On Saturday, Oct. 24, the newspaper staff traveled to places around the Hays area to find the spookiest places for Halloween.

Sophomore Amiyah Gonzalez said she had a great time on the tour with the rest of the staff.

“The tour was pretty spooky,” Gonzalez said. “I thought the scariest place was definitely the burnt down church.”

The newspaper staff rated each place on a scale of one to five ghosts. One ghost equals barely spooky and five ghosts equals terrifying.

The first place the staff visited was the “The Old Ellis Bridge” in Ellis, Kansas.

Senior Jacey Shaffer said she did not think the bridge was scary.

“I think it was actually kind of pretty,” Shaffer said. “Even if we went later at night it wouldn’t have been scary.”

As a whole, the staff rated the bridge a mere single ghost.

Next, the group traveled to a burnt down church near Catherine, Kansas.

The church was built from 1899 to 1901 with the first Mass on Christmas day 1901.  Due to declining population at the parish, it was closed on August 6, 1967.  On October 12, 1998, the church was destroyed by fire.  The cause of the fire was suspicious and only the limestone walls remained.

Junior Maddie Crees said she thought the church is even scarier at night.

“There were dogs barking nearby,” Crees said. “It almost sounded like they were going to get off their chains and attack us.”

The staff rated the church five ghosts.

Then the group went to the public Victoria cemetery.

Gonzalez said she didn’t even want to leave the car.

“Cemeteries are horrible at night,” Gonzalez said. “I’m sort of superstitious and I have anxiety, so I really didn’t want to go.”

Senior Nikki Vuong said she didn’t think the cemetery was too scary.

“We went and walked around for a little bit,” Vuong said. “It wasn’t too bad, I liked seeing all of the gravestones.”

The staff rated the cemetery four and a half ghosts.

The group then headed back to Hays to the “Lynching Bridge” near the college.

It was too dark to capture a picture of the bridge.

Sophomore Kenny Mathias said he did not think the bridge was scary.

“The bridge was kind of hard to see,” Mathias said. “I didn’t even really get out of the car, it didn’t seem all that worth it.”

The group rated the bridge 2 ghosts.

Next, the group traveled to downtown Hays.

While walking downtown, we discovered that Hays Community was doing their “Haunted Tours”.

Junior Anniston Weber said she believed the Hays Community Theater was the only reason downtown was scary.

“People dressed up in masks, eating sausages were following us for a while,” Weber said. “I didn’t want to walk near them, I had to go to the other side of the street.”

The group rated downtown one and a half ghosts.

The final place the group traveled was Boot Hill, near TMP.

Senior Fengxue (Sylina) Zhang said Boot Hill wasn’t spooky.

“We just kind of went there and left,” Zhang said. “Not even the big statue was scary.”

The group rated the hill only half of a ghost.

Other things that received a five ghost rating were the creepy stories that were read as the group travelled down the dark gravel road and senior Brianna Mathias’s driving.

PSA: Our group had a lot of fun on this tour, but it’s important to remember to take safety precautions before going on a tour of your own. The following is a list of things you should take into consideration before your spooky tours trip.

1. Make sure the places you’re visiting are public. Being caught on privately owned property can get you in trouble with the law enforcement which could lead to charges.
2. Don’t go alone. Find a group of people to go on your tour with you. It’s always safer to travel in groups.
3. Don’t stay out too late. Curfew on weekends for Hays is midnight.
4. Make sure you have parental permission.
5. Make sure you have a cellphone that is charged. If you happen to get lost, you will need a charged phone to call someone to help you.
6. Consider bringing a flashlight. If your phone DOES die, having a flashlight on hand would be very beneficial.
7. Have a full tank of gas. Getting stranded out in the country would not be a pleasant experience.