Baxter Avenue Morgue (Louisville, KY)
“The Dead Is Dying To Eat You”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
2011, will mark the 11th season Baxter Avenue Morgue has been an operating haunt. Ever since it’s debut in 2001, it’s gained a large cult following and rightfully so. This is not your usual haunt. it’s much more than your run of the mill attraction because it feels haunted. No, it doesn’t take place in an actual basement of a morgue, but you would swear that the spirits of the dead were watching you as you navigated through its dark corridors and creepy rooms.
It wasn’t very crowded at Baxter Avenue Morgue which is unfortunate. There was a big football game between St. Xavier and Trinity at Papa Johns Cardinal Stadium. Many people were attending this game instead of touring local haunts and the total capacity of the stadium is 55,000. The majority of attractions we toured that night would resemble ghost towns, but it didn’t bother us the least bit. We waited in the express line for a few minutes and it was finally our turn to tour this year’s Baxter Avenue Morgue.
As we entered the morgue, we were told to walk up to the rope when suddenly the lights went out. The group behind us screamed because they were unsure what was going to happen next. Suddenly you hear a door slowly creek open as shuffling can be heard. It’s as if someone or something is in the morgue with you. The lights flash on and the morgue’s owner, Warren Vanderdark was in front of us with his wife Lillian. Lillian has pale white skin and a blank stare while Warren looks like an undertaker who takes pleasure in seeing people in pain. Both characters look like they are straight out of the late 1930’s around the time Lillian was originally reported missing. Before you enter the Baxter Avenue Morgue, Warren has 3 simple rules to die by.
#1. Do not touch anyone or anything that you might encounter on this tour. You on the other hand might get touched.
#2. Please follow the path at all times while taking the tour. Always go forward and under no circumstances should you attempt to retrace your steps back. You might not like what you find following you in the shadows.
#3. If at any point in time you find this tour too disturbing there is a series of specially marked exits that will direct you to safety. These doors are marked with a yellow chicken.
Louisville Paranormal Investigators have investigated the morgue for 6 years and have concluded that Baxter Avenue Morgue is officially haunted. You can view evidence of this after you exit the morgue. We were ready to experience the Baxter Avenue Morgue first hand and there was no turning back. Would we survive the spirit infested halls of the morgue or become part of its dark history?
Baxter Avenue Morgue is a haunt that has tight and confining hallways with short ceilings. If you’re claustrophobic, this haunt might get to you a little. It will play on your fear of the darkness and the dead as you make it through one haunted room after another. Actors will grab at you, block your path and even breathe on your skin. This is a haunt that pulls no punches and won’t stop until you’re nervous and wanting to exit. You might be afraid of what lies ahead, but you have no choice but to proceed.
Baxter Avenue Morgue plays off of the morgue theme to near perfection. You’ll travel through rooms like a morgue with vaults, a graveyard with a voodoo doctor, psycho circus, haunted laundry room, cob web infested spider cave, a walk through casket and more. One of my favorite scenes is the insane asylum that features a crazy nurse who loudly calls for patients to pick up their medication as her devilish voice can be heard on the hospital intercom. You’ll come face to face with this character twice inside the morgue and will meet her deadly patients.
Other characters you’ll meet include Lillian Vanderdark who mysteriously reappears in almost every scene. I’m still trying to figure out how this actress reappeared everywhere I walked without being out of breath. There must be hidden passageways thoroughout the morgue where actors can reappear in scenes. It was very intimidating and something I’ve never seen at other haunts I’ve toured throughout the years. Another character that gave me chills was the seamlessly innocent man who made the graveyard his home. He kept talking about how I was going to be his next meal.
Baxter Avenue Morgue is one of those haunts that you automatically think of when someone says Louisville. Not only have local review sites taken notice of this haunt, so has major media. Baxter Avenue Morgue will be featured this fall on A&E Biography channel in a show called “My Ghost Story”. It should be interesting to hear the tales people tell about all the haunted happenings at Baxter Avenue Morgue. The only complaint I have about this haunt is its price. It’s $20 for general admission and $30 for a fast pass. A $5 off coupon is available, but it’s only good for Thursday and Sunday. $15 would be a more reasonable price for this haunt. With that being said, it’s still one of the best haunts in the nation.
Length-9 Design-9 Props/Animatronics-8 Acting-9 Scare Effect-10
Final Stab: 9.0
http://www.baxtermorgue.com