If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past few years writing about Carowinds, its that SCarowinds is constantly evolving. Having visited the last three seasons — if you need a refresher, check out our reviews from 2015 | 2016 | 2017 — there’s always something new to see and be scared by at SCarowinds. Now in its 19th season, the 2018 version of the park’s Halloween Haunt event is keeping this trend of “something new every year” going.
While last year’s six mazes — Dark Harvest, Depths of Darkness, Silver Scream Studios, Slaughter House: The Final Cut, Urgent Scare, and Zombie High — will all return (one with a new theme – more on that later!) in 2018, SCarowinds will be adding two new scarezones: Dead Man’s Landing and The Hollow, replacing former scare zones The Playground and Scary Tales.
Dead Man’s Landing
According to SCarowinds lore, park visitors can “take a stroll through a bustling town full of seafarers, merchants, and scrappy ruffians that rival the ports once visited by Blackbeard himself. It may look innocent on the surface, but inexplicable terror lies beneath, where lost treasure and the song of the siren have put even the strongest, sturdiest pirates in a watery grave. Legend has it that these lost souls are looking to add to their bloodless, cadaverous pirate crew…”
If you’re familiar with the history of the Carolinas, you already know that Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard, terrorized the citizens of both North and South Carolina. Personally, I love the idea of this new scarezone, because it ties into Carolinas-specific tradition and lore, which has been a focus of Carowinds in recent years.
Though a location hasn’t been announced, I’d imagine that Dead Man’s Landing would occupy the space that housed Scary Tales last year. The midway of the Carolina Boardwalk area near Chickie & Pete’s, with its nautical theming, seems like a natural fit for this new scare zone. I hope the skeleton key involves a search for buried treasure.
The Hollow
As you walk into The Hollow, you quickly realize something is very, very wrong. The fruits and vegetables of a once-vibrant garden of colonial days have shriveled and given way to a wretched, forsaken boneyard. Plump, orange orbs (Were they once pumpkins? It’s hard to tell.) have morphed into evil creatures who carve their victims into unimaginable, unidentifiable shapes and forms. Will you be next?
With “The Playground” going away, it frees up a scare zone location in Crossroads, near Plants vs. Zombies, and more specifically, Carowinds’ corn maze, Dark Harvest. Again, the locations for the new mazes haven’t been confirmed, but I feel like The Hollow could serve as an “extension” of the Dark Harvest story line, and would make sense with the area – there’s much less of a disconnect between a garden setting and a cornfield than there is a playground and a cornfield.
Also, “pumpkins with knives” sounds terrifying.
Other Changes
Looking through the SCarowinds website, it looks like there may be a few other minor changes to the mazes and scarezones as well.
The scarezone that was once known as E.H. Bailey’s Psycho Circus is now CarnEvil. I’m guessing that it will take place in the same location as last year (County Fair), which was a good circus tie-in. Here’s the new background story for the scarezone:
“E.H. Bailey may have disbanded his traveling circus years ago, but those who shocked and awed the audience can’t seem to leave the only place they’ve called home. These deranged clowns don’t want to make you laugh – they want to see you cry…”
Silver Scream Studios looks like it has a new backstory as well this year at Carowinds, with the new name of Silver Scream Studios: Condemned.
You and some friends decide to check out a creepy old building you found on the internet. After reading that this building was supposedly the scene of many gruesome murders at the hands of failed horror movie director Von Hellsburg. The rumors say that he tried one last time to make a memorable film by actually killing the actors! I’m sure it isn’t true, but it will be fun to explore anyways…
Once we got inside the dank and dark walls smelled of death, and the sounds in the distance seamed to move with us. I’m not sure if we are alone, or if Von Hellsburg’s evil spirit still lives in these walls. It’s as if the evil is breathing a horrible new life into the terrifying scenes of death.
After three years, it appears Heinrich Von Hellsburg has finally given up on trying to cast “the most realistic horror film ever made,” and this year’s version of Silver Scream Studios will take place in the time frame following his casting (and maybe after the movie was created?). I’m curious, but also excited at how the story will change. Silver Scream has never been my favorite maze, but maybe a new story can breathe some new life into it.
SCarowinds will begin this year on Friday, September 14 and will take place on select nights through Sunday, October 28. (Fridays and Saturdays in September, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October.) For more information, be sure to visit the SCarowinds website, and follow Carowinds on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
What do you think of SCarowinds new scarezones and the other changes? Let us know in the comments below!
**i dont think there will be skeleton keys this year..