Behind-the-Scenes of SeaWorld’s Howl-o-Scream #Unearthed

sTORIbook Readers: I’m behind-the-scenes of SeaWorld’s Howl-o-Scream so if scary/gruesome pictures aren’t for you…that’s ok…come back tomorrow. If you are ready for Halloween keep reading for all the excitement taking place at SeaWorld!

I have to admit that I am the BIGGEST scaredy cat! So as I walked in to SeaWorld this past Tuesday I was a little nervous for the first time ever (even though I’ve been to the park a million times). You see this time I didn’t have a toddler in tow and I wasn’t going to  see my favorite animal shows. This time I was going for behind-the-scenes of SeaWorld’s scariest event of the year… Howl-o-Scream – Unearthed: Scarlett’s Revenge!

Howl-o-Scream begins tomorrow, Saturday, October 3 and runs through October 31, 2015. It begins every night at 7 p.m. so if you are looking for a unique date night with the hubs or fun with friends to get you in the Halloween spirit I can promise you you’ll have a blast! Parents please note that at 7 p.m. the park’s scare level will become too intense for young children. Howl-O-Scream is not recommended for children under age 13.

This year’s Howl-o-Scream is called, “Unearthed: Scarlett’s Revenge.” And it’s a SUPER creepy story…

Back in June SeaWorld was expanding and its construction crews discovered a 200 year old house entirely buried beneath the ground. They excavated the home and discovered a woman named Scarlett buried inside. Additionally, inside the home is some very disturbing artifacts and a definite demonic presence.

I don’t want to tell you too much but I can tell you it’s absolutely TERRIFYING! Unearthed is one of five haunted houses located at SeaWorld San Antonio and each are equally scary.

I wish I could tell you how neat and interesting this experience was. I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by how much goes in to the creation of Howl-o-Scream. There are too many details to even possibly count and it encompasses the ENTIRE park.

I had the pleasure of meeting Director of Entertainment, Brian Knowlton, who walked me through the park and houses giving me an inside look at Howl-o-Scream comes to fruition. Brian probably has one of the coolest jobs ever! Not only does he oversee Howl-o-Scream but he also oversees ALL the other shows taking place in the park. And I have to add he is super sweet and has a fun spirit and infectious enthusiasm.

I also met the talented Katie Simpson, Area Supervisor of Costume, who is responsible for all 300 costumes that are used during Howl-o-Scream!

Next we went behind-the-scenes with Rachel Gilmour, also known as the Makeup Master who was airbrushing a variety of performers. Here she is airbrushing a vampire named, Manny, who was so in to character (his eyes majorly creeped me out)!

We toured three haunted houses on my visit: Unearthed: Scarlett’s Revenge, ICU: Intensive Cursed Unit and Prey: Where The Hunter Becomes The Hunted. I thought Prey was really unique because it’s entirely outdoors! One of the really neat things about these haunted houses is that they interact with ALL of your sense. SeaWorld has considered everything down to even the temperature of rooms within haunted houses.

I don’t have any pictures from inside ICU because we were filming video but it was voted the MOST SCARY haunted house last year.

There are also two bars at Howl-o-Scream where adults can stop and have cocktails with vampires! Before you go in to the bar you can get “fanged” or bitten”!

Some other really neat things around the park are real fortune tellers, stilt walkers and performers scattered everywhere! It was such a fun evening and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the performers and staff who have put such an fun event together!

To learn more about Howl-o-Scream click here and be sure to visit their Facebook page as they are have a contest!