| by Wendy Mitchell
For those who believe Halloween is no longer the fun and spine-tingling holiday it was when THEY were young-there's frighteningly good news: Ripley Entertainment Inc., the venerable Believe It or Not! folks, are resurrecting the haunting and quirky nature of the holiday this year.
Halloween is the 20th century version of Samhain, the Celtic celebration held 2,000 years ago in which revelers would don costumes in an attempt to scare away the spirits. This year, attractions within the Ripley family will not only scare away the spirits-but possibly the fearful as well!
It's all part of the legacy of the man who helped fuel America's interest in the bizarre: Robert Ripley. Many of the sites operated by Ripley Entertainment today are an eerie testament to people's continuing quest to discover the unusual, weird and often macabre side of human nature. Unlike most Halloween "haunted houses," the year-round Ripley's attractions always feature live actors, and in October, horror film celebrity guests make personal appearances.
The Carnival of Screams is returning to Ripley's Haunted Adventures in Gatlinburg, Tenn. and Myrtle Beach, S.C. this October for a scary presentation of quirky clowns and sideshow oddities. Adding to the eeriness will be an appearance in Gatlinburg by Bill Moseley, who portrayed Otis Driftwood in the Rob Zombie classics "House of 1,000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects." Doug Bradley, who played Pinhead in the "Hellraiser" films, is set for a visit to Myrtle Beach.
During the Carnival of Screams haunting at Louis Tussaud's Wax Museum in Grand Prairie, Texas, state-of-the-art special effects, live actors and spooky wax people guarantee to take the scare factor up a few levels. Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface from "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," is coming home to where it all began for a special appearance.
A bevy of creepy clowns will be lurking throughout October at the Haunted Adventure in San Antonio, Texas as well. And to make things extra-sensory scary, guests there will wear glasses to enjoy the macabre 3-D effects throughout the attraction.
If you're looking for "real" ghosts, Ripley's Ghost Train Adventure in St. Augustine, Fla.-the country's oldest and most haunted city-is the place to be. Each guest is provided a calibrated ghost meter and a camera to help in the search. In addition, there's a walking ghost tour, a daytime "Mourning Adventure" for those who like to fill their ghost quotient before noon, costume contests and a late-night ghost watch.
And for those with their own little monsters, a family-oriented "Howl-O-Ween" with a haunted Trick or Treat Trail, spooky storytelling and scary bingo will run for 10 days in late October at Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
For specific times, dates and locations of Ripley's Halloween celebrations, visit www.ripleys.com.
The eerie ringmaster of Ripley's Carnival of Screams helps Halloween return to its macabre roots.
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