Over the weekend we ventured to Busch Gardens for "Howl-O-Scream". Weekends in September and October turn the usually chipper theme park into a place of terror and hocus pocus! The annual event draws thousands of people to the park, and for good reason!

Jerry's favorite holiday is Halloween and we try and make it an annual tradition to get to Busch Gardens during "Howl-O-Scream". This year did not disappoint! 

The day had a chill to it, which was was an essential contribution to the atmosphere in the park. Beyond the chilly weekend, we also enjoyed the decorations, rides, and haunted mazes. The decorations are really what makes the ambiance so perfect. Each country throughout the park was decorated in a different theme. We saw pumpkins lanterns in Ireland, pirates in Italy, a tribute to Jack the Ripper in England, Demon Street in France, and Vampire Point in Germany. The "terror-tories" were decorated appropriately to match the theme. Furthermore, the actors that were in each area had matching makeup and personalities. So why do decorations and makeup really make a difference?

Evokes Emotions

Being in an area with demon skulls really gave you an eerie feeling. This was especially true when waiting in line for our first haunted maze. We stood at an attraction that had red lit tubes being blown in the air. The emotion we felt here was different than walking through Ireland, which had pumpkin lanterns dangling from wires. While both beautifully done, the emotions that I felt in each area was much different. 

Signifies the Area

The scenery made it easy for us to know where we were. The place between "terror-tories" was a hard transition, which showed us that we stepped from the Vampire area in Germany to the pirate area in Italy. We were able to identify what we saw and the kind of theme that was around us. 

Creates an Atmosphere

Beyond the scenery, actors with scary makeup were walking around with chainsaws, fans, and shovels to make noise. These things were quite startling if you weren't prepared for it. This was especially true in the themed mazes. Our favorite maze was Cornered. It was a corn field themed maze. The actors were often scarecrows and farmers. The maze was through cornfields, barns, and plantation houses. There was even a sign for the McCobb family a "punny" take on macabre themed makeup... get it? I loved it. It absolutely made the atmosphere creepier than usual. 

Scares at all Costs

I'm not easily scared, but one of the actors with a burlap sack face got me in the Cornered maze when he crept up on me and whispered, "Run!" in my ear. The best part of the night was leaving Cut Throat Cove, the pirate-themed haunted maze. As we exited there was a pirate attached to a bungee cord that lept out at you onto a box. If you were not prepared this was incredibly startling. Jerry motioned to the actor to get the person behind us, our friends, Stephanie and Chris. Boy did he ever! Stephanie cowered and yelled an obscenity! It was worth it. We wish we had a picture!

All-in-all it was a great weekend and the event that Busch Gardens puts on for their "Howl-O-Scream" was fantastic. It really got us into the Halloween spirit and we can't wait to go back next year!