I finally got around to my first Halloween Horror Nights this year. It is one that is rather confused with it's theme. Eddie was dropped, yet is on merchandise and billboards. So, Jack was back, but this wasn't made widely known. I did all the houses once, and repeated Pitch Black and Scary Tales. In the begging lines were short, but later lines reached 75min.

Pitch Black- 95% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
By far the scariest thing there. You go in in a stream of people following the faint glow of the shirt in front of you. There are realistic noises(including vomiting), bouncy floors, disorienting flashes, and ghouls that pop out of walls without warning. One particular effect worked well where you walk in to a white room, and they flash a bright light to screw up your eyes, and when they adjust a ghoul is next to you. Very effective, although masses of people can sometimes slow things down in this one.

Scary Tales- 85% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
This one had very unique theming. There are cornfields, severed heads, body bags, the big bad wolf, Alice with a chainsaw, and more. The best part was a very effective climax with a black and white room with strobe lights and some fog. The spooks in here are painted black and white so you don't see them until you're right on top of them. No huge screams in here, but it will give you a good rattle.

Superstitions- 60% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
By far the worst house there. It had a lot of mirrors and cat noises. It had Big Foot and a Chupacabre(sp?) that did give me a jump. Overall, it was short and not scary. Good thing it was a walk-on when I first got there.

Run- 75% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
A fairly easy maze to get through. The monsters are all in cages making this a complete non-fright. I give it much credit though, for the extreme disorientation. There was one part where the strobes were flashing, the siren was going, and the room was rocking back and forth. I could not control where I moved!

Mummy Returns- 80% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
Very good theming. It had a great building up to the forest climax. There are so many mummies in this forest I couldn't keep track. Some scared you, but some made comments like, "have you seen my mummy?" which I didn't find amusing.

Bill & Ted- 85% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
Probably the best show you'll ever see at a park. Mainly because it's too risky for daytime crowds. This year they spoofed Shrek, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, Planet of the Apes, The Mummy Returns, Jay & Silent Bob, Tomb Raider, American Pie, Moulin Rouge, a high Harry Potter, and Charleton Heston(president of the NRA shooting blanks) among others.

Ooze Zone- 80% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
If you've never been covered in foam, well it's fun. And you dry off in a matter of 10-20 minutes or so. It also features very realistic dog barking noises, a bunch of guys with rattle cans and trash can lids, and of course Kong from above.

Nightmares on Parade- 85% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
Parades are always fun. Especially when they throw stuff. Jack is at the head of the parade as candy(I got some Swedish Fish), coins, and the ever coveted beads is tossed from floats. Watch out for these cool beads with eyes on them. I got one, but they only throw a small number out.

Midway of the Bizarre-60% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
Too many people, too little monsters. If you walk alone and don't look for monsters you may get a jump.

The Unknown- 70% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
A bunch of guys with rattle cans can be fun if you don't see them. A lot of fog and good disguises helps greatly. I thought one guy was a trash can, well he had a trash can lid and gave me a good jump.

Nightmare Alley- 80%
The best monster street to walk down. Whether it's Mike Meyers and Freddy staring you down or Hellraiser and Chucky attacking you, this one will most likely frieghten you. There is a lot of fog in here, so you never see them until it's too late.

Side Shows and Scarictures- 75%
Chainsaw men, a guy fitting in a tiny box, Rat Lady, fire-eaters, red-eyed monsters, shaker can guys, and clowns are some of the stuff you'll see at any given place. Overall amusing, but sometimes trite, especially the guys with the shaker cans.

Overall- 90% on the Rocketman-O-Meter
The atomsphere and the haunts were great. I lost myself in them. By the end of the night I found I had not sat down except for Bill & Ted(not exaggerating)! Although the crowds got large sometimes, I managed. I plan on going opening weekend next year to dodge the crowds. The merchandising I found to be confused. I got a shirt that had Jack on it that said Jack is back, because, well, where Edgar was not there as featured in the ICU advertisments. I recommend this event highly.

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"BECAUSE someone like you cared a whole afwul lot, this park is alive where before it was not." -The Street of the Lifted Lorax, IOA