Cave fright : The Haunted Cavern event through the Old Spanish Treasure Cave has been sending thousands of brave souls home with shaky knees for the past 12 Halloweens.
Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/66794/
Paul Linscott and Bubba Mc-Cain get into Halloween a wee bit more than your average person. The thousands of people who have made the trek through the twisting maze of caverns that is the Old Spanish Treasure Cave — and they’ve come from as far as parts of Texas; Tulsa, Okla.; Little Rock; and Fort Smith — will confirm as much.
Forgive them if they need a minute or two to shake off the fright running rampant through their bodies.
“ We really like Halloween, ” said Linscott, who purchased the Old Spanish Treasure Cave, on Arkansas Highway 59 between Gravette and Sulphur Springs, in 1995. “ I guess it shows. It’s one of those things that’s difficult to explain. You just do it — and you figure out pretty fast why so many people travel long distances to do it year after year. ”
The history — or tale — behind the Old Spanish Treasure Cave is enough to draw people even when it’s not Halloween. Legend has it that Spanish explorers used the impressive, twisting maze of caverns to hide from Indians some 350 years ago. According to Linscott, and even some Arkansas history text books, the Conquistadors stashed a wealth of treasure deep within the caves. The treasure — if it exists — has never been found, but a map found in Madrid, Spain, many years ago features detailed directions to the cave, indicating it is, indeed, where three chests of gold and other treasures were hidden.
As excited as Linscott gets about attempting to find new passages and the treasure during his spare time, there’s very little that gets him more excited than the arrival of Halloween. For more than a decade, he and McCain have been building and developing a stash of mechanical dragons, twisted bodies and terrifying creatures. A few weeks before Halloween, they outfit a 30-minute stretch of the darkened, fog-filled cave and invite the public to put their bravery to the test.
In many sections of the cave, it’s so dimly lit and foggy that visitors can’t see more than a handful of feet in front of them or anything below their knees. With mechanical props, dangling heads, butcher blocks and demons around every corner and more than 20 live cave staff members in costume, it’s a safe bet there’s always at least one pair of eyes watching you.
“ We do it right, ” McCain said. “ We actually don’t recommend it for little kids. It’s teens and up because it’s that good. Once you’re in, you’re in. There’s no chicken exit if you get scared and want to turn around and run. You’re in until you find the light at the other end of the cave. ”
Linscott, who guides tours for Scouts, youth groups and other organizations and individuals on normal cave tours year-round, said the parking area is normally filled to capacity at the end of October. Thousands pass through the Haunted Cavern during the three weeks it is open each year. And while most visitors exit the ivy-covered opening wide-eyed and with a bit of the shakes, they tend to get addicted.
“ We always have a lot of people who come back the next day or the next day and the next week, ” Linscott said. “ They come back with more friends or they come back just because they have to do it again. We take note of that and try to change some things out and add new stuff from day to day, just to keep people guessing and scared.
“ We’ve obviously put a lot into the monsters and props we’ve made, but you can’t underestimate your being in a cave during all of this. There’s rock above your head and on both sides. Some of the caverns are 25 feet high, but others you have to duck your head to fit. You get the Halloween sound effects, strobes and everything on top of that, and we’ll get you shaking. ”
What makes the trek through the Haunted Cavern at the Old Spanish Treasure Cave even more unnerving is the fact that visitors are on their own. They can go in with a group, but there’s no guide for the group. Someone in the group has to be the first around every twist and turn — and there are plenty. If anyone turns to run, there will always be another group coming to make an escape impossible.
Like McCain said, once you’re in, you’re in.
“ We see some scared people come out, ” Linscott said. “ But it must be a good scared because something possesses so many of them to go back through again. It’s something we love doing, and we’ll keep on doing it as long as people keep coming. ”
And that, they have. Hours of operation
Haunted Cavern at Old Spanish Treasure Cave is on Arkansas Highway 59 between Gravette and Sulphur Springs. The event, which opens Friday, is recommended for teenagers and adults, and admission is $ 12 per person. There is also an outdoor Haunted Trail through the woods on the property, which costs $ 9. The attractions will be open from 7 p. m. to approximately midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Oct. 23-26; Oct. 30-31; and Nov. 1.