Halloween and haunted houses go hand in hand

ALBANY, GA (WALB) – Halloween and haunted houses go hand in hand and one opened their doors Friday night.

Darton and Shriners' House of Horrors gave visitors quite a scare. It's in the old Office Max building behind the mall.

There was a line of people waiting to get in. Organizers didn't let us in because they didn't want to ruin the scary surprise.

"We didn't want the reporters to go through with because we want our customers to be scared and surprised," said Cynthia Mann, Darton College Servant Leadership Dir.

"$7 admission we're open 7-11PM Friday and Saturday 7-11PM next weekend, during the week Monday-Thursday we're open from 7-10PM," said Dorsey Holt, Shriner's Potentate.

The money collected will split between the Shriner's and to Darton's Leadership Program so they can take a trip to the Florida Keys to study Coral.


Halloween events and haunted houses

Halloween events and haunted houses

by WWLTV.com

wwltv.com

Posted on October 15, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Updated today at 1:24 PM
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Looking for a good scare? Check out some area Haunted Houses:

    * House of Shock: For 18 years this haunted house has creeped out locals and brought those looking for a good scare from far and wide. Inside a warehouse in Jefferson, it is rated one of the most intense haunted houses. Open Oct. 14-17, 21-24, 27-31 from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Admission $25. Located at 319 Butterworth St. Jefferson, LA. 70121
    * The Mortuary: An old funeral home that was coverted into a freaky spot for thrill seekers. Oct. 13-17, 21-24, 26-31 from 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. Admission $25. Located at 4800 Canal Street.
    * The Warehouse of Terror: Slidell's only haunted house; it is not for the faint of heart.  Open 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. every weekend in October. Admission $15 on Fri. and Sat., $13 on Sun. Located at 54367 E. Howze Beach Rd, Slidell
    * The Chamber of Horrors:   In its fifth year, the River Parishes now have a place for those looking to scare themselves. Open Friday and Saturday night in October and Halloween night. from 7:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. Admission $12. Located at 702 East Airline Hwy., LaPlace, 70068

 Click here or the images to take a peek inside the haunted houses.



Halloween Events - Friday, October 22nd - Sunday, October 31st

    * Park-a-Boo, Lafreniere Park, Friday, October 22nd - Sunday, October 24th
    * Ghosts in the Oaks, City Park, Friday, October 22nd
    * Barktoberfest, New Orleans, Saturday, October 23rd
    * VooDoo Experience, City Park, Friday, October 29th - Sunday, October 31st
    * SoLA Center for the Art's Halloween Parade, Houma, Friday, October 29th
    * Krewe of Halloween Parade and Monster Bash, New Orleans, Saturday, October 30th
    *  Halloween Hayride and Hoopla, Fairview-Riverside State Park, Madisonville, Saturday, October 30th
    * Mortuary Haunted House, New Orleans, Friday, October 22nd - Sunday, October 31st
    * The Historic New Orleans Collection presents Haunted Histories, New Orleans, Friday, October 22nd - Sunday, October 31st
    * Southern Food Museum's Halloween Party, New Orleans, Sunday, October 31st
    * 15th Annual NOLA Designer Halloween Costume Boo-tique, New Orleans, Saturday, October 23rd, 504-948-2583 * Free & open to the public, Saturday, October 23 * 12 Noon - 5 PM, at Blue Nile * 532 Frenchmen St.
    *  Trick or Trunk, St. John Luthern Church in New Orleans, Friday, October 29th. For more information: Call 488-6641. Children of the community are invited to participate in free games, crafts, and trick or treat from decorated car trunks of church and school members. Please, come join the fun from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on October 29th.
    *  Boo at the Zoo, Friday and Saturday, October 22 and 23, and the following weekend, Friday and Saturday, October 29 and 30! Admission is 5pm  - 9:30pm each day and tickets are $16 each. Proceeds benefit Audubon Zoo and Children's Hospital.

TULSA - Ready for Halloween?

Many people enjoy visiting Haunted Houses during this time of year, but where are the real haunted locations in the area?

2News has compiled a list of places rumored to be haunted in and around Green Country.

1. Gilcrease Museum - The Gilcrease Museum houses one of the world's most extensive and renowned collections of Native American and Western art and artifacts. Thomas Gilcrease passed away in 1962. It is said that the philanthropist's ghost has been seen and heard haunting the museum.

2. Brady Theater - According to local legend, famed opera singer, Enrico Caruso died of pleurisy just one year after an open-air carriage ride on a cold and wet Oklahoma day while on tour in the area. It is said that his ghost still haunts the Brady Theater for causing his death.

3. Haunted Train Tracks - Though the exact location is unknown, legend has it that four children died playing chicken on a particular set of train tracks in Tulsa. Some believe that if you park your car in this location, the ghosts of the children will push your car off the tracks and leave dirty handprints on it.

4. Spotlight Theater - Local legend says footsteps can be heard coming from the costume room, and strange scratch marks can be seen on the wall in the basement.

5. Murdoc's Mansion - It is believed this mansion was once located near 111th and Sheridan. One day the mansion burned down, and people began to visit the site of the old mansion for fun. It is said that these adventurous individuals reported sensing an "eerie" feeling when they stepped foot on the property.

6. Constantine Theater - The theatre is located in Pawhuska, in Osage County. The building is said to be haunted by the ghost of Sappho Constantine Brown, the daughter of George Constantine. While the building was undergoing restoration, workmen claimed to hear phantom footsteps and saw an apparition of a young girl.

7. Philbrook Museum - The statues at this museum may have some "personalities" of their own. It is said that the eyes of many of the statues will follow you, and some of the heads will actually turn.

8. Will Rogers High School - It is rumored that at night you can see a man in a white penguin tuxedo walking around on stage. People say it is the ghost of an old band director who died of a heart attack on stage in the 50's.

Copyright 2010 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.







The Bridgetown teen starts thinking about the spooky holiday in September, when he begins plotting the concept for the annual haunted house he builds at his mother's home at 5603 Green Acres Court.

This year marks the seventh straight year Thierauf, a sophomore at The School for Creative & Performing Arts, has put together a haunted house at his home.

Billed as House of Horrors Manor, it will be open to the public from 6-10:30 p.m. Oct. 29-31. A kid-friendly version of the haunt is open from 6-7:15 p.m. each night.

"I enjoy scaring people," said Thierauf, a lighting design student. "It's actually more fun to scare the older teens and young adults who think they can't be scared."

The first couple of years it was confined to the garage, but now he said the manor encompasses his front and back yards as well. Each year the haunted house gets bigger and bigger, and there are typically about 500 people who walk through it each night, he said.

"The whole driveway is full of people lined up to walk through," he said.

Thierauf starts thinking about the concept for the production and drawing plans in September. He utilizes everything from costumed actors and strobe lights to fog effects and animatronics to scare people. This year the cast includes 15 actors, many of whom are fellow SCPA students.

He said this year he's started making his own latex masks and learning how to do more detailed makeup.

"I wouldn't recommend anyone younger than 10 years old go through it," he said. "We've been told it's better than most of the haunted houses that charge admission."

Spending roughly 20 hours a week building rooms and getting the haunted house together has forced him to enlist the help of his neighbors and Matt Glass, who is engaged to Thierauf's mother, Kimmie.

Glass said it's been neat to lend a hand and watch Ryan work hard to make the haunted house bigger and better each year.

"This is our Christmas," Glass said.

Thierauf said he wants to pursue a career in set design, and his goal is to one day open a haunted house for which he can charge admission.

"Someday I want to go pro," he said.

While admission to House of Horrors Manor is free, Thierauf does accept donations.

For more information about the haunted house, visit www.hohhauntedhouse.weebly.com.



A while back, researchers from the Sonoma County Paranormal Institute came to Cloverdale with their precision instruments to check out several sites where apparitions have reportedly been seen.

Next Saturday, October 23, the researchers will be at the Cloverdale History Center, 215 N. Cloverdale Blvd., for “Haunted Cloverdale,” a presentation on ghosts and related phenomena.

They will also report their findings on two of the buildings they investigated – the Gould-Shaw House and the Isaac East Shaw Building, both of which are adjacent to the new History Center.

Gould-Shaw house

Each building is on the National Register of Historic Places in Sonoma County. The Gould-Shaw House was built in 1862 and is currently home to the Cloverdale Museum. The other building was built in 1875 and currently houses Low Knob Press.

While the first part of the evening is sold out, there are still tickets available for docent led walking tours of these facilities.

Beginning at 7 p.m., researchers will escort Haunted Cloverdale participants into each building, describing in detail the building’s history, as well as what their instruments recorded, and what they personally saw and heard during their investigation.

In case all these ghostly events put your nerves on edge, a Wine Reception with a variety of delicious appetizers from local restaurants will follow.

Tickets are $10 each and can purchased at the door. All proceeds support the Cloverdale History Center’s public programs and education exhibits.

disney info

(10/13/10) Amusement Insider drops into Mickey’s Not So Scary and posts an update of nearly 100 new photos from the upcharge event at the Magic Kingdom.
(10/8/10) A posting over at Orlando United claims that the queue area for the Haunted Mansion will soon be replaced with a “Next Gen” style interactive queue, which will include the replacement of the tomb stones in the graveyard with new “interactive” tombstones. I’m not so hot on the idea of removing the old tombstones myself, but I wouldn’t mind seeing some fun new ones added, much like the one added a few years ago that has the eyes that look around.
(9/17/10) Over 300 pictures taken at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party can be seen at MouseSteps this week.
(9/10/10) Orlando United has posted the first pictures of the Boo To You parade at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, taken during a CM Preview performance.
(9/9/10) MouseSteps takes a look around the Magic Kingdom at all the new Halloween decorations going up, as well as a peek at what’s new in Fantasyland.
(9/7/10) A new photo update from the Magic Kingdom as they add all the Halloween decorations to the park can be seen at WDW MouseTails this week, as well as a peek at the Little Mermaid site.
(8/25/10) Local WDW sources tell us that the characters on the Small World merchandise are not planned to be added to the ride and that the merchandise may simply be repurposed designs created originally for Disneyland but modified for use at WDW. The true primary purpose of the lengthy rehab is to reverse the way the load/unload traffic works. When it reopens guests will load in through the longer “exit” queue pathway and exit up the old entrance ramp.
(8/23/10) WDW Mouse Tales has posted an interesting update this week from the park. In addition to the basic construction updates to Fantasyland and Main Street. Then they came across something that may give a clue as to what’s going on inside Small World during the current rehab. New Small World merchandise can now be found in Fantasyland gift shop outside Philharmagic that clearly shows classic Disney characters mixed in with the Small World dolls. Is a top secret upgrade to Small World taking place like the one done to Disneyland? Oh... and in case it wasn’t mentioned before, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority has gone back to being called the Peoplemover once again... or TTA: Peoplemover if you will.
(8/17/10) Orlando Parks News has a new construction update from the Magic Kingdom this week.
(8/16/10) Summer Nightastic may be ending but you can relive it again with this great photo coverage of the Fireworks Spectacular from the Magic Kingdom posted to Amusement Insider this week.
(8/2/10) Storytime with Belle will come to an end with the final show on September 12th. It will be replaced with a new Meet ‘n Greet experience for the Tangled characters (Rapunzel & Flynn Ryder) starting October 15th.
(7/30/10) WDW has confirmed today that they will be keeping the Main Street Electrical Parade INDEFINITELY.
(7/11/10) I actually missed this when it was posted back in May but The Theme Park Guy managed to get permission for a rare low-altitude fly-over the Magic Kingdom and posted some great pictures of the park showing of the size of the Fantasyland expansion site as well as a look down into the former River Country waterpark.

Ride Rehabs - The following information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate.
Small World – NOW CLOSED through 10/22/10

Late 2010 - Space Mountain in Starry-O-Phonic Sound - (8/31/10) Good news for Disney fans, the new rumored Audio system on Space Mountain has now opened to the public. Disney has created a new old-time looking attraction poster to promote it, calling it “Starry-O-Phonic Sound”. According to the posting it is , “a new composition that’s exclusive to the attraction at Magic Kingdom Park that will play with varying sound effects throughout all “flights” on 60 newly installed speakers. “Starry-O-Phonic Sound” compliments a slew of enhancements that debuted on Space Mountain last year, including new lighting, storyline elements and updated decor.”
Want to take a quick listen? WDWMouseTales.com braved the ride a few hours ago to record it and post it on YouTube for everyone to enjoy. Follow the link or check out the embedded version below! However, as I feared, this is a poor substite for having an actual on-board audio system, as the audio is very hard to hear for much of the ride, other than the occasional loud sound effect.

halloween news in orlando

Grab your little vampires, superheroes, princesses, monsters — and duffels.

Halloween is no longer just about trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Instead, you can take your pick of zoos, museums, theme parks, campgrounds, big cities, small ones — all of which have Halloween doings guaranteed to scare the teens and plenty of benign "spooky" fun for the littlest ghosts and goblins.

Even Broadway is getting into the act with its first Kids' Night on Broadway Halloween, which means kids between 6 and 18 can see Broadway shows for free, including hits like "Wicked," "Billy Elliot" and, perfect for Halloween, "The Addams Family," "Mary Poppins" and" Memphis." (Use promo code KNOB2010. A paying adult must accompany each kid.) Even better, KNOB tickets include a pre-theater Halloween party at Madame Tussauds, restaurant and parking discounts and more. You can feel extra good about participating because the event salutes the 60th anniversary of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, which to date has raised nearly $160 million. (For more on New York's Halloween offerings visit http://www.nycgo.com/.)

Twenty theme parks across the country have big Halloween haunts, including Knott's Berry Farm, which is celebrating its 38th Halloween Haunt, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and its Howl-O-Scream (Want to have your makeup done just like the performers?), the less frightful Legoland in Carlsbad, Calif., where "Brick-or-Treat includes "Mail Order Monsters" where your little monsters can help Princess Playwright break the spell and the brand-new maze at Paradise Park in Lee's Summit, Mo. (Try not to get lost in this 9,500-square-foot labyrinth!)

Photo courtesy of Disneyland Resorts

Mickey and Minnie welcome guests to Halloween Time at Disneyland.

Go to Disneyland's Halloween Time where Space Mountain turns into Ghost Galaxy — yes, a haunted version of what may well have been your kids' first "scary" ride, and the chance to meet and greet all of your favorite villains and vote for them too. (For 10 nights this month, you can come to Mickey's Halloween Party ($49, if tickets are purchased in advance; $59 on Halloween) in costume and trick-or-treat your way through the park, as you enjoy special shows, fireworks and more. (To save $300 on four-day packages, visit http://disneyland.disney.go.com/special-offers/.)

You're crazy busy, of course, shuffling work, the kids' science projects, soccer practice, clarinet lessons ... all the more reason to take an afternoon, or a weekend, if you can manage it and have some fun in the pumpkin patch. Visit www.pickyourown.org and find one near you.

Go camping. Some of the busiest camping weekends are in the fall at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resorts, which offer "no scare" weekends with corn mazes and more.

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Head to a resort. Great Wolf Lodge Niagara Falls, Canada's largest indoor water park, transforms into a haunted lodge complete with monster mash family dance, spooky story time and even science projects.

If you are in Northern California — or hanker for a getaway there — visit Half Moon Bay. Located about 40 miles south of San Francisco, Half Moon Bay calls itself the pumpkin capital of the world with festivals, farms, pumpkin ale and even pumpkin spa experiences. (While you're in the neighborhood, the California Academy of Sciences — considered one of the "greenest" museums in the world — is celebrating the "SuperNatural" all October with special programs and events that allow you to commune with bats and get up close and personal, just not too personal, with tarantulas, snakes and otherworldly fish.

In Orlando, SeaWorld's "Ocean of Halloween Fun" means kids can watch "spooky" shows and help "Sesame Street's" Abby Cadabby find her magic wand and search for hidden "sea" treasures throughout the park. There's even a Spooky Spectacular Sleepover Oct. 15-16 and Oct. 22-23. There are hotel discounts as much as 25 percent off at Walt Disney World too, where your littlest park goers will like Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Nearby, Universal Orlando is celebrating its 20th Halloween Horror Nights with what they promise will be the scariest yet with eight new haunted houses, scare zones and live shows.

Make it a new tradition to head to a city near you for some spooky fun. Chicago's Navy Pier brings you the zombie march, a haunted house and carnival of curiosities, as well as fireworks every Saturday in October.

Providence's Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular features thousands of illuminated jack-o-lanterns.

Providence, R.I., boasts the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo where there will be thousands of illuminated jack-o-lanterns that have been created by professional pumpkin carvers.

If you are looking for real ghosts, Ohio promises that Waynesville is a bona-fide haunted village with hands-on ghost hunting and information on real ghostly encounters.

If you're planning a holiday in Britain, then head to Wales and stay in a haunted castle. (Wales apparently has the highest castle-to-person ration in the world — 641 castles, 3 million people — and a long history of hangings and riots and, as a result, plenty of ghosts.

Ghostly encounters aren't that unusual closer to home either. According to a Rent.com survey, 11 percent of renters believe they have lived in a home inhabited by ghosts. The website lists the top 10 haunted cities in the country, including Savannah, Ga. And Gettysburg, Pa., where all 40 miles of the battlefields where some 51,000 Civil War soldiers died are believed to have paranormal activity.

And let's not forget Salem, Mass., the site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The restless spirits of the 19 hanged as witches are said to haunt Gallows Hill. New Orleans' St. Louis Cemetery, meanwhile, is considered one of the country's most haunted resting places and you can also tour the historic Voodoo Museum. New Orleans touts plenty of good October deals, too.

Wherever you decide to go this Halloween, just don't forget your witch's hat.

For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow "taking the kids" on www.twitter.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.

Theme parks roll out Halloween thrills

This time of year, theme parks across the nation are transformed into Halloween hot spots.

If you're searching for a destination that has pulled out all the stops to give you a monstrously good time or an attraction that won't give the littlest trick-or-treaters nightmares, scare up your favorite costume and check out these amusement parks for Halloween fun.

Universal Studios

Universal Studios is scaring guests on both coasts during its Halloween Horror Nights, drawing hundreds of thousands of horror fans each year.

In Hollywood, California, guests can experience five new mazes based on the most popular horror themes and movies of all time, including "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th."

Universal Orlando in Florida boasts eight new haunted houses and six scarezones at "Halloween Horror Nights XX: Twenty Years of Fear."

Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event. The price is $59 at the gate every night in California. Advance-purchase discounts are available on select nights.

In Orlando, general admission is $74.99. Guests may also add discounted Horror Nights admission to daytime park rates. Special Horror Nights rates are available for Florida residents: $34.99 Sundays through Thursdays, $49.99 on Fridays and $64.99 on Saturdays.

Cedar Fair Entertainment

Cedar Fair Entertainment operates such parks as King's Dominion in Doswell, Virginia; Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri; and Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, all boasting frightful Halloween events along with their usual jaw-dropping thrills.

Knott's Berry Farm, for example, is transformed into Knott's Scary Farm. Its annual Halloween Haunt features mazes, live shows, scare zones and 1,000 monsters roaming the park. Advance tickets are $33 to $50 based on the day of the week, in addition to park admission. Day-of tickets are $56.

Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, is offering a Halloween Haunt for $27.99 on Saturdays and $21.99 on Friday nights with online ticket purchase. Saturday tickets include all-day park admission and the Halloween event from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m.

Although the Haunts are generally not recommended for kids under 13, many of the parks also offer daytime Halloween events for the whole family.

Snoopy's Costume Party at Knott's Berry Farm celebrates Halloween with a Monster Dance Party and Costume Parade, a Peanuts Halloween Spooktacular and, of course, trick-or-treating.

At Kings Island's Howl-o-Fest, guests can join the Peanuts gang in a spooky singalong and visit a pumpkin patch with free kid-size pumpkins.

Six Flags

Six Flags Amusement Parks offer Halloween thrills at all of its locations, with their annual Fright Fests turning parks into playgrounds for ghouls and goblins. Even the most frightening coasters look tame in comparison with what awaits you in the terrifying mazes and haunted houses.

At Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta, guests can experience the Last Ride, simulating being buried alive, or check out Dr. Fright's Frightorium and CarnEvil.

Families won't want to miss the daytime Halloween celebrations, including pumpkin painting, trick-or-treating and a kids costume contest at some locations. Fright Fest is included with park admission, although additional fees are required for some Fright Fest attractions. General admission is $49.99.

Sesame Place

For the youngest Halloween enthusiasts, Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, celebrates the Count's Halloween Spooktacular on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Visitors are invited to come in costume, and there is a costume contest on October 31. Guests can enjoy hayrides, trick-or-treating throughout the park, Elmo's World Live! Halloween Show and Abby Cadabby's Magical Halloween Maze.

Don't miss the Count's UN-Haunted Castle Maze, which teaches children that things are not as scary as they appear.

Tickets are available for $33 for single-day admission during Spooktacular weekends.

Disney

Guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes and collect candy while trick-or-treating around the Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Florida.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a special event from 7 p.m. to midnight on select nights through November 1.

Guests can enjoy Mickey's Boo-to-You Halloween Parade and Happy HalloWishes -- a spectacular fireworks show in which the Disney villains go trick-or-treating in the sky.

Mickey isn't celebrating only in the Sunshine State.

During Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland Park in California, guests can enjoy live music and embark on a three-hour Disney's Happiest Haunts tour to learn about the spookiest events in the park. Some rides are transformed into spooky attractions, like the haunting soundtrack and added visual effects to Space Mountain.

Purchase of an additional ticket is required at both locations. Tickets purchased on the day of the event cost $53.95 for ages 3 to 9 and $59.95 for ages 10 and up in Orlando. Advance-purchase discounts are available on some dates. At Disneyland in Anaheim, admission is $49 to $59, depending on the date.

Star Tours, both here in California and in Florida as well

Things are very busy in the world of Star Tours, both here in California and in Florida as well!

A few weeks ago I shared a first look at two new characters joining Star Tours, and today, I want to take you behind the scenes and show you what we were working on back in April 2009. We occupied a large soundstage in Hollywood to film a key sequence of the new show. Anthony Daniels flew in from London to bring C-3PO to life on the stage, as well as workshop the script with our writer Steve Spiegel.

I spoke with Anthony Daniels the other day about what it felt like to be back working on Star Tours.

“Wow! Back in the gold suit for the first time since ‘Revenge of the Sith,’” was Anthony’s reply. “But on this occasion in front of a beloved Starspeeder, a bit like the one R2 and I’d repaired every day since Disneyland first opened the Star Tours Spaceport all those years ago. I’d enjoyed being a part of the original Star Tours, one of the most wonderful jobs I ever had. I’d been alerted that amazing things were in store for passengers on the new Starspeeder – and for me too – and so here I was again, working with many of the same creative teams, with even more spin and excitement than the first time.”

On the immense soundstage, our production team re-created – full size – a portion of the Starspeeder 1000, so we could film it from multiple angles. Later, the effects wizards at ILM, under the direction of Bill George, completed the scene, adding in a whole range of droids and characters, and expanding the scale and scope of the scene.

Here, for the first time, are some photos from that soundstage shoot. More on Threepio in our next post.