Moorpark College students looking for chills and thrills this Halloween season are lucky to live in southern California, where there’s no shortage of frightening events both locally and in downtown Los Angeles.
Popular activities include:
•Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights (selective dates between Sept. 15 – Nov. 5 in Hollywood)
•Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Haunted Ship (selective dates between Sept. 29 – Oct. 31 in Long Beach)
•Knott’s Scary Farm (selective dates between Sept. 22 – Oct. 31 in Buena Park)
•Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest (selective dates between Sept. 17 – Oct. 30 in Valencia)
•Reign of Terror haunted house (selective dates between Oct. 1 – Oct. 31 in Thousand Oaks)
•Underwood Family Farms’ pumpkin patch (selective dates between Oct. 1 – Oct. 31 in Moorpark)
The overwhelming favorite among students is ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ at Universal Studios, Hollywood.
“I enjoy going to Halloween Horror Nights because of the quality of mazes and actors who work there,” says Brandon Deshotel, 18, Business major.
Deshotel’s recognition of Universal’s overall quality is something the Halloween Horror Nights staff prides themselves on. According to an employee from Universal Studios Call Center, the minds creating the top-notch mazes, some of which have professional cinematic experience under their belt, pay extraordinary attention to details.
“They do such a brilliant job with the crafting of the mazes that it’s not just for the scare factor, it’s for being immersed,” according to Universal Studios employee. “Some mazes actually have props from the movies in them.”
Another crowd favorite is the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, a Halloween event held on the historic Queen Mary ocean liner in Long Beach, with mazes both inside and outside of the ship, as well as performances.
“Dark Harbor is very similar to Knott’s and Universal,” according to an employee for the Queen Mary. “We will also have vendors and an iron master themed carnival on the ship.”
While widely-known events such as Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and Knott’s Scary Farm continue to be the most popular attractions among Moorpark College students, the prices can be prohibitive, with general admission tickets reaching up to $89 depending on the night you go.
The locally-known Reign of Terror haunted house, located in the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks, provides the perfect place to have a good, local and affordable scare.
Rising up for its eighth consecutive year, the 21,000 square foot haunt is only $19 to experience at base price, with $30 getting you a VIP express pass.
Rob Nitzsche, fourth-year volunteer for the Reign of Terror, explains that this year’s experience is their biggest yet, aiming to strike at fears people already have.
“In this house we try to capitalize [on] all the fears [that people have], from clowns to zombies to spiders,” said Nitzsche.
Austin Plambeck, a 19-year-old Environmental Science major, explains his high praise for this event.
“I would recommend Reign of Terror to my fellow MC students because it is scary and exciting!” said Plambeck.
Although the price of admission is cheap for the 95-room haunted house, you wouldn’t know it from the quality and experience of the event.
“The maze is just as good or even better than the ones you can do at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights or Knott’s Scary Farm,” said Plambeck. “And it’s local and costs just a fraction of the price,” said Plambeck.
Even more than that, this maze is specially organized to provide different experiences to each group of attendees and to help reduce lines to create a smoother experience for visitors.
The Reign of Terror runs on weekends from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. Interested parties can visit www.rothauntedhouse.com for specific event dates and buy tickets online.
So for students looking to be scared out of their minds this Halloween season, these attractions will bring the horror to Halloween Horror Nights.
