2018 Howl-O-Scream

Williamsburg Residents look forward to a scary time at Busch Gardens’ Howl-O-Scream every year

The+scarest+places+at+Howl-O-Scream+2018+is+truly+the+Vault+XX+many+guest+have+said.

Twanasha Briggs

The scarest places at Howl-O-Scream 2018 is truly the Vault XX many guest have said.

Howl-o-scream at Busch Gardens is one of the most scary and entertaining thing that their staff hosts. Busch Gardens is all fun and games until 6 clock, when the scares come out. Even though, the haunted houses were scary the “monsters” were not really scaring people. At the most they just followed people instead of try tp scare them. My friends and I were highly disappointed on that fact. The monsters have started getting on roller coasters with people which gives customers the fear and excitement of being next to one.

Twanasha Briggs
Walking down the park. The guest are aloud to take pictures with the “monsters” if they don’t scare them away first

On Sunday afternoon five of my friends and I went to the haunted houses. In some of lines we had to wait for an hour, and others we waited for 45 minutes. The first one we dared to enter was Circo Sinistro. The actors were convincing on their role on how their character was suppose to act. Right off the bat they tried to scare us, the moment we set foot in the circus tent. What makes this attraction unique from the others is its truly a maze with different paths to follow throw.

The second one we went to was Dystopia. This one was amazing, but 100 times different than Circo Sinistro. Instead of having different paths, Dystopia told a story as we walked through.  With many dead bodies hanging around and scientist doing experiment’s on the dead bodies. It wasn’t the best haunted house, but it wasn’t the worse.

walking down the spooky streets of the howl-o-scream to see life like dolls that may or may not be alive.

Next on our scary journey was Frostbite, which had by far the longest line in the park. Located in the old Dark Castle building, it was extremely cold in there, which fit the theme of the attraction perfectly. The walls were spray painted to look like real ice, and even the “actors” seem cold with the fog going around. Of all the haunted houses, Frostbite was the best set up.Ronald Morgan

After, we left to the Vault XX. The line thankfully wasn’t that long: less than 45 minutes and worth every second. Vault XX begins with pictures of every haunted house that has ever been in Busch Gardens. Vault XX had different scenes as people kept going deeper in. The one that scared me the most was a guy in a cage banging on it with a weapon. I had not realized that the cage had an opening so he came up from behind me scaring me to death.

During the day the park may look friendly but be warned cause nighttime scares can catch up to you.

Ronald Morgan
Cornered hasn’t really changed over the years. It still has old buildings that led to a corn maze, hence the name. They used a fog machine which adds to the spooky atmosphere, especially after dark. Cornered had many people hiding in their maze, but it was more kind of a “chill” haunted house, so it definitely wasn’t the scariest.

Twanasha Briggs
Strolling down the park the guest see the signs to help guide them to right direction if they dare.

Demented Dimensions was another haunted house that had a huge line. When my friends and I went inside, it was like we entered another world: an old mansion with secrets hidden inside. Ronald Morgan
Demented made it seem like we were in our own house and all the monsters blended into the surroundings, making it hard to spot them. It was more realistic than the other haunted houses, and that made it scarier too.

In the hunt house lays the clowns roaming around in hopes to scare you. They are even hiding around the park at night time.

LumberHack was one of the last ones we visited, and a good way to end the night. This thrilling outdoor walk tells a story about loggers and hikers in a dangerous a dark woods where a realistic, horrific accident had happened. The undead loggers rampaged through, killing everyone through there. My friends and I were their unwilling victims. LumberHack was a scary story, and a memorable one.

The Vault XX has a unique touch towards it. To see what other haunted houses exist at Busch Gardens is a amazing.

Ronald Morgan
This year’s Howl-O-Scream one was truly scary.  Going to the different haunted houses was fun, too, even when the wait was long or the scares weren’t that terrifying. If you have time, the one haunted house you should with either with friends or family is Vault XX.

Click here to see a teaser video, courtesy of News Channel 3.