by Linda Jones

In Charlotte, NC, Carowinds have alternated their “theme park” into “scream park,” debuting seven haunted mazes, five outdoor, scare zones, two live shows, along with 500 monsters prowling their way towards you (The Street, 2014) in honor of the Halloween month. Unless, of course, you choose to buy a $10 “No Boo” necklace in return for no contact with monsters. Along with the necklace, Haunt Passes are offered only for an additional cost of $30, which enables you to have fast access to any rides or haunted mazes. From September 12th to November 1st, Scarowinds will continue to dismay their spooky rides and haunted park. Until then, the only safe zones are the restaurants and bathrooms. Even monsters have to take a break from being so monstrous and gruesome. The surrounding park is filled with prying monsters and frightening, captivating roller coasters. Although the employees of  Scarowinds dress in ghostly costumes with eerie makeup, no outside enhancements are allowed inside due to violations of the park. The park may portray itself as a scary prohibited site, but the goal is to keep everyone including the employees safe and sound.Inside the scream park are mazes and trails: Dark Harvest, Silver Scream, Defex, Urgent Scare, Slaughterhouse, and Zombie High that will surely bring nightmares to all those who visits. Within those mazes are devious monsters roaming inside, waiting to scare their preys. Scare zones also contribute to the scream park: Psycho Circus, Blood Yard, Playground, Massacres, and newly additions London Terror and Scary Tales. Those zones are more like murderous streets where the monsters dominate the streets, waiting to make visitors scream in fear and delight. Not only are there mazes but the rides remains open the rest of the night, entertaining people who are not willing to go into the mazes. In other words, you’ll be getting both the roller coaster and Halloween experience at the same given time.

As part of the Army of Darkness, the employees get to terrorize, petrify, and repulse the guests by bringing to life wicked monsters. By intensifying the horror and fright, enhancements contribute the costumes of these monsters. For example, The Lady in Black plays her violin as she strolls the streets of London. Surrounding the Psycho Circus zone, Clowns wear knee pads and slide across the walkways to startle the visitors. Butchers carry bloody knives, petrifying the younglings and people. The employees of Scarowinds put on their best Scarface; their costumes consists mainly of stitches, worn out, dark clothing, and bloody scars and faces. It’s a perfect night for Halloween season.