Even more terrifying than planned elevator maintenance, it’s time to get prepared both mentally and physically for a day that hopefully comes once in a hundred years; it’s a megeddoon!
Scream-A-Geddon is a seasonal event that runs thirty-six select nights between September 21, 2018 and November, including the last two weekends of September, and then nightlight beginning October 4th for the remainder of its run. In its fourth year, Scream-A-Geddon features five different haunted houses, one additional cost zombie paintball attraction and the Monster Midway with limited snack options and a few carnival-style games.
RAGE 3D
Are you a sane person?
Would you venture into a world built by your subconscious?
Prepare to have your senses assaulted by strange stimuli that makes it hard to discern what’s up and what’s down.
Walk through rooms that will twist, turn and rotate making you question where you are putting your next step. Yes, the walls will squeeze in and reach out for you… that is normal for this type of thing.
Abnormal creatures, figures and clowns will blend in with the environment around you in a barrage of colors, shapes and architecture making you question what is living and what is a figment of your psyche.
Surrender the sensation of sound as roaring music is pumped into the rooms that make screaming at the strange encounters meaningless. They can’t hear you. No one can.
Get ready to have reality, fiction, dreams, nightmares all blend into one with an over-the-top experience that will leave you panicking for more.
That’s a lot of words for “another ChromaDepth 3D Clown Haunt.” Once you’re inside, there’s not a lot of story to be had. Just an onslaught of bright colors in an attempt to evoke a “well, that was weird” reaction.
Rage 3D is unquestionably Scream-A-Geddon’s weakest offering.
From head to toe, this is your standard low-rent blacklight maze. Beginning with a circus flavor, it quickly devolves into I don’t know what, with toxic chemicals and room full of stacked oil drums.
From there it’s back to clowns – sort of – with a room full of polka dots and, because apparently it’s illegal to not include in every clown ChromaDepth haunt, a spinning tunnel. There just aren’t very many dimensional sets to be found.
Although we’re big fans of evil clowns, Rage 3D’s portrayal misses the mark. Much of the cast appears to be dressed in neon colored clothing purchased from a nearby Walmart. Some don clown masks, while others sport make-up that frankly isn’t very well done.
Perhaps its most impactful moment comes as the grand finale – a mirrored infinity room full of clowns – some mannequins and some real. Not only is it difficult to tell them apart, but the path itself is genuinely disorienting, with the inability to distinguish reflection from reality making it entirely possible to actually get lost.
DEMON’S REVENGE
There isn’t much known about the village of Avalon. Scribbles and notes within old journals suggest a location, but the exact whereabouts are unknown.
All mentions of Avalon refer to it as an epicenter of blood magic, witchcraft and the occult. Disfigured bones and rune markings litter the woods around the supposed location of Avalon.
An official ledger reveals that Avalon’s residents went missing at a brisk pace. Month after month, year after year, the disappearances grew.
The final tale tells of a citizen-led uprising against witchcraft, with all those accused of sorcery being tortured to death for confessions. The tale goes on to say that the souls of those executed then opened a portal to hell unleashing demons upon the village to rip apart the townsfolk one by one.
Those who stumble upon the location of the portal to hell are grasped by a dark force, thrust into an alternate reality where the souls of the townsfolk are eternally subjected to the demon’s revenge…
Queuing around an outdoor yard surrounded by a massive picket-type fence some fifteen or twenty feet tall, the tone is already a foreboding one. The centerpiece and subsequent entry statement, a full village church facade stands vigil as a last hope against the demons’ evil.
The haunt begins with guests physically opening the door of the church and letting themselves in. This sort of personal touch always ups the immersion factor – but unfortunately, what lies on the other side does little to carry things to the next level. Inside the church, there’s really nothing church-like at all. There’s no pews or alter. In fact there’s little more than plain hallways and a handful of lanterns.
Shortly into the experience, these hallways begin to take on a sewer-like tone – if sewers were square instead of round, that is. Without reading the story of Demon’s Revenge in advance, one would likely have no idea what’s happening. With reading it, you may find yourself still in the same boat.
Demon’s Revenge features some compelling, large scale puppets along the way – including a skeleton ghost, a large alligator and some sort of rat thing (the later two of which only further the sewer-like flavor of this haunt’s second act.)
An ending far too similar to that found in Rage 3D again features mirrored infinity walls and a mix of mannequins and scareactors – here portrayed as people with burlap sacks over their heads. Sadly it was far less effective this time around, and never really created a genuine loss of direction.
The most compelling scare of the haunt – and perhaps of Scream-A-Geddon as a whole – comes courtesy of a chainsaw yielding scareactor on a flying rig. It’s an entirely unique approach for this type of scare and will no doubt catch even the most experienced of your group off guard.
BLACKPOOL PRISON
Blackpool Prison was where they sent the truly horrible criminals, high security for the worst of the worst. At least until the blackout.
The prisoners rioted. Once they had control, they realized they had nowhere else to go. Now the inmates control the prison, and the only way to get out alive is through them.
Blackpool Prison, on paper, offers your standard “inmates running the asylum” flavored jailbreak haunt. Although its narrative is nothing new, the cast truly goes the extra mile to bring it to life in a very real and highly immersive way.
This is one of two haunts at Scream-A-Geddon that offer an “interactive” option. Visitors entering the facility will have two options – watch the action unfold or participate. Those who choose to participate will be given a glowing necklace that marks them as fair game to all the inmates and lunatics lurking within. Naturally, we went this route.
Blackpool Prison boasts some of Scream-A-Geddon’s most impressive scenic work – full of highly authentic-looking cell blocks left crumbling before our eyes. Holes busted into the concrete offer a tease of things to come while also creating a sense of further instability.
The world is as you’d expect – with many of the cells feeling similar, but in truth this is exactly how things would feel “if it were real.” Blackpool Prison is perhaps the most immersive storyworld of the event.
The cast of Blackpool Prison – with one notable exception – was far and above the most interactive and engaged to be found within Scream-A-Geddon. Each of them embraced their own unique character, creating an unruly world full of criminals who each brought a different threat.
The inclusion of an interactive option truly brings things to the next level here. Unlike other haunts that stream large groups through at a time in a conga line fashion, things are kept a bit more intimate here. In turn, this allows a guarantee that not only will those wearing a glow necklace get touched, but they may well get singled out for one on one interactions with nearly every scareactor they pass.
During our visit, we had more than a few notable encounters. Beyond the expected action of getting pulled and locked alone in various cells, at one point we found ourselves in the prison’s rec room, where I was singled out and invited to watch a movie with one very unstable inmate. Sitting down in chairs in front of the would-be screen, we watched the film play out. My new prison friend pointed out his favorite parts of each scene as they happened before us. Except there was no movie playing. The “screen” was nothing more than a flickering light on a cinder block wall. The simplicity of the scene was entirely off-putting in the best possible way.
Of course there’s also that notable exception; while the vast majority of the cast in Blackpool Prison went above and beyond to embrace their roles, one in particular used it as a justification to basically assault passing guests. One physically shoved me into a wall so hard that I almost lost my breath, and then followed up by punching both of my shoulders while screaming in my face, actually leaving me sore for almost an hour afterward. Needless to say, this is not ok, “opting in” or not.
DEADWOODS
This small corner of Bearstone National Park is avoided by locals due to the stories told of the Tate family who have called these woods home for five generations.
The Tates have guarded their land fiercely ever since the Federal Government claimed it for the national park. Isolated for decades, the only folks to see the Tates these days are the unlucky travelers who experience car trouble or lose their way.
To find your way out of Deadwoods you’ll need to navigate through dark, winding trails discovering different members of the Tate family in their cabins, workshops and outhouses.
But if you happen to encounter Papa Tate, you’ll wish you had stayed on the main roads…
There aren’t a lot of sets throughout Deadwoods, but when you stumble upon one, it’s almost always quite good. Each carrying a rustic but run-down log cabin flare, there’s a distinct sense that the Tate crew is lacking in civility.
But it’s the woods that make this haunt so strong. They’re sprawling and dense – and so pitch black dark that even the moonlight adds little guidance through the thick branches above. Dim path lanterns line the boundaries of your walking path, but they offer such little light that at times it feels like you’re alone, blind, and entirely vulnerable in the forest.
The Tate family add little to the overall experience within Deadwoods. Unfortunately one will encounter little more than screaming at you over and over again. It does nothing to immerse guests into their storyworld.
But those woods. We’ve seen a lot of haunts over the years – but this may be the deepest, darkest forest trail we’ve ever encountered. So dark, in fact, that you may stumble upon scareactors hiding in the bushes who you just never saw coming – even when they attack.
There’s a genuine sense of danger, creating a mood where even the bravest of your group may find themselves muttering “it’s only make believe, it’s only make believe” to muster up the courage to purge deeper.
INFECTED: GROUND ZERO
At 12:48am the ARES Orbital Debris Program detected a car-sized object entering Earth’s atmosphere. Normally objects of this size burn up, but the meteorite touched down near a remote campsite in Florida. The ARES investigation team mobilized to determine the extent of the impact and any casualties.
Upon arrival, they discovered campers exhibiting symptoms of asphyxiation, viral contamination and severe tremors. A military quarantine team was dispatched to secure the area and provide treatment to the infected.
Incident reports detailing survivor’s erratic behavior began emanating from the scene. That’s when all contact was lost.
Those venturing into the quarantine zone are unlikely to survive.
While this haunt doesn’t necessarily offer Scream-A-Geddon’s most ambitious scenic, Infected: Ground Zero works on the level that it aims to achieve. Mostly triage tents marked with the ‘infected’ symbol, it’s clear that this is a military installation sprung up in haste to stop a virus before it’s too late.
Some indoor scenes mix up the pace, mostly at the beginning of the adventure, taking the infected (read: us) through medical screening areas and on-site doctor’s offices.
The finale is a literal maze of triage tents winding in every which direction. It feels massive, and it provides a truly effective sense of disorientation that will most certainly make you lose your way.
Much like Blackpool Prison, Infected: Ground Zero offers an interactive option. Again armed with glow necklaces, those who are infected can expect heavy one-on-one interactions throughout the course of this haunt. But unlike Blackpool Prison, those interactions are not aggressive or threatening; rather they’re frequently done by medical staff who will separate you from your group to conduct tests and attempt experiment cures to save you.
There were several highly memorable moments where I found myself separated from the group in the name of science. In once such instance, I was laid flat on an examining table decontaminated with a blast of air. Unfortunately it was too late, as the doctors deemed I was already infected. It’s here that they covered me with a body bag, because, well, why even try to save me.
Another moment came towards the end, where I was pulled out of the triage maze by a medical officer into a secret side tent. After being seated in a barber’s chair, she explained that the belief is that the infection starts in the hair follicles. She grabbed a very real hair clippers, turned it on (it worked) and actually pressed it up against my head. I need to ruin a bit of the magic here to paint a clear picture of just how impactful this effect was. While running the functioning clippers across my head, in her other hand she hid a fistful of real hair. Once turning it off, she showed it to me while excitedly professing that I’ve been cured. Here’s the thing – I know how she did it. I know it was fake. I know they can’t really cut my hair, even with opting in for the interactivity. But I’ll be damned if I didn’t instinctively run my fingers through my hair several times after exiting, just to make sure.
Scream-A-Geddon has a distinctly North East Fall Festival flavor to it – with a small central hub-like area from which each Haunt spokes off around the perimeter. That hub, dubbed the Monster Midway, is home to all the creature comforts (and quite a few actual creatures) one might want to find, from food to games and, of course, alcohol.
The scareactors throughout the Monster Midway went above and beyond to keep those hanging out engaged at all times. It almost became a game of terrifying guests for sport – as one unlucky visitor would be stalked to the merriment of assembled crowds, many of whom were pointing and laughing. In that sense, the mood was that of a distinctly fall party atmosphere.
Some of these monsters truly took their terrorizing to the next level, leaving literally no safe spots for frightening guests. None. Like not even the port-a-potties. In fact we actually witnessed a pair of burly monsters chase a frightened girl into a port-a-potty, thinking she would be safe there. Nope. Not even close. The monsters began banging on the door and literally shaking the walls while screaming at her that she had to come out sooner or later. With her gone, they picked a new port-a-potty and tried a different approach, patiently waiting until the unsuspecting guest inside was finished, they lurched from both sides of the opening door almost scaring the guest enough to knock him down.
Clearly there’s a lesson here. No where is safe, and using a port-a-potty is just never a good idea.
It’s hard to imagine that Scream-A-Geddon has been around for several years, yet 2018 was our very first time visiting. Having heard very little buzz surrounding the event in its history, we did not have the highest of expectations, but Scream-A-Geddon more than pleasantly surprised us.
The event carries a classic North East Fall Festival / Harvest flavor that makes it genuinely different from Central Florida’s other haunt offerings – especially when you throw its interactive options into the mix for a more extreme experience. And although it’s a bit of a hike way out to Dade City, Scream-A-Geddon felt unique enough that it may just become one of our new annual Halloween traditions.
You can find an extended photo gallery from our night at Scream-A-Geddon in this exclusive album on the Escape Authority Facebook page! While there, why not give us a “LIKE” if you haven’t already? We’ll give you candy!
Show your support for Escape Authority and get social with us:
Venue: Scream-A-Geddon
Location: Dade City, FL
Dates: Select Nights September 21st – November 3rd
Hours: 7:30 pm – 11 pm or 12 am depending on the night.
Cost: prices vary depending on the night, with tickets starting at $19.95. VIP Fast Pass is available for an additional cost. Parking is required and costs an additional $10.