Two of Florida’s most famous theme parks are known for their nights of terror that take place during October. Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens and Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, in honor of Halloween, is lasting for the month of October till the first of November.
Each scream fest has an icon that represents the park each Halloween season. For Howl-O-Scream it is a demon who lives under the park named Scarlett, who is released during construction of the park. It is said that she is planning on releasing monsters of Howl-O- Screams’ past. For Halloween Horror Nights, the icon is Jack the Clown, who has been featured in the park many times before. He also is going to release monsters from Halloween Horror Nights’ past.
At the parks there are also many haunted houses that one can walk through. The houses at Howl-O-Scream are Unearthed: Scarlett’s Revenge, Zombie Containment Unit, Dead Fall, Death Water Bayou, The Basement, and Circus of Superstition. The houses at Halloween Horror Nights are mostly based off of famous horror movies and shows. The houses there are The Walking Dead: The Living and the Dead, Freddy VS. Jason, Insidious, The Purge, An American Werewolf in London, Jack Presents 25 Years of Monsters & Mayhem, Run: Blood, Sweat and Fears, Asylum in Wonderland 3D and Bloody Collectors: Recollections.
Both of these parks are popular for students to visit during the time of year. Erin Stein, 12, attended Halloween Horror Nights.
“My favorite part was the scaracters, which are the scare characters. They had zones all over the park and they were dressed up and hidden in the crowds to scare as many people as possible,” said Stein. “Halloween Horror Nights is definitely scarier.”

Noah Randall, 12, has been attending Howl-O-Scream for a few years.
“My favorite part of Howl-O-Scream was the ambiance of it all. And the new house is the scariest of all of them,” said Randall. “I’ve never been to Halloween Horror Nights, so I don’t really know which one is scarier.”