Oh, Vegas. As soon as the first leaf falls from (depending on where you live), the neighborhood tree, it marks the end of boob and butt-crack sweat and begins a few glorious months of favorable weather conditions. If you, like me, live in what we refer to Satan’s Armpit, you know exactly what I mean and how we feel about this. And as we continue a stroke of relief of 90 degree days in October, the long-standing Las Vegas-based haunt Freakling Bros. has been hard at work during those awful Summer days to prepare for the most wonderful time of the year and the October opening of the infamous, Trilogy of Terror.
The legacy that is Freakling started over 40 years ago with the Mollner family and their passionate love affair with Samhain. With what began as a simple, yet startling decorated haunted house to amuse trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, ballooned into three separate haunts immersive experience that returns year after year to the Vegas Valley with welcoming arms to both locals and tourists alike. Being a native to the Vegas Valley, I’ve had the privilege to visit Freakling’s haunts annually since my adolescence and it’s been a marvel to watch them grow into what they have become today.
Over the years, the haunts have interchanged to make way for fresh ideas- including the now infamous R-Rated, GATES OF HELL that pushes your anxiety to the brink of terror. And worth noting, your precious nerve endings that will receive the occasional mild electrical shock delivered by some of the sadistically enthusiastic actors. However, Nosferatu who resides inside the fan-favorite PG Castle Vampyre that has stood on the haunt grounds of the Trilogy for years, is due to take his last flight this Halloween 2019.
I am a little sad to see the haunt lay to rest, however, I’m also intrigued and excited to see what twisted brainchild of the Mollners’ comes to fruition in the 2020 haunt season. So if you’re in the Vegas area, or plan on visiting the city this October, make sure to pay your respects to “DEATH OF THE VAMPYRE” and bid farewell to Nosferatu, Vampyra, Drucilla, Shadow, and all the other vamp inhabitants of Castle Vampyre!
For tickets and calendar dates, visit the official FREAKLING website and follow them on TWITTER.
I’ll be totally honest here: A week ago I was pondering on what other attractions were to be announced for the ever so wonderful, Halloween Horror Nights. As I knew, there were to be three more surprise additions to be leaked to us press scum over the next few weeks and while I still have a few guesses on the other two, I knew sure as shit ONE of them just had to be Halloween themed. With of course, John Carpenter’s immortal classicturning 40 this year and Blumhouse’s sequel to that original phenom is set for October 19th, it only seemed logical, right Poncho? Well, I was close enough! Turns out our George P. Wilber version of the Shape will be unleashing hell onto his niece Jamie and guests over at HHN in Orlando and Hollywood this 2018 haunt season!
Beginning on Friday, September 14th, 2008 through November 3rd, guests will be able to dive into the world of 1988 Haddonfield with an interactive experience of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. 2018 marks the 30th anniversary of the film that began the illustrious Scream Queen career of Danielle Harris and has since become a favorite addition to the franchise.
Per NBC Universal:
Based on the fourth installment in the classic slasher series created by John Carpenter, the mazes will transport guests to the suburban town of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night where Myers has escaped Smith’s Grove Sanitarium and is hungry for revenge. This time, he relentlessly stalks his niece Jamie as his next victim, stopping at nothing to kill her.
Guests will follow Myers as he escapes the mental hospital, encounters his first victims at Penney’s Gas Station and Diner, and wreaks terror on Haddonfield, all set to Alan Howarth’s ominous score. The maze will include horrifying scares by Myers in his classic featureless white mask and navy jumpsuit, with guests dodging his bloody knife at every turn. Halloween fanatics can expect a cameo by Myer’s psychiatrist Dr. Loomis and other famous characters from the film as they try to escape the bloodbath.
Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 25 years, guests from around the world have visited Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. Multiple movie-quality mazes based on iconic horror television shows, films and original stories come to life season after season. And, the streets of each coast’s event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing scare-actors lunge from every darkened corner.
About Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is The Entertainment Capital of L.A. and includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour. As a leading global entertainment destination, Universal Studios Hollywood delivers highly themed immersive lands that translate to real-life interpretations of iconic movie and television shows. Recent additions include “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™” which features a bustling Hogsmeade village and such critically-acclaimed rides as “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” and “Flight of the Hippogriff™”. Other immersive lands include “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” and “Super Silly Fun Land” as well as “Springfield,” hometown of America’s favorite TV family, located adjacent to the award-winning “The Simpsons Ride™” and the “The Walking Dead” daytime attraction and the all-new DreamWorks Theatre featuring “Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest.” The world-renowned Studio Tour is Universal Studios Hollywood’s signature attraction, inviting guests behind-the-scenes of the world’s biggest and busiest movie and television production studio where they can also experience such authentic thrill rides as “Fast & Furious—Supercharged.” The adjacent Universal CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex also includes the all-new multi-million dollar, redesigned Universal CityWalk Cinema, featuring deluxe recliner seating in screening room quality theatres, and the “5 Towers” state-of-the-art outdoor concert stage.
About Universal Orlando Resort Universal Orlando Resort is a unique vacation destination that is part of the NBCUniversal Comcast family. For more than 25 years, Universal Orlando has been creating epic vacations for the entire family – incredible experiences that place guests in the heart of powerful stories and adventures.
Universal Orlando’s three theme parks, Universal Studios Florida, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal’s Volcano Bay, are home to some of the world’s most exciting and innovative theme park experiences – including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley. Universal Orlando’s on-site hotels are destinations unto themselves and include Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, the Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, and coming this August, Universal’s Aventura Hotel. Its entertainment complex, Universal CityWalk, offers immersive dining and entertainment for every member of the family.
Universal Orlando Resort continues to unveil all-new guest experiences, including powerful attractions, incredible dining opportunities and dramatically-themed hotels. Now open is Fast & Furious – Supercharged, where guests can join the Fast family and step into the blockbuster Fast & Furious films at Universal Studios Florida. And at Universal CityWalk, Voodoo Doughnut is now serving more than 50 types of delightfully weird and sinfully delicious doughnuts.
About Trancas International Films Trancas International Films, Inc., along with its subsidiary Compass International Pictures, Inc., is a film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles and operating worldwide with a library of classic and revered films, such as John Carpenter’s Halloween, The Message and Lion of the Desert. Trancas has been involved in the production of every film in the Halloween franchise, including the upcoming Universal release directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. In addition to partnerships with Universal, Trancas has deals with Miramax, Blumhouse, Lionsgate, Anchor Bay and Dimension Films, among others.
Nightmare Nostalgia 