clue” left behind. In the Ghostly Grounds room, a tail peeks out from behind this bush.

After crossing bridges, and walking out on a castle overlook {where you actually feel the wind on your face}, it’s time to slay Burnadette the fire-breathing dragon.

After your visit, share a pic of your experience using The Children’s Museum hashtag #HauntedTCM.

MORE INFO: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is located at 3000 N. Meridian Street in downtown Indy. The Cursed Castle Haunted House will be open Tuesdays-Sundays, October 8-30, 2016. They offer IPL’s Lights-On Hours {for children who scare easily} and Frightening Hours {with the lights off, for children who dare to be scared}. Tickets are $8 each {members receive a 10% discount} and are available for purchase at The Children’s Museum in person or by clicking here.

IPL Lights-On Hours: Tuesdays 11am-5pm, Wednesdays 10am-9pm, Thursdays-Saturdays 10am-3pm, Sundays 11am-5pm.

Frightening Hours: Thursdays-Saturdays 3:30-9pm

In addition to the Haunted House itself, there are also several other Halloween related activities at The Children’s Museum, including Black Hat Bash, Feast with the Witches and more. For information about all these events, click here. Special thanks to IC Insiders Shelly Bergman and Jeanine Bobenmoyer for contributing some photography to this piece.

Pete Gilbert is an Indianapolis stay-at-home dad to three kids, ages nine, six and four.

Blogger and monthly print columnist for Indy’s Child, Cincinnati Parent and Dayton Parent magazines.

Fifth grade class spelling bee runner-up.

Gold Award Winner at the Parenting Media Association Editorial and Design Awards for Best Blog/Blogger.

See more of Pete’s work on his A Dad Influence blog channel.