Trunk or Treat 2015

Trunk or treat has gained popularity over the past few years. It's where a lot of people park their cars in a big parking lot, pop their trunks, maybe decorate it a bit, and pass out candy! Kids are welcome to dress up and collect candy. They're good as a trick or treater because you get more bang for buck; More candy with less distance traveled. They're safer because there's lot of people and it's usually in the parking lot of a safe place; for us a LDS meetinghouse.

I thought that we had a fun setup, and we had a good time.

Halloween Decor 2015

We have a creepy stairwell where we live. We decided to make it even scarier by dressing it up for the Halloween season!

Step 1: Carve Pumpkins

We bought our pumpkins early in October, and we were able to get some with a good shape. We carved a traditional one, an owl, and a fabulous purple and gold glitter one! The glitter one was a lot harder to make than it looks!

Step 2: Create a body bag 

We created a simple scarecrow using a hoodie, shoes, some sweat pants, and a soccer ball for a head. We then covered him garbage bags, and then we tied his feet and hung him upside down.

Step 3: Create the HELP ME sign

My wife used a simple canvas, red acrylic paint, and her hands.

Step 4: Door cover 

What the contents of a zombie fridge look like.

Step 5: Bottom of the stairs

 

We have a scary door at the bottom of the stairs... We only saw it fit to make it a scary asylum. We also created a a table by stacking 2 boxes on top of each other, and draping a blanket over it. We placed a cauldron with candy on it. We have spider webs draped everywhere! We also had a strobe light in the cauldron.

Step 6: Spooky candles!

Here's what the final product looked like! It was fun.

Happy Halloween!

We were Beauty and the Beast

Fear Factory 2015

This haunted house is named TravelChannel.com's Top Ten Haunted Attractions in the USA for 2015. Fear Factory was the home of old an old 1800's factory and it boasts haunting of real ghosts. It opened in 2010 as a scare attraction, and this is my third time going. It has improved every time. This has by far been the best year. It was very immersive and large. It seemed longer than last time. Many things were familiar. We had a lot of fun, and I'd recommend this to anybody. It drew the biggest crowd I've ever seen, even on a weekend. We waited in line for almost 90 minutes. They even had some new features that they didn't have before such as a bungee jump, a zipline, and a zombie laser tag. We might try those later.

The Fear Factory used to have bands perform on a stage, and my band, Eighth Day, performed in 2013.

Tall scarers and zombies entering the room!

Nightmare on 13th Haunted House

For more information about this haunted house and others in the area, check out my other article here! They're celebrating 25 years. They have always done a good job, and this year was no exception. This was my little brother's first time to  a real haunted house and he was very brave and he had a good time! This is one of my family favorite traditions. We hope to go to more in the area soon!

They took this awesome picture of us

There were some attractions outside! It was lots of fun. This scary clown took Linsey's hat.

Top 8 Haunted Houses of Utah to Visit in 2015!

Haunted Crazy Corn Maze 2014

It's crazy to think that it's Halloween already!!! I freakin' love fall, and I LOVE Halloween. I have fond memories of awesome costumes, great candy, and going to haunted houses. I'm going to list some of the haunted houses I'm thinking about going to this season! My current state of student impoverishment may keep me from doing all of them, but I'll be crazy enough to do some of them! I'm always looking for new thrills and more exciting things! If I'm missing any, let me know!

1. Castle of Chaos
   Address: 7980 S State Street, Salt Lake City,UT, 84047
   Cost: $20
   Opens: Oct. 1

I've been to this haunted house in the past, but its been a while. It's like a real-life video game! You solve puzzles, collect items, and interact with the cast! It has great recent reviews, and I'm excited. There's 4 levels of fear, each level equating to the same haunted house, but regulating the level of intensity that the cast interacts with you. The "monsters" will completely avoid you, or grab you "appropiately" and take you away, depending on which ticket you purchase. (Monsters-B-Gone, General admission, Hands On Horror, X-Scream Hands On)

2. Nightmare on 13th

Address: 300 W 1300 S, SLC, UT
Cost: $25
Opens: Sept. 11 - Oct. 31

This is one of my favorite haunted houses in Utah. They always change up the decor, and they never fail to fright! This is conveniently located next to a Trax station. I'm excited to take my wife!

3. Fear Factory

Address: 666 W 800 S, SLC, UT
Cost: $22
Opens: Sept. 11 - Nov. ?

I love Fear Factory! Once a real factory, it has been transformed into a multi-level factory of frights! There's something spooky to walk up multiple flights of stairs and looking down. There's an authentic industrial spooky feel to it. They claim that it is haunted. My band has performed here in 2015, it was a great experience! We were given 2 free passes for each of the band members. This is one that I definitely plan on visiting with my wife. They have deals for September. They to use the promo code: SEPTEMBER

4. Crazy Corn Maze

Address: 8800 S 4000 W, West Jordan, UT
Cost: $7.50 - $15.50
Opens: Sept. 24 - Nov. 1

This was a classic for me growing up. It was very close to my house, and it was very affordable. We went here for a lot of church activities. There are two parts, the corn maze, which is very self-explanatory. You walk through a maze through the corn. It's fairly fun, not very scary, and great for kids. In the past few years, they've started the Haunted Corn Maze. It started as a couple of teenagers with masks banging trash cans. Now it's very impressive with 3-D mazes and chainsaw guys! 

5. Haunted Forest

Address: 6000 W 6400 N, American Fork, UT
Cost: $22 + tax
Opens: ?

I've been to this one, and I love it. Running through an open eerie forest haunted with creepy creatures is a good time! The brisk air adds to the overall feel. It's a bit of a drive if you're coming from Salt Lake area. 

6. Strangling Brothers Haunted Circus

Address: 98 E 13800 S Draper, UT
Cost: $25 + 2.75 fee
Opens: Sept. weekends, Oct

This one looks great, and I've heard that its a lot of fun. 

7. Asylum 49

Address: 140 E 200 S Tooele, UT
Cost: $20, cash
Opens: Sept. 25, 26, 29, Oct 1 - 31, Nov. 6, 7

This used to be an abandoned hospital, where a doctor went mad and hung a nurse from the flag pole. This place is supposed to be legit scary and very intense. They can touch you, take you, and store you until closing time. I want to go, but it may not be date/wife appropriate. Idk if I'll be able to convince my wife to go...

8. Frightmares! 

Address: 375 Lagoon Dr, Farmington, UT 84025
Cost: $49.95
Opens: Sept. 18- Oct 30

Boasting 7 haunted attractions on top of their normal rides, this is sure to be a memorable visit! I've been in past years, and I love it! My dad's work party is always one week shy of making it to Frightmares... I may just buy a Bounceback pass.