Cedar Point’s Halloweekends event is like that creepy monster that just won’t die.
The popular monster that keeps visitors coming back every Halloween season is here again for yet one more sequel.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the popular Halloween-themed event that seems to be getting more and more popular with every passing Halloween.
The fall weekend nights where haunts command as long, if not longer, lines than the park’s scream machines are quickly becoming among the busiest times of the year to visit the Sandusky park.
It wasn’t pretty, but last week, I ventured into each and every one of the park’s spooky mazes and haunted houses.
I screamed a lot — not just at the things that go bump in the night, but sore toes that were screaming for a break.
I did not have a scare pass — this can cost anywhere from $99 to $149 in addition to park admission and allows you to skip to the front of the line on most attractions — but I was visiting on the first Friday night of the season when lines are not as bad and many teenagers are at high school football games.
And by the time it was all over at the stroke of midnight, my Webb feet were so tired that I was walking a bit more like a mummy than a dad.
My first haunt was the Zombie High School and this, by far, had the longest line.
Waiting nearly an hour in line can make for some interesting people watching as the characters at the park are not just found inside the haunted houses.
This haunted attraction features a high school that has been overrun by zombies.
My personal favorite is the AV room where you have to navigate your way past a series of bright film-strip projectors and film projectors — you might have to explain to the younger folks in your life just what those contraptions were once used for. There is also a fun Zombie Prom.
All in all, this is one of the better attractions, but it might be one you will want to circle back to later in the night as its location right by the park’s entrance makes it a first stop for many guests.
After a short walk down the Midway, you should be sure to check out the park’s cemetery of lost rides.
The newest attraction to be interned there is the Mean Streak roller coaster, but you will notice many other deceased attractions including the Pirate Ride and the Mantis.
Situated next to the Gatekeeper is Hexed, the park’s witch-themed haunted house.
The line for this one can be among the shorter ones so feel free to jump in the queue.
It is also one of the park’s most elaborately themed haunted houses with rooms featuring traditional witches to ones with more of a Bayou bent.
Be sure to take your time and soak in all the cool stuff the park has stuffed inside this one that starts out inside the parlor of a Victorian-era home.
Unlike some of the park’s haunted houses where the inhabitants tend to leap out at you, this is one where the witches interact with the guests and try to conjure up some scary magic.
Not far away is the park’s newest show the Blood Drums.
Located in front of Giant Wheel, the show features a cast of impressive drummers using items found in a junkyard to create music magic. It is a great place to catch your breath before hustling off to the next attraction.
The next stop on my haunted sprint was my all-time favorite Halloweekend’s haunted attraction — the G.A. Boeckling’s Eerie Estate.
This one always has a long line and for good reason. It is by far the park’s premiere Halloween attraction.
Set in a hotel-looking building just off the Midway, it is chock-full of antiques and other odd curiosities.
Hotel guests have to make their way through everything from the kitchen to the bar to the hotel owner’s office — be sure to keep an eye on the bags of money.
Each room is elaborately themed and what makes it extra special is each of the actors here are up in age and bring an air of eerie authenticity to the attraction. This one is well worth the wait.
One of the park’s six walk-through mazes is not far away.
Blood on the Bayou usually has no wait and guests take a stroll under the Iron Dragon and by the Top Thrill Dragster on a foggy path past some real Cajun characters. One of my favorite parts is what appears to be animatronic Louis Armstrong playing away on the porch of a rundown shack. Very random and way cool.
Heading toward the back of the park, you will pass through the cemetery of dead rockers complete with a skeleton band and the park’s Great Pumpkin Spectacular where more than 1,000 pumpkins are on display.
Some of the carvings will put your simple jack-o’-lantern to shame.
The park’s Charlie Brown kiddie ride section is home at night to Fear-y Tales.
A highlight is the carnie-like greeter who interacts with guests and warns that the inhabitants of this twisted storybook are determined “to make sure happily ever after doesn’t happen.”
This is one of the areas where guests do not have to wait to enter, so there’s no real reason to skip it, but then again, there’s no real reason to walk through it either as it is perhaps one of the park’s weaker Halloween offerings.
The entrance to Frontier Town by the Gemini roller coaster is also the entrance to Tombstone Terror-tory — another of the park’s walk-through areas.
Make sure you check out the life-size skeleton horse and rider and be sure to say “howdy” to the ghostly sheriff who patrols the fog-filled streets. Not far away is a giant animatronic ogre by the Mine Ride roller coaster.
Located inside the Tombstone Terror-tory under the carcass of the Mean Streak roller coaster is the Eden Musee wax museum.
This is another favorite of mine. I love the entrance to the attraction that is a lot like walking into a turn-of-the-century museum of wax figures. You will eye each of the wax figures, trying to figure out which of the historical figures is real and which one is made of wax.
The only thing missing here is Vincent Price, as it is a lot like walking through the movie set for the 1953 horror film House of Wax.
Tucked by the Maverick, whose long line is always among the scariest things in the park, is Cut Throat Cove.
Home to the motley crews from a bunch of sunken ships, this scare zone is another one you don’t have to wait in line for and can just stroll through at your leisure. But there’s a pretty good chance you won’t want to linger long as the pirates will quickly harass you.
And be sure to walk briskly by the spider shack at the end or be prepared for a very, very, very loud bang.
So now you have a choice and both options will likely mean waiting in a long line.
If you head back toward the Maverick, you can take in the Eternity Infirmary by the Wave Swinger ride.
This hospital-themed haunted house is among the more popular so grab a bite to eat or a drink and be prepared to wait.
Perhaps my brain was growing weary, but I had trouble finding my way through this attraction (hint: look toward the floor for the exit signs with nifty arrows) that is set in the various rooms of a hospital. This is one of those attractions with a fair number of hidden doors so its occupants can jump out at you more than once.
If you chose to head the opposite direction, you will hit the CornStalkers maze that takes up residence in the park’s water raft ride that is closed during the fall.
This attraction is extremely popular and typically has long waits for the scary stroll through a corn maze. Most of the monsters here will blend into the cornstalks so it is hard to tell what is real or just another ear of corn.
The attraction’s exit spills you out through the loft of the park’s animal barn so the smells here are real.
Once outside, you are literally in the midst of one my favorite of the Cedar Point attractions, the Maniacal Mechanical Screamworks.
The area is home to fun and funky steam-punk-inspired characters including some who will slide past you on their knees, giving you a heart attack in the process.
On my previous visits, this area of Frontier Town had a loud cool soundtrack that helped set the mood. The music was missing last Friday night — let’s hope this was just an early season glitch.
Make sure you don’t miss the quirky animatronic magical machines and contraptions located in the middle.
The area is also home to the park’s newest haunted attraction, the Slaughter House, which opened last season.
Guests first walk through the gross Roadkill Cafe before entering the Slaughter House where a real-life Animal Farm is played out.
This attraction is not for the faint of heart or stomach.
Unlike the park’s other haunted houses where atmosphere is sold rather than good old-fashioned blood and guts, the Slaughter House assaults you on all fronts from varying temperatures depending on where you are in the attraction to right-in-your-face actors.
If this is all too much, there are also more gentle daytime Halloween pursuits including a kid-friendly, not-so-haunted house and a hay maze.
There’s even a sweet The Great Pumpkin Parade — with the Peanuts gang — to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown TV special at 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
The Great Pumpkin Fest includes Franklin’s Tractor Trek where kids race on miniature tractors, Linus’ Mummy Pit that features a foam pit and Trick-or-Treat with the Peanuts where kids can get some candy.
Among the entertainment shows are the Skeleton Crew, which combines aerialists, contortionists and high-wire walkers, Sideshow: A Carnival of Magic, Spooky Shenanigans and The Edge of Madness.
And unless you want to walk like the Frankenstein monster the next day, I would suggest a slow day of terror — not a monster dash through the park like I did.
Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3547.