Haunted house takes over Wachovia Spectrum

By Lauren McGlone
Collegian Staff
October 11, 2006

Egyptian mummies, three-dimensional goblins and prison break inmates: they may not seem likely partners, but this Halloween, they’re teaming up to bring you one of the nation’s scariest haunted experiences.

Freshman Cayleen Stuski had the opportunity to pose with this creepy character
from the Wachovia Spectrum’s Nightmares X-treme Scream Park. - Lauren McGlone

The Wachovia Spectrum’s Nightmares X-treme Scream Park takes its thrill-seekers into four shocking dimensions, with twists and turns like no other. Each corner brings new shocks, thrills and screams as “monsters” reach out to extract your inner fears.

Before reaching the actual park, audiences are riveted by Edgar Allen Poe delivering a frightening soliloquy. This is the perfect opportunity for white-faced ghosts and goblins to take advantage of the engrossed audience, darting out from underneath the stage and behind curtains, sneaking up on the guests who least expect a haunted encounter.

Next on the frightening agenda is a short movie, preparing the audience for what destiny may lie before them. Be sure to be quiet, back row. Haunted ushers and even “actors” from the movie may sneak up behind you just when you think the coast is clear.

Now, it’s time to begin the fright-fest. Groups of six prepare to enter an Egyptian realm as a boa constrictor eyes up the guests. Dashing through a maze of sharp corners, groups encounter barely-living mummies, deadly pharaohs and more live snakes. Help could be available along the way, but be sure to keep up with the group. If you fail, you could wind up with the snakes and mummies.

After making it out of Egypt, visitors enter a brand-new feature of the park, Flyers Fright. An eerily silent maze awaits Flyers fans who are dying to see their favorite hockey memorabilia with a haunted twist.

The next venture for the groups of shaking tourists is a three-dimensional glowing attraction. Special glasses are provided to enhance the experience for the fright-seekers. Walking through the maze tend to be illusory at some points because it’s difficult to tell where to go and who is really there. Glowing ghosts and goblins seems to appear from nowhere along the course of this maze, and follow close behind obviously frightened guests.

Poe makes another guest appearance in the next endeavor. His haunted house is the scene of the next terrifying maze. Chambers and long corridors await the next group of six who dare enter the doors.

Finally on the tour is Prison Break Live!, based on the FOX television drama. This realm is vastly different from the others, as there are dead ends and chain-link fences separating you from the deadly inmates. Traveling through the maze, lit with strobe lights, guests begin to wonder if they’re really moving at all, and if those fences are in fact separating them from anything. Each corner brings a new inmate, begging for help and company. While the guests try to find the right exit, misleading inmates attempt to trick and fool each group, pleading them to stay longer.

If and when the groups make it out of the terrifying labyrinths, they may view their experience from an aerial view of the spectrum floor.

Nightmares X-treme Scream Park will be open every Thursday through Sunday in October at the Wachovia Spectrum. Ticket information and a complete show schedule are available at www.NightmaresX.com.

mcglonel1@lasalle.edu