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It was a dark and stormy night, or at least that’s what Busch Gardens Tampa simulated as I stepped foot into the Oglethorpe Asylum at 1 a.m., putting my wits on the line to walk through one of the new haunted houses for Howl-O-Scream 2012 completely alone. The maze is called “Blood Asylum” and the event’s creative director Scott Swenson was on hand to lead me inside – then unexpectedly unleash its insanity on me.
Watch below as I come closer and closer to “The Creature,” a mad serial killer whose cell isn’t always sealed tight.
Video: Howl-O-Scream 2012 Scream Cam at Busch Gardens Tampa
I’m a tough one to scare, as I’ve become accustomed to the tactics used by actors in many mazes over the years, but this first half of “Blood Asylum” did manage to give me a few good startles. I’m sure it didn’t hurt that it was well past midnight and I was already a bit punchy, but while exiting the haunted house through the then-actor-free second half, I quickly saw that the worst was yet to come.
A little more of “Blood Asylum” along with Howl-O-Scream’s other new haunted house for 2012, “Circus of Superstition 3-D,” can be seen in the sneak peek video below.
Howl-O-Scream officially begins its 13th year tonight at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.