Spooky worlds back!?!?!

[Zombie-F]

This is strange, a query of http://www.spookyworld.com now comes up with a "could not be found" error. I thought they were returning this year in a more "family friendly" capacity? This makes me wonder why they bothered re-vamping their website last year to make it more attractive if they were just going to disappear.

It's as if a dear old friend has fallen off the face of the earth. :(

[Zombie-F]

Nevermind, they're back online again and asking us to stay tuned for info on their new 2005 location. I just hope they don't go overboard with their promise to be more "family friendly."

[mikeq91]

In talking with Ed Gannon, it seemed like it would be more family friendly Spookyworld. But aparently he will be opening a big event at the Bayside Expo Center in Boston. So there still is hope!

Mike

[SuFiKitten77]

Hate to admit it .. but I have never been to SpookyWorld. I have heard so many mixed reviews on it and money being an issue havent had the chance to go. What do you guys think of it? Is it worth going to? What is it like?

[mikeq91]

Being the haunted house fanatic that I am, I thought it was absolutely amazing. I mean, there's not many places where you can go through 6 great, detailed haunted houses as many times as you want for one price (which is pretty high, but level with the amount of work they put into it). I mean, just the genius mind of David Bertilino. Basically the first to come up with the idea of using celebrities at haunted houses. And Ed Gannon, who is a great guy, added so much to Spookyworld. One thing I liked about it, was the high quality acting there was. And they hired lots of actors to cover the 6 haunted houses. Unfortunatly, I only got to go to Spookyworld twice, but one of those times I got a behind the scenes tour before. I also went to the auction which let you see just how much work was put into it. The auction was an amazing expirience just becuase you could freely walk through 4 of the haunted houses, and touch anything you wanted, play with things, go behind the sets as much as you wanted, etc. But all the stuff went for much more than they were worth. But overall, Spookyworld was a great thing for entertainment for people of all ages in the area, as well as a benchmark in the Haunted House industry.

So Spookyworld, RIP

Mike

[dewking]

For those of you interested... here is one of the latest articles on Spooky World.

Spooky World Story (http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2005/07/15/news/news/news12.txt)


I'm SLIGHTLY bias since I work for Barrett's Haunted Mansion right down the street, but if you want an honest opinion here's my best shot. It includes some facts from people that used to work at SW as well that now work at BHM.

When it was in Berlin it was pretty good. The cost was a little high, but overall, not a bad time. Once it came to Foxboro, they began to do away with the use of blood, and started flowing people through the houses at a constant flow so that the actors inside did not have time to reset at all which caused most people to feel jipped since they had lost that initial "surprise" scare. They were also trying to make it more "family friendly", which is fine, it brings in more money because you have more people, and they also included some carnival games/rides. They were even being concidered to be sponsored by Disney. The problem, it lost the fright. Maybe after years of working in and around haunted attractions, I've hit a point where I'm just not impressed by haunted houses anymore, but I have been to a few houses around the country that still have some good scares left in them. Spooky world is not one of them.

They lost it for me when they went from "America's Horror Themepark" to "America's Halloween Themepark". Bring back the blood, bring back the horror.

I'm not sure how the new one (if and where it opens) will be like the older one, or the new, but if they still lose the blood and horror, they will lose a lot of visitors.

Again, this is just my opinion, but I wanted to share it.
I will say, that they definitely are one of the main reasons why the haunt industry is so strong today!

-Dewking
www.BHMansion.com (http://www.BHMansion.com)

[mikeq91]

The link didn't work for me...

But what you said was very true. They did tone it down to make it more family friendly. I even wrote a paper in school this year about how I wish they kept the gore part in. I remember when I was pretty young I would watch for a Spookyworld commercial on TV where an actor would knock off another actors fake head. But as I grew up, there was less and less of this.

And they did push people through quickly, but I think they did a good job considering how fast they pushed people through. I mean, even with how fast they pushed people through, there still was very long lines.

Unfortunatly, I'm not old enough to have gone when it was in Berlin. What was it like?

Mike

[dewking]

When it was in berlin, they could use blood. Given, you need more than blood to scare people, but it helps a lot. They also had a great hayride, which was probably one of their best attractions.

I've spoken with a lot of spooky world cast members and there are definite "behind the scenes" horror stories about treatment, the amount of stock (makeup, etc..), and money. I wont share those here, since I did not see it first hand.

The story (from the broken link), was basically that they were trying to open SW at the Weymouth Air Base. Unfortunately, the base is on three towns and they did not get approval from two of the towns. One of which is Abington (where BHMansion is located). So they are having some trouble with the other towns and worried about traffic problems on Rt 18.

We (BHMansion), have had many discussions about how SW would affect us and for the most part, it wouldnt all that much. If anything, it MAY bring more people to our house, but that may cause a problem due to the fact that we are a single haunt and cannot (and do not want to) handle extreme amounts of traffic.

It will be interesting to see how things progress. As it is, I am not sure how they would be able to set up, plan, hire, and run a Haunt with such short notice, especially if they are still having some issues with zoning, etc...

If it does come back, I at least hope they bring back the hayride.... and blood. ;)

Otherwise, just come down to BHMansion. LOL!

;)
Dewking
www.bhmansion.com (http://www.bhmansion.com)

[mikeq91]

What I heard was that it was going to be in Toppsfield, but not of the fairgrounds. This could just be a rumor though.

I do remember the hayride, and I wish I had a chance to go on it. Now that you mention it, on that commercial that I used to watch for, there was a scene from the hayride where an actor with a chainsaw would come running out of a building at to wagon.

mike

[Zombie-F]

I never did get to see SW in Berlin and wish I had. But I did enjoy it in Foxboro, particularly the Hayride.

I do agree that when they went from Horror to Halloween theme park, and did away with the hayride, it kind of shit the bed. I still went, but it wasn't as good.

Honestly, I much prefer Witch's Woods to Spooky World. WW was a good time and has a pretty decent hayride.

Even moreso, Barrett's one house is better than all the houses in SW put together. They really need to put some work into making SW newer and different this year. None of this "family friendly" balogna.

A co-worker here, who has small children, is a little bummed out that they're taking the family friendly road. He says it's supposed to be scary... it's a haunted house. You can't tone it down and expect patrons to still be scared and have a good time being scared.

[dewking]

I want to check out WW this year. Its tough since I work at BHM every night (when they are open), so its hard to get out and see other houses now.

I've heard good things though.

You cant imagine how many people get upset when we tell them its not recommended for children, and they yell at us for scaring their kids in the house. ITS A HAUNTED HOUSE... if you cant deal with the characters outside, theres NO way you'll make it inside.

We do backoff of little kids, but only after they start to cry. ;)

D

[mikeq91]

Whats Witches Woods like? I live to far away to make it up there. Is it like Spookyworld?

I worked at the Harvest of Horrors this year, and it was my first night. A little kid was really scared, so one of the "floaters" (people who sort of supervise the actors and walk around the house adding scares) yelled "No scare", which apparently was their signal so the actors wouldn't pop out and scare the little kid. But me, not knowing any of this yet, poped out of my door yelling and screaming... I felt bad for the kid after they explained to me that when they say "no scare", it means don't scare them. Oh well, what can you do?

Mike

[Zombie-F]

Yeah, it's kinda like spooky world in that it has a hayride and a few haunted houses. It's different in that the houses are more well thought out than Spooky World's.

I'd also have to suggest trying out Evilville Railroad sometime. Some of Spooky World's castaways take over Edaville Railroad in October and make a large walkthrough that takes about an hour to walk through. Think of it as a hayride without the vehicle.

[lipstikgrl]

I loved SW in berlin! it was in old barns and stuff. the hay ride was great. PLUS I got engaged there. so that was pretty cool.i also enjoyed it at foxboro because it gave you actual room to walk around plus raxl got to converse with alice cooper about his jacket and alices kid and stuff so he really enjoyed that. . We always went to BHM every year too that was hellascary!! we went to Halloween Horror Nights last year at Universal Studios it was pretty good but a $50 ticket and if you do not get htere right when it opens you wait in big lines.

[mikeq91]

Some of you have probably seen this, but here's an article about this years spookyworld!

http://business.bostonherald.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=93096

Like I said on another forum, I don't think it can beat the old Spookyworld. They seem to be taking quantity over quality when its only their first year, which I think will be a mistake.

mike

[The Shape]

The word I'm hearing from unhappy Weymouth residents, is that it is going to be put in at the old naval base in Weymouth, Ma. Yes, it sounds like Rte 18 is going to get a LOT scarier!

[dewking]

Well, here is the latest news with SW moving to weymouth from the Patriot Ledger:


Boo-boo: Spooky World needs to find new home base

By MARK FONTECCHIO
The Patriot Ledger

Spooky World will not be held at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station. Officials didn't want the event to conflict with a similar Abington event that raises money for local charities.

Barrett's Haunted Mansion, which takes place every year behind the Abington Ale House, didn't want Spooky World scaring away clientele.

‘‘From the inception of this plan, our family thought it was the perfect opportunity to make use of an empty building, generate traffic for the restaurants, bring a new idea to Abington, create some excitement while allowing different nonprofit groups to raise money,'' wrote Mary Barrett Costello, who designed the mansion almost 15 years ago.

Barrett Family Restaurants has raised thousands of dollars through the event for local charities, schools and athletic organizations.

Tri-Town did not want to interfere with Barrett's fund-raiser.

‘‘My impression is that we don't need to be in the business of competing with local charities,'' Tri-Town Executive Director Terry Fancher said.

The operator of Spooky World was close to signing a contract that would have brought the Halloween theme park to the former South Weymouth Air Station The attraction, which began in central Massachusetts in 1995 and moved to Foxboro in 1999, didn't operate last year. Co-founder David Bertolino said he wanted to remodel the park and make it less gory.

Now it is returning under the ownership of Fiesta Shows, a Seabrook, N.H.-based carnival company that operates at festivals and fairs across New England, including fairs in Marshfield and Topsfield.

Copyright 2005 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, July 26, 2005

[SpectreTTM]

We (BHMansion), have had many discussions about how SW would affect us and for the most part, it wouldnt all that much. If anything, it MAY bring more people to our house, but that may cause a problem due to the fact that we are a single haunt and cannot (and do not want to) handle extreme amounts of traffic. ;)
Dewking
www.bhmansion.com (http://www.bhmansion.com)

I have been to BHM and thought it was one of the better haunts in the Boston area. I also planned to go this year. But after hearing that the town put the Kibosh on SW because it would compete with BHM. I had second thoughts. I felt it was a very selfish way to look at things. It brings to mind the Sausage Vendor and the kids with the lemonade stand that was in the news a couple of weeks back.

http://www.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=3676642

Then I read this quote by Dewking and was very impressed at his take on the matter. I thought to myself maybe I was wrong in how I felt about BHM. Maybe it was the selectmen that felt that way about the competition.

Then I read the last post and got a bit peeved. So people who love Haunted houses have to suffer because of this form of protectionism.

I guess sometimes business and short sighted Politicians (Tri-Town Executive Director Terry Fancher) should think about their public image before the engage in protectionism.

Thanks Dewkink for your unbiased opinion and understanding the sometimes competition is not so bad. And I agree that if SW got too busy the overflow would have spilled over to BHM. For the record I had planned to hit both BHM & SW. Now I may not patronize BHM as a matter of principle.

My 2 cents

[dewking]

Tom,

I totally understand your feeling on the situation. Understand though that Barrett's only mentioned concerns about traffic on the already busy Rt 18. I dont believe in all of the meetings we had that we ever said that we did not want them in our area, or try to tell the towns that it would take away from our business. I work closely with the owner of BHM and are very close with several actors that previously worked around SW (at all levels) and the only negative thoughts that may have come up were that they were turning haunts into something too family friendly.

But again, its up to you on the decision, just understand that, although the decision was made not to allow SW at the local airbase, BHM had very little (if any) direct pull on the actual decision.

I've worked at BHM for about 8+ years and will compare other haunts to ours (as im sure other workers would do as well), but have never felt another haunt should not be near another for fear of taking away business, etc...

my feelings, SW would have just ended up bringing more exposure to our haunt as well, not taking anything away from us.

My penny and a stick of gum... i need a raise. ;)

Dave

[SpectreTTM]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the response. I do appreciate it. As I said before I think BHM was one
of the better haunts that I have been to in the Boston area.

I just felt kinda sad that this area will have one less haunt.

I'll see if my wife wants to take a ride down and we can check it out this yr.

She has never been to BHM.

We'll See. Either way thank you for the response and the explanation.

BTW When we drop by would it be ok to ask for you?

I always like to meet a fellow Haunter ;)

[dewking]

Tom,

I totally agree, if anything, I'd prefer a town full of haunts. :)

If you guys do decide to come down, keep an eye out for one of the outside Klowns (the shorter of the two). All I ask is that you do not call out my name, as that basically kills the illusion and I may as well just go home. ;)

http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/2812/billboard26ex.jpg
(me on the left)

shhh. ;)

oh, and I am the Klown with the beard.

[SpectreTTM]

keep an eye out for one of the outside clowns (the shorter of the two).

That works for me.

I'm 5'2" and my wife is 4'11".

[Zombie-F]

Tom, perhaps when you come down to see my yard and some of the others in the area we could make a trip to BHM since it's only two towns over from us. I could probably even drag my wife (kicking and screaming, of course) along.

So, you're one of the clowns outside Dewking. Just so you know, I'm a 28-year old and you make me pretty uneasy. Clowns are scary, but the two of you that roam around outside BHM take the cake.

[SpectreTTM]

Hi Zombie-F

That might work out well. I'll mention it to my wife.

While we are on the subject of Clowns....

I do have an observation and question. Clowns make me uncomfortable My wife as well.
In fact a lot of people I talk to really don't like clowns all the much.

I thought Clowns were suppose to be funny and Lovable?

What's up with that?

[dewking]

Well, I've been acting as a "Klown" at BHM for the last 5 or 6 years, this year we are all over all the marketing for the haunt (shirts, tickets, coupons, billboards, etc...) and I swear, even though I'm also the designer for the haunt, it was the owner that chose the Klowns to go on everything this year.

not that I mind. ;)

Anyway.. I never knew how many people hated clowns until I became one at BHM. From talking to several people, I get different answers from them. Mainly its the makeup and that they cant see their real faces, so it makes them uneasy. Of course, we (the BHM Klowns) dont make it much easier on people that hate clowns since we do whatever we can to continue their fears with sounds, scents, and indirect touch (breathing or sniffing). Every year we have gotten one new "trick" to help scare more people, but the two that we have now have been the most effective. The boating Air Horns, and a simple little clicker that just gets on peoples nerves enough to make them hate us. ;)

Ah..... good stuff.

Personally I have never feared a clown of any kind, so I guess its hard for me to understand why people fear them (outside of the haunt industry), but of all the characters I've been, the Klown gets the most reaction.

The best part is walking by a group and having one of them whisper "oh god... a clown!" with a sideways look. Yeah... Im making a U-turn for you. If you're dumb enough to TELL me you hate clowns, I'm going to make you cry. :)

ah... cant wait for this weekend! We'll be at the Taste Of Boston handing out coupons. It will be the first REAL beginning of the season, until we open officially on the 30th of september!!

Cant wait!!!!!

[Zombie-F]

Waiting in line last year (or the year before) I watched one of you guys sneak up behind a group of kids that were busy loudly chatting away, oblivious to your presence. *HOOOOONK!* You scared the crap outta them with that horn. I nearly wet myself laughing it was so great.

[mnstrmum]

I liked SW and will miss going ...thought it was fun.....We go to BHM every year...we live in the next town......we always enjoy it...but we have never been to witches woods.......is it worth the trip???? :jol:

[dewking]

I've never been and would also like to check it out.

any idea?

[Zombie-F]

I went two years ago and it is SOOOO worth it. They have a totally great hayride (what I miss most about SW), so get there right at opening and make your way right to the hayride to avoid the loooooooong lines for it. Then after that, you can check out the houses. It's a good time.

The night before my friend's bachelor party we're going to check out WW again. Should be a blast!

[SpectreTTM]

My wife & I went to WW on one of our 1st dates a few yrs back.

They had 3 haunts

Haunted Hayride
Grave yard 3-D type
Inside Haunt

They Hayride was the best of the three And the longest Line. Over an Hr wait.

The next best was the graveyard. I kept trying to check out the Haunt itself and they kept trying to move me along. ;)

I don't remember much about the last haunt.

All in all I thought it was worth the trip.

That brings up a question I have.

When you go thru a HH do you stop and try to admire the work of the haunt & props?

[mikeq91]

I do, but when I'm with other people they don't like it so much :D

[mnstrmum]

Thanks for the scoop on WW....we will have to make the trip...... we will be checking out the props...as always...that's half the fun.... :p

[SpectreTTM]

If you guys do decide to come down, keep an eye out for one of the outside Klowns (the shorter of the two).


Hey Dew King,

I'm not sure if this is you but have look

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/slideshows/5060145/detail.html#
check out the slide show

Is this that your photo?

# 16

[dewking]

hey there..

Sorry for the delay... been a busy off season at my regular job...

Yup, thats me.
You can also find me here (along with several other Barrett's characters)

www.myspace.com/dewking

Klown 1
good catch! :)

[dewking]

Not that I want to promote the competition, being that I work at the best haunts in New England (Sorry, its close to opening weekend and my Klownish head starts to get a little big)... but it looks like SW has returned. Well, the name anyway. The Boston Haunt Festival (I believe thats what it was called) at the Boston Bayside Expo Center has gotten the rights to the name "Spooky World". I'm not sure if this is just a name being used to replace the previous one ("festival"?), or if they are reworking the event from last year to fit a SW feel, but whatever it is, having that name will be huge for them. Everyone knows the name, I just hope that they drop the "family friendly" stuff and get back to blood, guts, and horror. There are plenty of other "family friendly" haunts at schools, etc... I think people want to grow out of the "poorly dressed Frankenstein with big block shoes" and onto the "Dude... THIS, is twisted!" feel. ;)

It will be interesting to see how they do with the new name. I do wish them luck, I know a few of the people involved and they are good guys.

Like I said, I shouldn't be "promoting" a competition haunt, but that's how strongly I feel about my own haunt (www.BHMansion.com), as in previous years when SW was open, we're doing just fine.

Let the screams begin!
Klown 1
Sign up for BHMansion updates: BarrettsHauntedMansion@GMail.com
(There is a meeting scheduled for this week. We will have a list of appearances then.)
One month....ooof... I'm shaking I'm so excited!

[SpectreTTM]

DewKing,

Glad to see you back again:).

I though I might have seen you at the NE Haunt Gathering.

Zombie -F & I ended up talking to a friend of yours thinking it might be you at 1st.

[dewking]

Hey there...

Yeah I had commented in the gathering section on the ECHC meeting. I wasnt able to make the meeting, but I was able to catch Ed's great 3-D haunt and then the Beer Works after for some dinner.

I heard there were a couple of people looking for me that were actually at the same restaurant after. Wish I could have caught you guys there. We had to run out early for a local haunt tour around salem.

(Save your money... its not worth it)

I just can't wait for the season to begin. I've even got a few different characters I'm working on for the slower nights at the mansion. Just to test it out and see how they go. I still love being the Klown, that will always be "ME" first, but occasionally I like to mix it up and see what I can do with other characters. I was actually the Torn Prince one night last year (we had a "character switch night" on a slow night. It was a lot of fun being someone else for a night, but just for a night. ;)

Well, that got off topic.. :cool:
Anyway.. stay in touch. I'll check in from time to time, so if anyone ever wants to ask me anything, I'll be glad to answer what I can.

-Klown 1

[BioNecro]

At SpookyWorld.com its say "all new" and its all indoors at the Bayside Exposition Center, Boston.

[Zombie-F]

Just an FYI, the "new" Spooky World is really just the Halloween thing they did at the Bayside Expo last year only re-named Spooky World. I'm going to draw a few conclusions here... the Halloween expo did very poorly last year and since they couldn't find a location for Spooky World (again), the company that owns both must be just re-titling the Halloween expo to "Spooky World" in hopes that the name recognition boosts ticket sales for their lame "family-friendly" event. Come now, the REAL Spooky World wasn't THAT scary/gory. :rolleyes:

[SpectreTTM]

Just an FYI, the "new" Spooky World is really just the Halloween thing they did at the Bayside Expo last year only re-named Spooky World. I'm going to draw a few conclusions here... the Halloween expo did very poorly last year and since they couldn't find a location for Spooky World (again), the company that owns both must be just re-titling the Halloween expo to "Spooky World" in hopes that the name recognition boosts ticket sales for their lame "family-friendly" event. Come now, the REAL Spooky World wasn't THAT scary/gory. :rolleyes:

My wife & I and another couple went last yr. $100 admission for the 4 of us.

I think there was only about 10 people there including the 4 of us. Unfortunately, we were not impressed. :(
It was mostly about 100 custom carved pumpkins. Kinda interesting but not worth the admission price.
The horro museum was very Lame. The haunted houses were ok.

I saw a billboard on the SE expressway say Spooky world was back. I was hoping what you stated was not the case. :(

Oh well maybe someday.

[Zombie-F]

My wife & I and another couple went last yr. $100 admission for the 4 of us.

I think there was only about 10 people there including the 4 of us. Unfortunately, we were not impressed. :(
It was mostly about 100 custom carved pumpkins. Kinda interesting but not worth the admission price.
The horro museum was very Lame. The haunted houses were ok.

I saw a billboard on the SE expressway say Spooky world was back. I was hoping what you stated was not the case. :(

Oh well maybe someday.

My friend, then you must go see Witch's Woods. It's very much like the Spooky World we knew and loved. Cold nights... haunted houses... a HUGE carved JOL display... carnie food. It's pretty cool. :D

[BioNecro]

I went to Witches Woods for the first time last year, had a good time. It has alot of potential. Hope they add this year.

[dewking]

I've never been to WW, but I believe they are open on a couple of nights that Barrett's is not, so I believe a few of us may try to make a trip up to check it out.

We were going to check out the "new SW", but after the entrance cost, price to park or T, etc.. it's just a bit more than I'd like to spend on a haunt I haven't heard many positive things about. Its just tough getting to see other haunts when you work everynight at another.

Not that I'd give that up for the world... but I do wish there was the way to do both, other than when a severe storm closes us down... or when the red sox are in the World Series (which we should be all set with this year).

D

[SpectreTTM]

My friend, then you must go see Witch's Woods. It's very much like the Spooky World we knew and loved. Cold nights... haunted houses... a HUGE carved JOL display... carnie food. It's pretty cool. :D


Thanks for the heads up Zombie-F. Actually, I think I stated this in another thread. My wife & I went on one of our 1st dates to WW.
I liked it a lot. Although I kept getting reminded by the cast members/actor to keep moving. Like most of us I kept stopping to check out the work
done on the props.

The only real problem I had with the place was the 1.25 hr wait for the Hayride. But it was worth the wait.

I'd be up for a trip this yr. ;)

[Zombie-F]

Thanks for the heads up Zombie-F. Actually, I think I stated this in another thread. My wife & I went on one of our 1st dates to WW.
I liked it a lot. Although I kept getting reminded by the cast members/actor to keep moving. Like most of us I kept stopping to check out the work
done on the props.

The only real problem I had with the place was the 1.25 hr wait for the Hayride. But it was worth the wait.

I'd be up for a trip this yr. ;)

Man, I've waited as long as 2 hours for the old SW hay ride. :p We've found that if you get to WW right when it opens and head right for the hayride, the wait isn't all that long. Actually, come to think of it, the wait wasn't that bad last year as I think they've added more tractors so the line moves along much quicker. However, that just means longer lines at the haunted houses. :eek:

[Pete]

I just checked out the Spooky World site for the first time in ages. Kane, Leatherface and Eddie Munster will be making appearances.

Any of my beloved Massholes gonna be making a trek out to Dorchester to brave the gang violence for a little Halloween fun?

(It is just me, or can Dorchester be a lot scarier than Spooky World ever was?)

[incubus0]

My friend, then you must go see Witch's Woods.We went with a friend and her 2 daughters (10 & 8) a few weeks ago. She had free tickets, so the price was right.

The hayride was good, about a 45 minute wait around 10:30 pm - 11:00 pm. Some of the actors did a great job, some not so much.

The 3 haunted house type things were kinda lame. A bunch of flat hallways, with actors waiting to either jump out, walk past slowly, or blow in your ear from behind. The people were good enough, but the props and sets were all very underdone. It would be one small room/area with maybe 1 or 2 props, and that's it, so if something was going to jump out or move somehow, you knew it well before it happened, and it was just a 'Hey! Look at this prop' type of thing. Not much attention to detail or design and decoration ability.

The place has potential, but they desperately need some good set designers to help out.