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Arx MortisÂ
As of 2022, Killen, Alabama, has a population of just over 1,300. For many, it’s just a brief stop on Highway 72, but it’s home to one of the greatest scary attractions in America: Arx Mortis.
Its owner, Vinny Grosso, has been in the business of haunts for about 30 years. He started out as an actor for haunted attractions, but about 15 years ago decided to create his own. The 50,000 square feet that make up Arx Mortis once housed a flea market. It only took a few years in business for them to be named one of the "Top 10 Haunted Houses in the Nation" by USA Today in 2014. Those who visit, whether it be just once or every year, see why over 10,000 folks travel to Killen from all over the country each year to have their hearts stopped at every corner.
“Haunted houses have a following just like rollercoasters do and theme parks, and we’ll see them from Illinois and Indiana and New Jersey,†Grosso said.
Arx Mortis features five sections, including Deadwater Bayou, where a begrudged woman from the Louisiana swamps seeks revenge on visitors. The fear of clowns is alive and well for visitors of Sir Cecil’s Big Top, a freak show of epic proportions. The Underground takes guests beneath the town, where decades of breathing in chemicals bred some creatures that one might only imagine as the ones under their beds. For those scared of the dentist and the doctor, the Covington Clinic will send chills down their spine. This year, those who dare can visit the all new Graystone Academy, a prestigious school built on top of an old prison. It’s a story of wasted potential in more ways than one and leaves visitors begging for their moms to pick them up early.
The attraction is rated PG-13, but younger children are allowed in with parental supervision. Grosso says the key to enjoying Arx isn’t age, but the ability to control anxiety.
“We’ve had 6-year-old kids go through, and at the end [they] are high-fiving their dads, and then we’ve had 30-year-olds that we’ve called EMS on because they’re having a panic attack,†Grosso said. “We try our best to make it as scary as we can.â€
It takes a village to make the dark magic of Arx Mortis a reality. Over a hundred people are involved in personalizing every detail. They call themselves “the legion,†Grosso says, and they hang out at Arx all year. It gives them a place to go where their creativity is valued. They curate every detail from designing the merchandise in the giftshop to picking antiques to decorate each room of the house.
Halloween isn’t the only time the legion is busy. Arx Mortis hosts three other annual events besides their Halloween attraction. Every February, they host their “My Bloody Valentine†haunt, which Grosso says has surpassed their Halloween attraction in popularity. Every spring, they host “Scream Break,†and in recent years, started offering a milder summer attraction, “Family Haunt Nights†that is more family-friendly, but changes theme each year.
Grosso says visitors will never see the same Arx Mortis two years in a row, because they commit to changing at least 25 percent of the attraction each year. A walk-through of the house takes about 40 minutes, so there’s roughly 10 minutes of unseen content every year.
Grosso doesn’t deny that Arx is scary. In fact, he prides himself on it. He encourages skeptics to just try it. There are plenty of opportunities to leave once you are in the attraction. He says his actors even count and celebrate the number of “early outs†they get each night.
“It’s like a rollercoaster. The ones that are scared to go on a rollercoaster, they won’t go, but then after they do it for the first time and they get over that fear, then they can’t wait to come back and try it again,†Grosso said. “I just say face your fears and go ahead and come in and give it a try.â€
Arx Mortis is located at 4051 US-72, Killen, AL 35645.
When you visit, take a picture, and post it using #AmbersAlabama.
