Blood-curling music booming, students dressed as monsters lurk in the shadows as their peers tread carefully through the dark shed, ready to jump out at any moment. They’re tasked with invoking fear into the racing hearts of everyone attending the party, and most importantly, having fun. The Dickinson family, Ken, Kathryn and their four boys, Felix, senior, Archie, freshman, George and Otto, have hosted Halloween parties for more than 20 years.
“My birthday is a week after Halloween, so when I was a kid, my birthday parties were always Halloween parties,” Kathryn Dickinson said. “I always liked doing haunted houses, and my mom would set up a haunted house in our basement when I was a kid. So when I had kids, I decided to do the same.”
Although Dickinson said her family has hosted the Halloween party for a long time, she said it looked a lot different when it first began. Originally, the party was held at their house in Kirkwood, spanning their basement and yard.
“We moved the party to our farm [in Catawissa, Mo] in 2020 and that gave us a lot more space [than] Kirkwood,” Dickinson said. “[We] have the barn and there’s a little pig shed, [a] chicken coop, and a pole barn where we have the band and music, and it’s all decorated.”
After moving the party, Felix Dickinson, senior, said it has grown even more. He said he and his friends help work the haunted house, by dressing up and scaring those who walk through.
“We always do live music, [and] we do tarot readings,” Felix said. “We also [pull] people around the farm [on hayrides].”
Archie Dickinson, freshman, said as he’s gotten older, he’s been able to invite more people. He said he hangs out with his friends, and they also help run the event now that he’s in high school.
“[I love] the haunted house [and] just spending time with my friends because it brings everybody together,” Archie said. “[My friends] all get excited for it, and a lot of them end up sleeping over.”
Archie said while the party sometimes feels like an obligation, it always pays off in the end. Similarly, Felix said the party is important for his family as it brings them together.
“We’re big social people,” Felix said. “We always liked throwing parties. It’s a great time for us to be able to see friends and family that come from out of town, [and] I really like that part of it is being able to see people have a good time, something that I’m able to provide to them.”
Since the party is so big, Dickinson said she and her family spend months planning the event, as it is a lot of work to pull off. Felix said that with college on the horizon, it might face some changes.
“I think it will [continue], but I think it’ll be back to what it was before when I was little,” Felix said. “There’s no way we’re going to be throwing [a party with] that number of people [while] me, my friends and my brothers [are] gone. I don’t know if I’ll be here when we host it, and I don’t know if my friends will be here.”
Despite possible future changes to the event, Dickinson said the party will continue until her fourth son, Otto, is through KHS. This year, the Dickinsons are hosting the party on Oct. 25., and the cards, illustrated by Dickinson, have been sent out. Dickinson also said she is looking forward to dressing up with her high school friends.
“[My friends and I] always have a theme for our costumes,” Dickinson said. “This year, we are all captains. One is Captain Hook, another is Captain Quint from Jaws and I am Captain Kangaroo.”
