By LESLIE COLLINS
Northeast News
October 23, 2013

Scare-It Halloween is adding a new dimension to its Halloween activities this year – a haunted house.

Designed and constructed by Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood resident Scott “Rex” Hobart, the haunted house will span 20 feet by 20 feet and will be located at the gazebo in front of the Kansas City Museum. Hobart, who also works as a technical director and master carpenter for Kansas City’s Coterie Theatre, enjoys haunted houses and wanted to bring that element to the Scare-It Halloween. Hobart spent a month sketching out the haunted house and began constructing it two weeks ago. He plans to do a test run in his backyard.

Scare-It Halloween Chair Amanda Stinger said the haunted house is geared toward youngsters and will be more spooky than scary. No one will jump out at the children, she said. The haunted house will be decorated in a Halloween theme and will feature a smoke machine, along with Hobart who will play a “grumpy, old man” who plays the guitar on the front porch.

“I think it will be a great addition for years to come,” Stinger said of the haunted house.

Stinger said the haunted house is portable, and a Scarritt resident has already offered to store the haunted house during the year.

In addition to a haunted house, Scare-It will also have about 20 “safe houses” for youngsters to go trick-or-treating. Other activities will include inflatables, zombies from Kansas City Zombie Walk for Hunger and the Ghostbusters with their Ghostbuster vehicle. Each safe house will be decked out in Halloween decorations and past themes have included a Moscow circus, pirate ship,Toy Story, among others.

Scare-It Halloween is free to the public and will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Road closures will include North Gladstone Boulevard and Windsor to Gladstone Boulevard and Mersington. The event will span four blocks, starting at the Kansas City Museum, 3218 Gladstone Blvd., and continuing to Gladstone Boulevard and Mersington.

“It’s a great neighborhood tradition,” Stinger said. “It’s one of the biggest Halloween experiences in the Kansas City metro area, and it’s a neighborhood experience. It’s very organic, grassroots. It’s people coming together for free doing something that they love for the kids.”