NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Halloween is just two weeks away, and tomorrow is Friday 13th.
Something spooky is definitely in the air.
Which means it’s time for everything that goes bump in the night to come out and play.
If you’re trying to run into them for a night of fright, look no further than Wicked World Scaregrounds.
Gaining entry onto their compound opens you up to a trilogy of terror, haunted houses, zombie hunting, and much more.
It is a packed experience that has grown a lot in the nearly 20 years Dean Stephens and Jeremy Kenley have put it on.
"This will be our 18th season we're going into. Started the haunted house in my backyard,” Stephens said.
“Had almost 1,000 go through the backyard, and they said, 'Man, you did really good with this; you ought to think about doing it professionally.' I thought about it and took the jump the next year, and Jeremy joined me, and here we are.”
"We're really excited with building new sets and new scares. Reworking the walking path and things like that so every time they come out, they can see things a little bit different,” Kenley said.
The scare grounds are crawling with unique monsters, freaks, and creatures to give a wicked welcome to guests.
Between scares, there are plenty of food and drink options, including a new creepy concoction to enjoy at Dr. Drizz’s Drink Shack.
"Being a doctor, I'm only one man. I can only affect so many people by myself, so I decided to open up a drink shack,” Dr. Drizz said.
“They can come buy an elixir, and they won't know what hits them later."
However, saving the eating until after the haunted house might be best.
It doesn’t take long to be short of breath, breaking into a sweat, and jumping out of your soul inside their man house (certain reporters may speak from experience….).
Guests shouldn’t feel bad about that; the same can be said for some of the workers on the scare grounds.
"It's got everything that you want in a scary movie or haunted house,” Billy “DJ Crankenstein,” Crank said.
“I work with these guys; I know them, and they still scare the crap out of me."
To provide fun and joy (mixed with healthy amounts of fear) for so long has Stephens and Kenley proud, grateful, and ready to keep doing it for years to come.
"We are really lucky to be two random guys, kids, really. We get to do what we love; we make our own hours,” Kenley said.
“We get to make these cool sets and build monsters and put people basically into three different horror movies where they're the characters, and we're the monsters, and they get to live that out."
Wicked World Scare Grounds is located at 5817 Tates Creek Road in Nicholasville.
If you want to get tickets or learn more about what they offer, click here.
