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The Orange County Register
The Orange County Register
Travel
Brady MacDonald

Howl-O-Scream returns to SeaWorld San Diego with more haunted houses and new scare zones

The second year of Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld San Diego promises more howls, shrieks and screams than the inaugural year in addition to more haunted houses, updated scare zones and a new live show.

Howl-O-Scream runs on select nights from Sept. 16 to Oct. 31 at the San Diego marine park.

Billed as San Diego’s largest Halloween nighttime event, Howl-O-Scream 2022 promises to be bigger, more terrifying and run longer than the kickoff season in 2021.

The first Howl-O-Scream event in 2021 at SeaWorld San Diego featured three haunted houses, six scare zones and a live show. Howl-O-Scream 2022 adds two more haunted houses to the mix and updates many of the returning elements of the fledgling haunted event.

SeaWorld has released few details about the two new haunted houses — one filled with “outsiders from beyond” while the other inhabited by “freakish and creepy fools.”

The three reimagined haunted houses returning for Howl-O-Scream 2022 include:

Death Water Bayou travels to the murky and spooky environs of the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf Coast region of the Southern United States. The Bayou Witch’s house of horrors is haunted by the spirits of those who couldn’t escape her voodoo black magic.

Simon’s Slaughterhouse takes place inside a meat processing plant that has been taken over by Simon the Butcher and his murderous crew. The bloody corridors are filled with screeching buzzsaws, slashing knives and earlier victims hanging on meat hooks.

Nightmare Experiment is set inside a sleep clinic where a government-run medical experiment has gone horribly wrong. All of the clinic’s patients have fallen prey to their worst nightmares and the medical staff has been driven to the brink of madness.

SeaWorld has announced few details about the two new scare zones — with one “full of freakish laughs” and the other promising to be “soul wrenching.”

The four returning scare zones for Howl-O-Scream 2022 include:

—Deadly Toys — Watch out for creepy dolls hellbent on murder.

—Graveyard — Undead zombies roam through a haunted cemetery.

—The Hauntings – Sinister monsters wander the forbidding forest.

—La Llorona — Based on the Latin American urban legend about a woman who drowns her children after her husband leaves her for a younger woman.

On the entertainment front, Howl-O-Scream will retool the opening Scare-emony that kicks off each evening and add a new thrilling and energetic live show. Each haunted house will be accompanied by a themed bar with DJ-powered party zones throughout the park.

The Electric Eel, Emperor and Journey to Atlantis roller coasters will remain open throughout Howl-O-Scream for thrill seekers in need of a high-speed jolt.

SeaWorld San Diego’s new PG-13 event is intended for mature audiences and not for the faint of heart. Costumes are not permitted.

Hours and individual dates have not been announced for Howl-O-Scream 2022. SeaWorld is offering discounted Howl-O-Scream tickets through Aug. 21 — $35 for single-night admission and $99 for an unlimited admission ticket.

Scare Squad auditions are being held throughout August as SeaWorld seeks to hire hundreds of scareactors for the haunted event.

The family-friendly Spooktacular daytime event at SeaWorld San Diego will run on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 17 to Oct. 31. Spooktacular is included with regular admission to SeaWorld. Costumes are permitted during Spooktacular, and candy is handed out at trick-or-treating stations.

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