Halloween Haunt
Encyclopedia
Halloween Haunt, originally known as "Fearfest", is a haunted attraction
at Canada's Wonderland located in Vaughan
, Ontario
, Canada
. It runs after the park's regular operating hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings in October - up to, and including Halloween
night. It is Canada's largest haunted theme park featuring over 300 monsters, 10 walk-through "maze" attractions, 3 uniquely-themed atmospheric scare areas, and three live shows. During its operation, the grounds are transformed via frightening decorative props, thematic music, eerie lighting to further create its scary atmosphere.
. Fearfest at Paramount Canada's Wonderland originally operated on weekday evenings through October, with 7 maze attractions alongside 2 motion simulator
movie rides in the Paramount Action FX Theatre.
Most of the park's regular rides and attractions (with the exception of Nickelodeon Central
, KidZville and Hanna-Barbera Land) continued to be staffed and operated during Fearfest, including the 'Haunted' Thunder Run
coaster, which was slightly thematically changed to match the park. The park grounds were divided into 3 separately themed scare areas- The Curse of Sleepy Hollow, MTV
Rockin' Scare, and Backlot Blood Bath - each having 2-3 mazes associated with it. Each maze and scare area generally has its own unique back story, sometimes linking several mazes together.
The following year, Paramount extended its regular operating season through the family-oriented Halloween event "Spooktacular"http://www.canadaswonderland.com/fearfest/spooktacular.html in the typically closed child-oriented areas of the park, to match Fearfest's attendance in October. In 2006 the park ran Spooktacular from October 14–29 on weekends during the day, and would reopen the park as Fearfest in the evening.
With the change in ownership of the park from Paramount to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, the Fearfest name was dropped and renamed Halloween Haunt, remaining consistent with similar attractions at other Cedar Fair theme parks across North America. In addition, Spooktacular was not revived for the 2007 operating season. Despite this, Canada's Wonderland still continued regular daytime park hours during the Halloween Haunt run. With an existing history of running haunted attractions since 1973 at Knott's Halloween Haunt, Cedar Fair was able to incorporate 4 additional mazes to the roster while retiring the Legend of the Lost and Slaughter Street attractions.
In 2008, Halloween Haunt saw an extended seasonal run into November, breaking the park's own attedance records for the event. Cedar Fair also retired the MTV Rockin' Scare area, including the Total Request Dead and Ozzburnes mazes in order to introduce 3 new ones for the season http://www.canadaswonderland.com/News/detail.cfm?item_id=805. The "adult-oriented'" horror musical show Dead Awakening also opened during the 2008 Halloween Haunt, performing at the Wonderland Theatre. There are currently three atmospheric scare areas with free-roaming monsters: Front Gate, CarnEVIL, and The Swamp.
It's Halloween fun for the whole family! With children's rides, mazes, spooky storytelling and all the fun of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts Gang, Camp Spooky at Canada's Wonderland will make your kids scream for more! Camp Spooky is included with Park admission.
Take a trip to the other side as Mysterion the Mind Reader delves into the world of the supernatural while our cast of zombies rise from the dead to bring you the heart of pounding anthems of Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Muse.
Join the citizens of Halloween Haunt at The Hanging of Molly McIvor for crimes of witchcraft and devil worship.
Acrobats and fire breathers dazzle the senses in this high action cirque style spectacle.
It’s 1888 and the Jack the Ripper murders have terrorized the city of London. The discovery of the “canonical five” bloody victims has paralyzed the residents of Whitechapel District with fear. With no hope of catching this culprit, every person you pass on the street is a potential attacker or victim.
Residents along the Louisiana bayou have long been warned not to venture too far from the water’s edge; beyond the opulent river mansions is a mysterious, twisted world where curses are whispered in the dark and no one ever makes it back to shore. Those who go too far are soon driven mad with fear and bloodlust so be cautious – there’s no telling what you could wake in the Bayou.
"At the hottest new nightclub in town, they line up to get in, but no one makes it out alive. Because inside this devilish dance hall, vampires staff the bar and the DJ booth in an effort to lure the most edible into their isolated lair. The most delicious dancers are invited to the VIP lounge, where away from the throbbing heartbeat of the music, the vampires slowly suck the life from their victims."
"Castle Carnage has long been feared for its twisted reputation for using medieval torture methods on prisoners. The victims have now overthrown the cruel nobility and inflict their own bloody torture in a scene of deadly mayhem that makes Castle Carnage look like a holiday retreat. Let the brave of heart and noble of spirit beware: Chivalry is dead."
"The legendary pirate known as Red Beard
is said to have led his crew into a massacre; his ship was never found. A single surviving manuscript tells how his mistress cast a spell stopping the crew from fully crossing into death. Now the ship is in dock and Red Beard and his undead crew await new victims to help them satisfy their bloodlust."
"The 1937 big top fire doomed the circus performers to a slow and agonizing death. Now every night, the clowns and circus freaks continue their demented performance, looking for fresh blood to avenge their suffering."
"In 1923, Miles Gravestone was admitted to the asylum after surviving Slaughter Mill. Driven mad by his memories of the carnage and outraged that no one believed his story, Miles led the inmates of the asylum in a violent revolt. Taking his fury out on the doctors and nurses, he leaves them just as deranged and bloodthirsty as the patients."
"A fatal mine collapse left dozens of hardworking miners trapped and left for dead. Now out to avenge their early deaths, the murdered miners stalk anyone brave enough to go digging for trouble in their haunted lair."
"When the Brothers Grimm set out to tell stories from the countryside, they never imagined the dark horrors and unhappy endings they would encounter. Tales of massacre, evil creatures and ferocious beasts are not the fairy tales we grew up with. Mother Noose recreates these haunted stories for anyone brave enough to see just how dark the dark ages really were."
"The fields of the Van Tassel farmstead are overgrown with two centuries of colonial debris and rotting corn. Monster scarecrows now consider this their home, attacking anyone who dares enter their fields with their razor-sharp beaks and terrifying shrieks of madness."
"Mayhem reigns at the Psycho Circus where rockin’ freaks meet creepy comedy."
"Located deep on the grounds of the Van Tassel family farm, this abandoned barn is haunted by the twisted remains of rabid animals and the deranged and deadly marauding farmhands."
"Comedy meets vampires in this edgy unveiling of the undead..."
"The mysterious and mythical creatures who once peacefully inhabited the forest are gone. Fallen victim to massacring humans scared at living so close to these immortals, the burnt and destroyed forest was devoid of almost all life. Only a few fearsome fairies remain, swearing terrifying revenge on any who dare to enter these woods."
"A live, adult-oriented musical horror performance that will take audience members into the deeply disturbed and twisted world of the contemporary human's psyche. Darkness and evil that all have dreamed but never talked about, will be unleashed in is this chilling, music-video style show depicting one woman's maddening nightmare in a performance that will leave audience members afraid to go to sleep."
"The Van Tassel boy had been warned about wandering too far into the forest, and disturbing things better left forgotten, but he didn’t listen. He came to the grave of the Headless Horseman
, a soldier who had died not during battle, but by execution for unjust war crimes. When the boy returned home that night, he brought with him the curse of sleepy hollow. The enraged horseman brutally murdered the Van Tassel family and the farm workers in his ever agonizing search for his head. Over 200 years later, this colonial farmhouse is still haunted by the undead occupants."
"When Thomas Greychild died while working at the paper mill, 200 years ago, his wife swore her vengeance upon all the workers who were present on that dark day and did not help him. She placed a dark curse onto half of the workers, transforming the men into rabid werewolves who trapped the remaining millers inside the paper mill so that they too could feel her loneliness and never go home to see their wives. Years of such solitude and witnessing such carnage have turned them manic as they are unable to die, but not fully alive. Both the millers and werewolves are set to ensure complete carnage on any mortal who dares to breach their territory."
"Enter heavy metal hell! Metal heads wreak havoc, destruction and death on Zombie bubble gum pop stars in the bloodied backstage world of wardrobe, make up and roadies."
"Join Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly Ozzburne and their many burned-out (and burned-up) friends, in this intense open house of terror. The mother of all parties is over!"
"A film crew shooting an action movie at the site of ancient ruins of giant warriors become the latest victims of this cursed, dark place, where legend holds that the grounds are sacred and must not be violated."
"The filming of a chase sequence has gone terribly wrong. Carnage is everywhere! A giant crater, wrecked cars belching smoke and fire ... what caused this grim wreckage?"
"We invite children to wear their favourite Halloween costume as they enjoy the fun at SPOOKTACULAR. Canada's Wonderland is decorated with thousands of pumpkins, hay bales and corn stalks to create a unique Halloween experience."
Haunted attraction
A haunted attraction is a form of entertainment that simulates the experience of entering a haunted location that might be inhabited by ghosts, monsters, criminals, humorous characters, and other such creatures...
at Canada's Wonderland located in Vaughan
Vaughan
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It runs after the park's regular operating hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings in October - up to, and including Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
night. It is Canada's largest haunted theme park featuring over 300 monsters, 10 walk-through "maze" attractions, 3 uniquely-themed atmospheric scare areas, and three live shows. During its operation, the grounds are transformed via frightening decorative props, thematic music, eerie lighting to further create its scary atmosphere.
History
The haunted theme park concept was first introduced in 2005, then called Fearfest while the park was under the ownership of Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. Fearfest at Paramount Canada's Wonderland originally operated on weekday evenings through October, with 7 maze attractions alongside 2 motion simulator
Motion simulator
A motion simulator or motion platform is a mechanism that encapsulates occupants and creates the effect/feelings of being in a moving vehicle...
movie rides in the Paramount Action FX Theatre.
Most of the park's regular rides and attractions (with the exception of Nickelodeon Central
Nickelodeon Central
Since the 1990s, Nickelodeon, a worldwide children's entertainment company, has had an involvement in the creation and theming of amusement park rides. This article details the ventures of Nickelodeon in amusement parks....
, KidZville and Hanna-Barbera Land) continued to be staffed and operated during Fearfest, including the 'Haunted' Thunder Run
Thunder Run
Thunder Run is a unique powered roller coaster, themed after a runaway mine train, found at Canada's Wonderland, in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Rather than having a traditional chain lift hill, the train has an electric motor onboard...
coaster, which was slightly thematically changed to match the park. The park grounds were divided into 3 separately themed scare areas- The Curse of Sleepy Hollow, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Rockin' Scare, and Backlot Blood Bath - each having 2-3 mazes associated with it. Each maze and scare area generally has its own unique back story, sometimes linking several mazes together.
The following year, Paramount extended its regular operating season through the family-oriented Halloween event "Spooktacular"http://www.canadaswonderland.com/fearfest/spooktacular.html in the typically closed child-oriented areas of the park, to match Fearfest's attendance in October. In 2006 the park ran Spooktacular from October 14–29 on weekends during the day, and would reopen the park as Fearfest in the evening.
With the change in ownership of the park from Paramount to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, the Fearfest name was dropped and renamed Halloween Haunt, remaining consistent with similar attractions at other Cedar Fair theme parks across North America. In addition, Spooktacular was not revived for the 2007 operating season. Despite this, Canada's Wonderland still continued regular daytime park hours during the Halloween Haunt run. With an existing history of running haunted attractions since 1973 at Knott's Halloween Haunt, Cedar Fair was able to incorporate 4 additional mazes to the roster while retiring the Legend of the Lost and Slaughter Street attractions.
In 2008, Halloween Haunt saw an extended seasonal run into November, breaking the park's own attedance records for the event. Cedar Fair also retired the MTV Rockin' Scare area, including the Total Request Dead and Ozzburnes mazes in order to introduce 3 new ones for the season http://www.canadaswonderland.com/News/detail.cfm?item_id=805. The "adult-oriented'" horror musical show Dead Awakening also opened during the 2008 Halloween Haunt, performing at the Wonderland Theatre. There are currently three atmospheric scare areas with free-roaming monsters: Front Gate, CarnEVIL, and The Swamp.
Current attractions
These are the current attractions as of October 2010, Halloween Haunt 2011 will start September 30, 2011.Family Fun
- Camp Spooky - Children's Section/Camp Snoopy (debuted 2010)
It's Halloween fun for the whole family! With children's rides, mazes, spooky storytelling and all the fun of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts Gang, Camp Spooky at Canada's Wonderland will make your kids scream for more! Camp Spooky is included with Park admission.
Shows
- Beyond The Grave - Show (debuted 2011)
Take a trip to the other side as Mysterion the Mind Reader delves into the world of the supernatural while our cast of zombies rise from the dead to bring you the heart of pounding anthems of Guns N' Roses, Ozzy Osbourne, and Muse.
- The Hanging - Show (debuted 2011)
Join the citizens of Halloween Haunt at The Hanging of Molly McIvor for crimes of witchcraft and devil worship.
- Skeleton Crew - Show (debuted 2011)
Acrobats and fire breathers dazzle the senses in this high action cirque style spectacle.
Mazes
- Terror Of London - Maze (debuted 2011)
It’s 1888 and the Jack the Ripper murders have terrorized the city of London. The discovery of the “canonical five” bloody victims has paralyzed the residents of Whitechapel District with fear. With no hope of catching this culprit, every person you pass on the street is a potential attacker or victim.
- Blood on the Bayou - Maze (debuted 2010)
Residents along the Louisiana bayou have long been warned not to venture too far from the water’s edge; beyond the opulent river mansions is a mysterious, twisted world where curses are whispered in the dark and no one ever makes it back to shore. Those who go too far are soon driven mad with fear and bloodlust so be cautious – there’s no telling what you could wake in the Bayou.
- Club Blood - Maze (debuted 2009)
"At the hottest new nightclub in town, they line up to get in, but no one makes it out alive. Because inside this devilish dance hall, vampires staff the bar and the DJ booth in an effort to lure the most edible into their isolated lair. The most delicious dancers are invited to the VIP lounge, where away from the throbbing heartbeat of the music, the vampires slowly suck the life from their victims."
- Kingdom of Carnage - Maze (debuted 2008)
"Castle Carnage has long been feared for its twisted reputation for using medieval torture methods on prisoners. The victims have now overthrown the cruel nobility and inflict their own bloody torture in a scene of deadly mayhem that makes Castle Carnage look like a holiday retreat. Let the brave of heart and noble of spirit beware: Chivalry is dead."
- Red Beard's Rage - Maze (debuted 2008)
"The legendary pirate known as Red Beard
Aruj
Aruj or Arouj was the elder brother of Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha and Ottoman Bey of Algiers and Beylerbey of the West Mediterranean...
is said to have led his crew into a massacre; his ship was never found. A single surviving manuscript tells how his mistress cast a spell stopping the crew from fully crossing into death. Now the ship is in dock and Red Beard and his undead crew await new victims to help them satisfy their bloodlust."
- Clowns at Midnight in 3D - Maze (debuted 2007)
"The 1937 big top fire doomed the circus performers to a slow and agonizing death. Now every night, the clowns and circus freaks continue their demented performance, looking for fresh blood to avenge their suffering."
- The Asylum - Maze (debuted 2007)
"In 1923, Miles Gravestone was admitted to the asylum after surviving Slaughter Mill. Driven mad by his memories of the carnage and outraged that no one believed his story, Miles led the inmates of the asylum in a violent revolt. Taking his fury out on the doctors and nurses, he leaves them just as deranged and bloodthirsty as the patients."
- Miner's Revenge - Maze (debuted 2007)
"A fatal mine collapse left dozens of hardworking miners trapped and left for dead. Now out to avenge their early deaths, the murdered miners stalk anyone brave enough to go digging for trouble in their haunted lair."
- Mother Noose in 3D - maze (debuted 2008)
"When the Brothers Grimm set out to tell stories from the countryside, they never imagined the dark horrors and unhappy endings they would encounter. Tales of massacre, evil creatures and ferocious beasts are not the fairy tales we grew up with. Mother Noose recreates these haunted stories for anyone brave enough to see just how dark the dark ages really were."
- Cornstalkers - Maze (debuted 2005)
"The fields of the Van Tassel farmstead are overgrown with two centuries of colonial debris and rotting corn. Monster scarecrows now consider this their home, attacking anyone who dares enter their fields with their razor-sharp beaks and terrifying shrieks of madness."
Retired attractions
- Psycho Circus - Show (retired 2011)
"Mayhem reigns at the Psycho Circus where rockin’ freaks meet creepy comedy."
- Blood Shed - Maze (retired 2011)
"Located deep on the grounds of the Van Tassel family farm, this abandoned barn is haunted by the twisted remains of rabid animals and the deranged and deadly marauding farmhands."
- Fangs - Show (retired 2010)
"Comedy meets vampires in this edgy unveiling of the undead..."
- A Midsummer Nights Scream- Maze (retired 2010)
"The mysterious and mythical creatures who once peacefully inhabited the forest are gone. Fallen victim to massacring humans scared at living so close to these immortals, the burnt and destroyed forest was devoid of almost all life. Only a few fearsome fairies remain, swearing terrifying revenge on any who dare to enter these woods."
- Dead Awakening - Show (retired 2009)
"A live, adult-oriented musical horror performance that will take audience members into the deeply disturbed and twisted world of the contemporary human's psyche. Darkness and evil that all have dreamed but never talked about, will be unleashed in is this chilling, music-video style show depicting one woman's maddening nightmare in a performance that will leave audience members afraid to go to sleep."
- Massacre Manor - Maze (retired 2009)
"The Van Tassel boy had been warned about wandering too far into the forest, and disturbing things better left forgotten, but he didn’t listen. He came to the grave of the Headless Horseman
Headless Horseman
The headless horseman has been a motif of European folklore since at least the Middle ages.The Headless Horseman is a fictional character who appears in a short story called “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” which is in a collection of The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon written by Washington Irving...
, a soldier who had died not during battle, but by execution for unjust war crimes. When the boy returned home that night, he brought with him the curse of sleepy hollow. The enraged horseman brutally murdered the Van Tassel family and the farm workers in his ever agonizing search for his head. Over 200 years later, this colonial farmhouse is still haunted by the undead occupants."
- Slaughter Mill - Maze (retired 2009)
"When Thomas Greychild died while working at the paper mill, 200 years ago, his wife swore her vengeance upon all the workers who were present on that dark day and did not help him. She placed a dark curse onto half of the workers, transforming the men into rabid werewolves who trapped the remaining millers inside the paper mill so that they too could feel her loneliness and never go home to see their wives. Years of such solitude and witnessing such carnage have turned them manic as they are unable to die, but not fully alive. Both the millers and werewolves are set to ensure complete carnage on any mortal who dares to breach their territory."
- Total Request DEAD - MTV Rockin' Scare Maze (retired 2008)
"Enter heavy metal hell! Metal heads wreak havoc, destruction and death on Zombie bubble gum pop stars in the bloodied backstage world of wardrobe, make up and roadies."
- The Ozzburnes - MTV Rockin' Scare Maze (retired 2008)
"Join Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly Ozzburne and their many burned-out (and burned-up) friends, in this intense open house of terror. The mother of all parties is over!"
- Legend of the Lost: The Director's Cut - Backlot Blood Bath Maze (retired 2007)
"A film crew shooting an action movie at the site of ancient ruins of giant warriors become the latest victims of this cursed, dark place, where legend holds that the grounds are sacred and must not be violated."
- Slaughter Street Fear Zone - Backlot Blood Bath Maze (retired 2007)
"The filming of a chase sequence has gone terribly wrong. Carnage is everywhere! A giant crater, wrecked cars belching smoke and fire ... what caused this grim wreckage?"
- Spooktacular - KidZville/Nickelodeon CentralNickelodeon CentralSince the 1990s, Nickelodeon, a worldwide children's entertainment company, has had an involvement in the creation and theming of amusement park rides. This article details the ventures of Nickelodeon in amusement parks....
Area (retired 2007)
"We invite children to wear their favourite Halloween costume as they enjoy the fun at SPOOKTACULAR. Canada's Wonderland is decorated with thousands of pumpkins, hay bales and corn stalks to create a unique Halloween experience."