You’ll want to experience the horror again and again. Scream-A-Geddon, located in Dade City, Florida is definitely worth the drive. No question. If you’ve ever wanted to visit one of those haunted house or Halloween events that you find in all those shows on The CW, then visit the houses and offerings of this “horror theme park.” With five exceptional houses, including a haunted trail, plus zombie paintball, and the fact you can make a homemade s’more over the open camp fires, this is by far a don’t-miss local haunt in Central Florida.

From the moment you enter the haunted grounds of Scream-A-Geddon, you will be faced with terrifying wandering scareactors standing in your way between you and the haunted houses and mazes. After confronting ghostly dolls and sinister clowns, you may have worked up quite the appetite. Good thing there are many food options. Of all the delicious “fair food” options, my personal favorite is the s’more kit. That’s right! Scream-A-Geddon offers many camp fires (not for warmth, it’s Florida haha) but for roasting marshmallows and making that quintessential autumnal treat. I had so much fun! Like, for real. I cannot remember the last time that I had the opportunity to make a real s’more with crispy graham crackers and an official Hershey bar.

After savoring every bite of my freshly made s’more, my friend Michael and I made our way over to the Zombie Paintball entrance! Taking the place of the former haunted hay ride, this is a premium offering requiring an additional nominal charge. But I assure you, it’s well worth it! We were ushered past the fair queue of guests to the bus and were greeted by the paramilitary commander who instructed us to take our seat on the bus. I was particularly excited about this opportunity because I had never shot a gun before. At least one that wasn’t attached to the shooting gallery at Magic Kingdom. Once seated, the bus began to take off. The commander informed us of our directions to kill the zombies before they overtake the town. With a great production design including set pieces from the former Haunted Hayride plus new additions and florescent paintballs, this attraction is highly interactive and immersive. It’s a not-to-be missed attraction at Scream-A-Geddon this year.

After taking-out more than a dozen zombies, we jaunted over to a new house for this year. Demon’s Revenge. Such an incredible haunted maze. Unlike the houses at HHN and HOS, the houses at SAG where you are on a figurative conveyor belt navigating the house, SAG only sends through small groups. This enables you to experience more scares without seeing them up ahead and the opportunity to get lost in the maze. Although it is ultimately difficult to get completely lost in the maze, there are plenty of twists, turns, and dead ends that you may encounter. Fortunately, whilst remaining in character, the scareactors will redirect you if you do stray too far from the path. The overall theme of Demon’s Revenge is an old church building that is now overrun with an evil witch’s coven. The costumes and effects are fantastic! You’ll find dragons, Poltergeist-like giant ghosts, and more in this claustrophobic labyrinth of narrow passageways and everything that goes bump in the night.

When we narrowly escaped the coven, and navigated our way out of the old church building, we walked over to test our wits against the Dead Woods. Unlike the simulated woods that are created at HHN and HOS, this horror attraction takes you through the woods–literally. Within only the stars and a glowstick as your source of light, you make your way down the dark pathways through a village inhabited by a cast of characters that typify hillbilly horror. Not one or two cabins in the woods await you, but several that you must pass through without becoming dinner–uhh, I mean asked to stay for dinner. Dead Woods returns for another year of effective scares! The concept of a haunted woods is something that I feel truly adds to the Halloween experience. Something about it feels like Halloween. It may have still been in the 70s or 80s as we braved the Dead Woods, but everything else about it screamed Halloween!

Another returning house this year is Infected: Ground Zero. But just because it is returning for another year of terror, that does not mean that you can plan for it to be the same. What IS the same, is the returning option for additional interaction with the scareactors. By opting for the glow necklace, you give the attraction permission to get up close and personal with you. This can be anything from a creepy body check to being placed in a body bad or even having your hair buzzed off to check for deadly spores (okay, you’re not really going to lose your hair). Another effective layout! Much like with the other houses, this one too feels like a legitimate maze. Be careful which way you go through this infectious diseases camp. You may find yourself face to melting-off-face with those who have already come in contact with the deadly disease.

Across the midway stands Blackpool Prison. A prison more notorious than Leavenworth, Alcatraz, or Shawshank. This prison is filled with the most vile of criminals, many of which are serving time for violent crimes. Like with Infected, this house is also an interactive one, when wearing the glow necklace. Enter if you dare, because you may not be able to break out of this prison. From the moment you enter the dark, dank prison walls, you will be confronted by ruthless and sinister prisoners. By wearing the necklace, you may also find yourself dragged into cells and forced to crawl through small openings in the walls in order to find the exit. In order to keep things warm at the winter, there is a furnace in which you may be thrown. One cell leads to another, with no end in sight. Terrifying imagery and scares await you around every corner, and where you least expect them. An A-class haunted maze experience.

Lastly, Rage 3D was a new addition for 2017 and return with its killer clowns this year. The 3D classes truly enhance the experience of this house. The production design is fantastically colorful! But the surreal effects do not stop there. By far, this is the best clown horror house I have ever been in, and I’ve been to some great ones at HHN and HOS. Next level scary! Scary because you are a little disoriented the entire time, all the while clowns are jumping out at you. You even have to pass through a mirrored room with both fake and real clowns, and you never know which is which. Walls will fall in on you and you’ll have to walk through a spinning tunnel. The lighting and color effects are what impresses me most about this house. Of course, the clowns are nightmarish themselves!

There you have it! Now that you’ve read about it, you need to experience it for yourself. Visit Scream-A-Geddon‘s website for details and tickets!

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Visit Scream-A-Geddon‘s website for details and tickets!