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West Bottoms Future, Zombie Queen, Haunted Creepys

Shane Linden
/
P.S. Linden Photography

How Haunted Houses Helped Develop The West Bottoms

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, thousands of people flocked to the historic West Bottoms neighborhood to tour Kansas City’s haunted houses. And while these houses are known as some of the oldest and most terrifying attractions in the country, you might not know that they’ve also been major contributors to the development of the former stockyards district. But not everyone thinks they should be part of the future of the West Bottoms.

What Should The West Bottoms Look Like?

The West Bottoms is an industrial area directly west of downtown Kansas City, located just south of the Missouri River.  It is one of the oldest areas of the city, and home to two of the region's key industries: beef and railroads. But as the neighborhood develops as a destination for arts, restaurants and residential, will there be room for the seasonal activities like the haunted houses?

The Woman Behind Kansas City's 'Zombie Queen'

Earlier this month, zombies walked the streets of Kansas City for the annual Kansas City Zombie Walk, a charity event that collects food for the hungry and homeless. But one zombie at the event stood out from the others - the Zombie Queen.  Find out more about the woman behind the zombie outfit.

The Mysterious 400-Year-Old Band That Haunts Kansas City

Almost every year around this time in Kansas City, a musical phenomenon rises up at area bars. A mysterious band called the Haunted Creepys tends to perform around Halloween, and whenever Friday the 13th rolls around. Lead singer He Who Bought The Farm materialized at KCUR this week for an interview, but would not otherwise reveal himself publicly.

Sylvia Maria Gross is storytelling editor at KCUR 89.3. Reach her on Twitter @pubradiosly.
As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
Matthew Long-Middleton has been a talk-show producer, community producer, Media Training Manager and now the Community Engagement Manager at KCUR. You can reach him at Matthew@kcur.org, or on Twitter @MLMIndustries.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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