Out and About: Haunted Train at Baker's Junction

Halloween weekend, a few friends and I went to the Haunted Train at Baker's Junction. It's only slightly south of Bloomington, but I'd never been before, even though almost everyone I know seems to have been to Baker's Junction at some point or another. For those not in the know, Baker's Junction is a haphazard complex of historic trains, the equally historic and worse-for-wear Monon Rail Station, and a few trailers, located about twenty minutes south of Bloomington, Indiana in Smithville. The Bakers live there year round, and operate a Train Museum and the Haunted Train out of the trains they don't live in. Everything in the Haunted Train is made from found materials--inside the we found a lightbox filled with Transformers toys, a blacklight room with day-glo styrofoam planets hanging from a net on the ceiling (which you could move to make the planets dance), and a game played by shooting wine corks out of an air gun to knock down plastic frogs. Instead of a chainsaw the scary sound they use at the Haunted Train is a hair dryer, which they would rev up with perfect timing to distract us from the real scare. And it was plenty scary, especially at the end when they creep-chased us through a maze of chain-link fences and tarps. All in all, it was a great time. Although I wish that the bonfire the family members had going was open to the public. I would really have loved to sit around and spin a yarn with these folks. Maybe next time.

You might notice that the above sign says "Friendly People Welcome, Commie Planning & Zoning Pinheads Keep Out." Other than the Haunted Train, Baker's Junction is famous for two things: their fight with planning and zoning over the sprawling complex of train cars, and the dismembered tip of his own finger Mr. Baker keeps displayed prominently in the Haunted Train (their website has a 4 Sale ad for the finger). In fact, if you click the link on their website to learn about the Train Museum, it's all about the un-American planning and zoning jerks from Bloomington. I plan to return to the museum, so I'll talk about the finger and their fight with their township more in another post. For now, enjoy some photos. Please excuse the poor quality, our camera sucks and/or I am a bad photographer.

Horseman of the Apocaplypse made with found materials in front of the Haunted Train

Michael playing the frog knock-down game with the air gun and corks

Cauldron of body parts. They also had a glass deli case stocked with even more body parts, including a heart shrink-wrapped on a styrofoam tray like ground chuck at the grocery