Halloween is always fun in Orlando as we have some great events in Halloween Horror Nights, Mickey’s Halloween Party and SeaWorld’s Spooktacular but one of the best events in entirely free! That’s right…no admission tickets, no lines and no restrictions… everyone is invited to attend a Halloween Celebration.
Still wondering what I’m talking about? Well, visit the Town of Celebration, near Orlando and you’ll soon understand. It’s a place where local residents go crazy as they put together a unique show of decorating their homes in a spooky Halloween style. You can drive the streets or simply take a stroll and you’ll come across many homes decorated to the hilt as well as a real live pumpkin patch!
Take a look at more pictures on our Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure page and here’s some video for those who can’t get here today:
“Trick or Treat”… that’s the phrase you’ll hear lots of times tonight as miniature vampires, witches and other costumed characters come to your door. Perhaps you may even become one of them?
Although Halloween can be a lot of fun and most peoples mind will be on candy exchanges and cunning costumes not many folks will stop to consider where this tradition came from. Oddly enough, trick or treating has ties to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day … two Catholic holidays spent honoring martyrs and praying for the deceased.
Trick or treating was derived from souling, a practice dating back as far as the Middle Ages where the deprived traveled door to door offering prayers for the departed in exchange for soul cakes. Costumes became increasingly popular as early trick or treaters attempted to resemble spirits. Popularity in America increased in the 1920′s and the holiday actually became quite dangerous in the 1930′s as the phrase was meant quite literally if treats were not offered! Very often nasty tricks and even vandalism followed if a person didn’t “treat” the traveler. Today, Halloween has become the second biggest event in the calendar year and it is a multi billion dollar industry as well as being one of the sweetest! Stay safe to tonight… and enjoy!
Halloween Horror Nights is Universal Orlando’s annual Halloween party, and it is one of the most popular events in Orlando. The event runs for 25 nights leading up to Halloween and is home to eight haunted houses, inescapable scarezones, hundreds of frightening “scareactors” and live shows.
The haunted houses are usually temporary structures set up specifically for the event (although, in the past, certain attractions have been converted into haunted houses for the event). Each of the houses is themed differently and as you walk through the attraction, any number of things or people are likely to jump out or happen to you. Don’t worry though, they never touch you, but they come pretty darned close!
In addition to the haunted houses, Universal has several ‘scare zones’ around the park. These are usually dimly lit areas with a variety of special effects such as dry ice, strobe lights, fog and again any number of creatures chasing you down the street or lunging at you from behind corners wielding chainsaws. It’s not for the faint hearted but it’s THE place to be on Halloween.
Here’s a description of each house:
Nevermore: The Madness of Poe – The madness of Edgar Allen Poe’s greatest works has come to life. Step into the mind of the iconic writer, where every turn of the page takes you closer to the brink of insanity.
The Forsaken – Four ships began Columbus’s fateful voyage, only three became legend. Condemned to a watery grave, the mutinous and cursed crew of that 4th ship has returned with a vengeance. For within the walls of a Spanish fort, a maelstrom has brought from the depths….death itself.
Winter’s Night: The Haunting of Hawthorn Cemetery – As snow falls on this normally serene gothic cemetery, the deceased souls that occupy its confines have their sights set upon you, insuring that the chill you feel up your spine is more than just the cold of night.
H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: Holidays of Horror – Join creature feature host, H.R. Bloodengutz, in his final televised broadcast as he presents a SCARE-athon of holiday-based horror that is guaranteed to cleave you screaming for more.
The Thing – Paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers in an isolated Antarctic outpost as they are infected, one by one, by a horrifying creature from another planet. In a place where there is nothing, they found something.
Saws N’ Steam: Into the Machine – Spinning blades and massive, crushing pistons await you around every corner as you are forced deeper into the bowels of a mechanical nightmare. Give yourself to “The Machine.”
The In-Between – An ominous portal reveals a 3rd dimension where all is not what it seems: a realm where our world and another collide. Surrounded by fiendish creatures, your eyes will deceive you with every step through this phantasm of terror.
Nightingales: Blood Prey – Within every war, the Nightingales have appeared. Able to transform themselves to fit any setting, these savage banshees feed on the weak and the helpless. Patrolling WWI era trenches, you discover that you are more than just at war…you’re being hunted.
