Many local attractions scare up Halloween fun for all ages
Passengers, welcome to McCarran International Scareport.
The local time is Perpetual Midnight.
Our fright attendants and everyone on the fright deck are honored to have been your ghosts aboard Southwest Scarelines.
Now venture forth with this handy guide to the highlights of fright that Sinister City has to offer between now and Halloween:
■ Movie maniac Michael Myers of the classic “Halloween” scares the stuffing out of Las Vegas at the annual Fright Dome, taking over the Adventuredome at Circus Circus, 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Two of the five haunted houses are incorporating scenes from the iconic movie as guests tour the infamous Haddonfield Memorial Hospital through the psych ward where Myers is being held … or is he?
Then the second house will transport dome-goers to the doorstep of the maniac’s home for a trip through the beginnings of his terror.
Meanwhile, the other Fright Dome houses, dark and fog-filled, feature roaming characters, strobe lights and multicolored lasers, plus rides, attractions, live shows and “extreme scare zones.” (Open 7 p.m.-midnight on select nights through Oct. 31. $36.95 general admission, additional $15 for “fast-pass” tickets, allowing express entry to lines for all five haunted houses. 794-3939; www.frightdome.com.)
■ Anything named Freakling Bros. sets the standard pretty high for Halloween horror, and this year it delivers its “Trilogy of Terror,” a three-fer of haunted houses joining up at the same location, AMC Theatres Rainbow Promenade 10, 2321 N. Rainbow Blvd. Billing itself as “one-stop shopping for fear” through Oct. 31, it promises the creativity and shriek-worthy intensity Las Vegans have come to expect. ($12 per house, $27 for a pass to all three houses, $32 for all-night passes; 362-3327; www.freakinghaunt.com.)
■ Tough to mistake Henderson’s Blood Village for anything but a scare-fest through Oct. 31. This one boasts The Boneyard, “an infestation of the damned, the undead, and the supernatural, just waiting to feast on your fear” at the Henderson Pavilion, 200 S. Green Valley Parkway. While there, don’t pass up the “Last Ride” attraction, inside a wooden coffin, that lets you enjoy being buried alive. “Enjoy” being a relative term, of course. (6-10 p.m. weeknights, 6-11 p.m. weekends; $15; 267-4849; www.bloodvillage.com.)
■ Experience a two-holiday feast as the Fremont Street Experience offers “OktoberfestFrightFest” through Oct. 31, combining Oktoberfest and Halloween for an extended street party. The twin celebration includes light and sound shows themed to “Time Warp” and “Monster Mash,” live musical revues of Halloween songs, rock meant to shock with a tribute to Alice Cooper and Ozzy Osbourne, outdoor bars featuring beer and drink specials and Halloween stage shows. (Free; 678-5600; www.vegasexperience.com.)
■ Madame Tussauds After Dark promises nights of thrills and chills Oct. 21-23 and 28-31 from 9 p.m.-midnight at 3377 Las Vegas Blvd. South. ($18 tickets online, $20 at the door; 862-7800; www.madametussauds.com/LasVegas.)
■ Approaching 100 years resting beneath the sea, the wreck of the Titanic is surely haunted enough, but a tour detailing “odd occurrences and unexplained stories” is available, complimentary with a ticket to “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition” Oct. 30-31 at Luxor, 3900 Las Vegas Blvd. South. ($28 for adults, $26 for seniors, $21 for children; 262-4400; www.luxor.com.)
■ Scary scenes complete with steel props, animatronics and live actors are designed to give your heart a jump or two at Terror Town at Town Square, every Thursday from 7 p.m.-midnight, going daily as of Oct. 20. Check it out on Avenue North between Ann Taylor and Texas de Brazil. ($15 on weeknights, $20 Friday and Saturday nights and Halloween night; 269-5000; www.mytownsquarelasvegas.com.)
■ Singing and slashing his way to revenge, the bonkers barber of Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” frightens theatergoers Thursday, Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch. $15; 617-7777; www.greenvalleyranchresort.com.
■ Labeling it nothing short of “spooktacular,” Springs Preserve offers up “Haunted Harvest,” a potpourri of carnival games, a haunted house, trick-or-treat stations and more. (5-9 p.m. Fridays-Sundays through Oct. 30, plus Oct. 31. $8 for adults, $5 for children 5-12, children 4 and younger admitted free; 822-7700; www.springspreserve.org.)
■ Enjoy screen scares at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, the next two Tuesday afternoons at 1 p.m., with the 1932 horror classic “The Mummy” on Tuesday, followed by Claude Rains as “The Invisible Man” from 1933 on Oct. 25. (Free; 734-7323; www.lvccld.org.)
■ Fear takes a swim Oct. 29 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. at the Haunted Reef at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Expect ghostly decorations, jack-o’-lanterns, dark, eerie tunnels filled with spooky music, howling, chain-rattling — plus a few sharks and Komodo dragons. ($18 for adults, $12 for children 5-12, children 4 and younger admitted free; 632-4555; www.sharkreef.com.)
■ You need not be a Smashing Pumpkins fan to enjoy the second annual Pumpkin Smash from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Clark County Shooting Range, 11357 N. Decatur Blvd. Take aim at green oozing paper pumpkins, as well as the real thing. They’ll have everything you need — archery equipment plus real and paper pumpkins. Toss in some games and prizes for a smashing time. ($10; pre-registration required by calling 455-2007; www.clarkcountynv.gov.)
■ Move over, Springs Preserve, because the Hollywood Recreation Center, 1650 S. Hollywood Blvd., is also boasting a “Spooktacular” Oct. 26 from 6-8 p.m. Enjoy a Cup Cake Walk, a bounce house, a “tiny tot room,” games and face-painting. (Free; 455-0566; www.clarkcountynv.gov.)
■ Bonnie Springs becomes “Bonnie Screams” from 7 p.m.-midnight today through Sunday and daily Thursday through Oct. 31 at Bonnie Springs Ranch, 16935 Bonnie Springs Road. Roam through a Wicked West Haunted Ghost Town, including an old haunted saloon, and a “Blacksmith Shop of Horrors.” For less terrified tastes, there is also “Spooky Town,” a petting zoo and a pumpkin patch. (For “Bonnie Screams,” $25. For “Spooky Town,” $10 per child, parents admitted free; 875-4191; www.bonniesprings.com.)
■ Why not check into the “Asylum and Hotel Fear”? It does, after all, bill itself as the largest stand-alone haunted house in Vegas. Set up on Craig Road across from Craig Ranch Park, 675 W. Craig Road, the fear’s here today-Sunday, Thursday-Oct. 23 and Oct. 26-31. (6:30-10 p.m. weekdays, 6:30 p.m.-midnight Fridays through Sundays; $12. www.LasVegasHaunts.com.)
■ Finally, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without a Halloween Parade, so watch ghosts and goblins march through the downtown arts district Oct. 31 beginning at 7 p.m. at Charleston Boulevard and Fourth Street, heading down Ogden Avenue. (Free; 775-400-1011; www.thelasvegashalloweenparade.com.)
Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.
