Springfield, MO — Hotel of Terror is in its last season: the haunted house that opened in downtown Springfield in 1978 runs through Halloween night, and the City of Springfield takes the building on January 1, 2027, to replace the bridge beside it. Owner Sterling Mathis, who was 16 when he helped open it, agreed to a $2 million sale in May and said that with the settlement, “it is impossible to rebuild.”
Open Through October 31: Dates, Hours, and $25 Tickets
- Dates: open through October 31. In October that is Fridays through Sundays until October 11, then every night from October 16 through Halloween.
- Hours: doors open at 7 p.m. Closing is around 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and around midnight to 1 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Halloween.
- Tickets: $25. Dungeons of Doom, the owners’ second Springfield haunt, is also $25, and a $45 combo pass covers both with a free hay or hearse ride between them.
- Where: 334 N. Main Avenue. Dungeons of Doom is at 701 W. Wall Street.
Mathis told KY3 on October 4 that construction around the building has led some people to think the haunt is already closed, and it is open through Halloween.
From $200,000 to $2 Million: Seven Years of Offers
The City of Springfield has been negotiating for the building since 2019, and I followed the dispute in HAN’s news roundups in 2023:
- 2019: the city offered $200,000. Mathis said moving the haunt to his Dungeons of Doom property would cost $1 million.
- February 2023: the City Council voted 9-0 to use eminent domain.
- April 2023: a referendum petition with 1,568 signatures suspended the bill. The city’s offer was $550,000.
- May 8, 2023: the council repealed the ordinance 9-0 to keep negotiating.
- November 2025: Mathis answered the city’s $2 million with $3.5 million, plus $100,000 for each week after the first 60 days without a signed deal, according to the city.
- December 15, 2025: the council passed a second eminent domain ordinance.
- February 23, 2026: the city clerk certified a second referendum petition from Mathis.
- March 23, 2026: the council voted unanimously to put the question to voters on August 4.
- May 18, 2026: the city announced a $2 million purchase agreement with Sterling and Melissa Mathis, with possession delayed until January 1, 2027.
The city’s appraisal of the property was $315,000, according to the city’s page on the purchase. The owner’s appraisal was $358,000 for the property, and about $1.3 million with the value of the business included. Mayor Jeff Schrag thanked the couple in the announcement for staying at the negotiating table.
Why the City Needs the Building
The Main Avenue bridge over Jordan Creek stands beside the building, and the city says the bridge’s foundations may be physically connected to it. Public Works Director Dan Smith told the council in March that the bridge has a 10-ton weight limit and a state rating of 2 out of 9, KSMU reported, and that the city wants to replace it before the rating falls to 1 and the bridge has to close.
The replacement would be a two-lane bridge with sidewalks and more room for stormwater. Smith told the council that floodwater would need to flow under the new bridge where the Hotel of Terror building stands now.
What Happens to Hotel of Terror After Halloween
Mathis’s statement in May called 2026 the Hotel of Terror’s last season and said the family decided to settle after years of uncertainty and legal challenges. Drawings he gave the city in November 2025 showed a Hotel of Terror about twice its current size, in a building shared with Dungeons of Doom, with more than 11,000 square feet of space for other tenants, according to the city.
In March, Mathis told the council he would commit to re-establishing the haunt at Dungeons of Doom for $3.5 million, KSMU reported. The settlement in May was $2 million. City Manager David Cameron told the council that the terms let the family take bricks from the building before it is demolished.
Hotel of Terror Since 1978
- The building: it opened as a hotel in the early 1900s, KSMU reported, and became a haunted house in October 1978.
- The first season: the haunt used the top two floors, a ticket was $2, and opening night brought in $26, according to the haunt’s site.
- The slide: a 96-foot slide was added in 1980. Guests now walk four floors and exit down it.
- Attendance: about 15,000 visitors a year, according to the owner in a 2023 KSMU report.
- The cast: Kevin Keppy, who went on to act in Smile and Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, once worked there, KSMU reported last year.
Hotel of Terror is one of 11 haunts in my Missouri haunted houses guide, which has dates and prices for Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and Branson. It is the second haunt I’ve covered this fall in a final season because of its property: Wild Waves in Washington is closing, and its Fright Fest ends after 15 nights.
Hotel of Terror is open through October 31 at 334 N. Main Avenue. The calendar is on hotelofterror.com.
