During the year of the pandemic everyone wondered what will happen at Halloween. The time we trick of treat with our kids. The time we go to scare parks and get scared walking through haunted houses. The time we dress up as evil or sexy. Who makes the first move in getting Halloween season underway?

Scream-a-geddon answered the call. This scare park that has reached it’s 6th season in scares decided to bring a scare park to the Tampa Bay area for 2020. Known for it’s interactive elements in a couple of the houses, I am left wondering … how will they do it? Will it keep with it’s tradition? Will it disappoint?

So I will get into the review after visiting. As before, I rate the houses upon screams. 1 to 5 screams will decide with 5 being the best. This will combine both the visual elements of the house as well as the scariest. Here we go:

RAVENHILL ASYLUM (New for 2020)

Due to deteriorating conditions and negligent management practices, the Florida Department of Health ordered Ravenhill Asylum to close its doors on March 2nd, 1993 and find “suitable accommodations” for its remaining patients. However, chief psychiatrist Dr. Monroe feared the undiscovered, illegal “treatment” of Ravenhill Asylum’s patients would be disclosed by other institutions if they were transferred. Instead, Dr. Monroe ordered the asylum sealed with the remaining patients inside, falsified reports and chained the front doors. Alone, deranged and demented, the patients in Ravenhill Asylum were left to their own devices. Roaming the halls, they amuse themselves with new “experiments”, always looking for their next victim.

Ravenhill Asylum is one of the 2 interactive houses. The set was totally redesigned from last years house and they hit a home run with it. There were well-timed scares and the theme worked throughout the house. There is also a chance to get lost. The interactive element is more herding than touching, so you do still get the one-on-one experience without being grabbed. This is a must-see house and it gets …

4 1/2 SCREAMS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Demon’s Revenge

There isn’t much known about the village of Avalon. Scribbles and notes within old journals suggest a location, but the exact whereabouts are unknown. All mentions of Avalon refer to it as an epicenter of blood magic, witchcraft and the occult. Disfigured bones and rune markings litter the woods around the supposed location of Avalon. An official ledger reveals that Avalon’s residents went missing at a brisk pace. Month after month, year after year, the disappearances grew. The final tale tells of a citizen-led uprising against witchcraft, with all those accused of sorcery being tortured to death for confessions. The tale goes on to say that the souls of those executed then opened a portal to hell unleashing demons upon the village to rip apart the townsfolk one by one. Those who stumble upon the location of the portal to hell are grasped by a dark force, thrust into an alternate reality where the souls of the townsfolk are eternally subjected to the demon’s revenge…

Demon’s Revenge was a new one in 2019 that I really enjoyed much. The presentation was well presented and the scares well-placed. This year did not disappoint in it’s sophomore year. The scares were lacking in what I remembered from before, but the experience was top notch in the walk-through. This house was a tough one to grade, but I give it …

4 SCREAMS!!!!!

RAGE 3D

Prepare to have your senses assaulted by strange stimuli that makes it hard to discern what’s up and what’s down. Walk through rooms that will twist, turn and rotate making you question where you are putting your next step. Yes, the walls will squeeze in and reach out for you… that is normal for this type of thing. Abnormal creatures, figures and clowns will blend in with the environment around you in a barrage of colors, shapes and architecture making you question what is living and what is a figment of your psyche. Surrender the sensation of sound as roaring music is pumped into the rooms that make screaming at the strange encounters meaningless. They can’t hear you. No one can. Get ready to have reality, fiction, dreams, nightmares all blend into one with an over-the-top experience that will leave you panicking for more.

Rage 3D has been around since the park started. This one where you wear your 3D glasses in makes a very sense overwhelming experience. Do not worry, all glasses are properly sanitized before given to guests. The 3D element has always made this a fun house. If you are scared of clowns, it is a definite 5 screams every year. Might as well close your eyes at the end … lol. I always start with this one to warm me up, but always enjoy it. There are a few well-placed scares, but mainly predictable.

3 SCREAMS!!!

BLACKPOOL PRISON

Blackpool Prison was where they sent the truly horrible criminals, high security for the worst of the worst. At least until the blackout. The prisoners rioted. Once they had control, they realized they had nowhere else to go. Now the inmates control the prison, and the only way to get out alive is through them.

Blackpool Prison has traditionally been a well reviewed house. This year there just seems something missing. It did not seem to have the scares this year it has had in the past. The scare-actors just did not seem into the roles like previously. This is also one of the interactive houses, but the herding did not work well in this particular house. Just a normal scare house.

3 1/2 SCREAMS

DEAD WOODS

This small corner of Bearstone National Park is avoided by locals due to the stories told of the Tate family who have called these woods home for five generations. The Tates have guarded their land fiercely ever since the Federal Government claimed it for the national park. Isolated for decades, the only folks to see the Tates these days are the unlucky travelers who experience car trouble or lose their way. To find your way out of Deadwoods you’ll need to navigate through dark, winding trails discovering different members of the Tate family in their cabins, workshops and outhouses. But if you happen to encounter Papa Tate, you’ll wish you had stayed on the main roads…

This is the only scare on a trail through the woods. This haunt has the potential to deliver a perfect 5 screams every year and I really look forward to it. Other than the darkness and creepiness, it did not deliver the 5 scares again. The trail is worth it in itself to set design and the couple scares that does get you … and who can resist a chainsaw.

3 1/2 SCARES

Other than houses, Screamageddon boasts other fun things to do at an additional charge. The Zombie Paintball Assault would probably be the favorite. Imagine getting into a post apocalypse redesigned school bus with some drill sargeant screaming at you the entire time. You came to the right place than … and get to shoot at zombies …. moving zombies … LIVE ZOMBIES!!!!! I really like this one and highly recommend splurging for the shooting fun. There are also other activities such as ax throwing and carnival games.

In the middle of all of these scares is Bonzo’s Beer Garden :

Bonzo used to live a life full of blood, carnage and gore just like any other respectable clown, but had trouble making ends meet. It was hard to make cash when the job was literally killing off the clientele, making it difficult to have repeat customers. Looking around for a second passion, Bonzo found an alternative to bloodshed and massacre: Craft beer brewing. Long hard days of working on different brews turned into long months without seeing a dollar in his pocket from all his endeavor. The beer was too “irony”, the color was too red, and the beer drinkers didn’t appreciate their own fingers being cut off and used as a garnish in the seasonal brews. It was all going oh so very wrong for poor old Bonzo. Then one night, reminiscing over a sharp butcher knife, Bonzo had a grand idea: Instead of making the beer himself, coerce all of the local vendors to sell their beers under his name. Bonzo was, if anything, incredibly persuasive with a sharp blade or a steel bat and so it was rather easy to get all of the best local brew masters to “agree”. Fully stocked with all the best local craft beers around, Bonzo’s Beer Garden in the Monster Midway is now open and Bonzo and his bat-crazy bar-mates Bobo, Icky & Chuckles are ready to make a killing. There is plenty of beer to be found with the occasional $2.00 special with a special phrase word only found on social media.

Scream-a-geddon strives to have a safe environment and is requiring masks. Reservations are not required, but strongly recommended to buy tickets in advance due to limited attendance allowed. You can purchase your tickets at Screamageddon.com. You can also follow them on twitter, instagram, youtube, and facebook.

I highly recommend this place every year and 2020 is no different. They are open pretty much every night so you will have every chance to visit

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN