Resident Evil: Afterlife | Quiz/Contest

Screening Thursday, Sept. 9th at 7:00PM
Continental Theater, I-25 & Hampden

In a world ravaged by a virus infection, turning its victims into the Undead, Alice, continues on her journey to find survivors and lead them to safety. Her deadly battle with the Umbrella Corporation reaches new heights, but Alice gets some unexpected help from an old friend. A new lead that promises a safe haven from the Undead takes them to Los Angeles, but when they arrive the city is overrun by thousands of Undead – and Alice and her comrades are about to step into a deadly trap.

RATED R – Sequences of strong violence and language.

Play now to win tickets to our advance screening.

This quiz/contest is brought to you by the same people that produce the best Denver haunted houses.

Denver Haunted Houses | 2010 Haunted House Season

There is a lot of excitement centered around the upcoming 2010 Haunted House Season in Denver.  Here at HauntedRatings.com we have been receiving several emails about new haunted houses that are planning to open up their doors this coming season.  We have also gotten updates from several different Haunts that you enjoyed last year.   The 13th Door Haunted House, Curse of Slaughterhouse Gulch, The Haunted Mansion, The 25th Hour Haunted House, The Butcher Haunted House and the City of the Dead Haunt are among the many that will be returning for 2010.

New this year to HauntedRatings.com we will be adding a new feature called HOME HAUNTS.  A Home Haunt is one that is usually set up in a garage, back yard, driveway and in some cases, a Home Haunt can utilize the entire home.  They can run for 1 or 2 days up to several weekends.   There usually isn’t a charge to see them, but donations are appreciated.  A person who runs a Home Haunt spends hours and hours putting it together and does it for several different reasons.  Some do it for a specific charity while others do it for a neighborhood activity, but all of them do it because of their love for Halloween.  Several of Denver’s Home Haunters have gone onto run some of the best Pro Haunts in Denver.

So, while the rest of the country is depressed, Haunters in Denver are feverishly building and painting walls, constructing props and figuring out the best way to scare anyone who is brave enough to enter their establishment.

We will begin updating listings for HauntedRatings.com in mid August.  If you have a haunt that you would like to have listed, you can send me the information at hauntmaster@hauntedratings.com or call me at (720)261-0570.  I will have a form online that you can fill out or you can just send me the information and I will take care of it for you.  Remember the listings are FREE! Feel free to contact me with any questions.  I just love to talk Halloween!!

Denver Haunted Houses l The Darkness Transworld Tour Update

Transworld’s 2010 Halloween and Haunted Attraction Tradeshow is coming back to St. Louis March 25-28, 2010 and during the show The Darkness haunted house will open again to the haunt industry on three different nights. The 2009 Darkness tour was a bigger success than we had ever anticipated. This year we have limited the amount of guests per night to ensure a better experience for those who attend. The Darkness is undergoing a massive overhaul at a cost in excess of $200,000.00 prior to the 2010 Transworld Haunt Show.

The Darkness is three attractions in one 30,000 square foot building, which includes The Darkness, Terror Visions in 3D and a Monster Museum. All three of our attractions have been improved, renovated and or totally overhauled for the tour during the Transworld Haunt Show. So what will you see this year that you didn’t see last year?

Over 80% of the entire second floor of The Darkness was removed and rebuilt from scratch. The Darkness will feature several major animated effects that will scare entire groups of guests at the same time including a falling barrel effect, a major water scare animation and a really cool dropping ceiling. The Darkness will also feature tens of thousands of dollars of never before seen props, animations, and sets that will leave haunt owners amazed.

Terror Visions will unveil an amazing array of 3D effects never before seen or attempted and the monster museum will include all new full sized monsters.

Three tours are being offered… the first on Thursday March 25, 2010 prepare to take a new Behind the Scenes tour which this year includes tours through our World Class Actors Room, Halloween Productions workshop, and all thru the all new Darkness. If you want to see The Darkness with actors this year we offer one tour Friday night and another on Saturday night from 7:30pm until 11:30pm.

Tickets on are sale now! Tickets to all events are LIMITED to ensure a better experience for all of our guests and to limit lines! Please be our guest at the all new Darkness Haunted House Tour during the 2010 Haunt Show.

For more information on the tour and the Transworld Halloween Trade show go to http://www.haashow.com.

Denver Haunted Houses l Haunted House Season 2009 RIP

The Denver Haunted House season officially came to a close on November 1 when all of the Haunts in Denver closed their doors for the last time. What a season this has been. We started out with beautiful Fall weather, that turned to snow which only lasted for a day. The weather turned really nice again and then in the last week we had over 2 feet of the white stuff fall, closing down some haunts for two days and ending the season for others. Finally on the Friday, the weather turned warmer and by the weekend we were back to Fall weather.

This season also saw many new haunted houses come to life in the Denver Metro Area. Some of the haunts that received a lot of buzz from haunt goers were CITY OF THE DEAD in Henderson at the Mile High Marketplace, THE 25TH HOUR at C-470 and University Blvd and TWISTED FAIRY TALES at the Westminster Mall.

CITY OF THE DEAD had incredible scenery, alley ways, wrecked cars, lots of zombies and everything a zombie fan would love.  This haunt offered something unique and different for the Denver haunted house goer. The attention to detail, the various shops  in the City and the actors who really got into their characters made this haunt a ‘must see’ for many haunted house ethusiasts. 

THE 25TH HOUR started out with an effect not seen in any other Denver Haunt.  If you remember the scene with Indiana Jones and his Father when they were tied back to back on two chairs in front of a huge fireplace and then the fireplace turns to reveal a room behind it…well, that is what this effect did.  It was smooth, quick and totally unexpected.  This haunted house used several effects new to the Denver area.  The actors were scary and they seemed to blend into the walls.  You just never knew where you would see one next.  Another one on the list of ‘must sees’.

TWISTED FAIRY TALES was put together in about 2 to 3 weeks, but you would never guess it from the haunt itself.  Filled with detail, twists and turns and scares to be found around each corner.  Interesting and fun at the same time.  The sets were great and I can’t wait to see how this haunt changes and grows for next year.

Denver has about 20 different haunted attractions, corn mazes and even more halloween events to choose from.  With so many venues trying to get your hard earned dollars, it’s nice to know you have so many choices.  HauntedRatings.com  will continue to be there to give you the most complete up-to-date information available for your Halloween needs.

Enjoy the Holidays and check back with us throughout the year as we get ready for Halloween 2010!

Denver Haunted Houses l 4th Annual Zombie Crawl – October 24

Are you ready for the 4th Anual Zombie Crawl?  As the Denver Haunted Houses gear up for the last two weeks of the 2009 Haunted House season, it seems only appropriate to have a Zombie Crawl part of the festivaties.  Announcing…

The 4th ANNUAL DENVER ZOMBIE CRAWL 5:00pm SATURDAY OCTOBER 24TH, 2009

*** WE WILL BE ATTEMPTING TO BEAT THE WORLD RECORD, OVER 4000 ZOMBIES! ***

This year Zombies will be meeting at Skyline Park at 16th and Arapahoe St. The route will make a big loop down the 16th St Mall and regroup at Skyline for a costume contest and concert!

*NOTE: This is not a pub crawl. There is no drinking during the crawl, only slow moving zombies in search of brains. This is a family friendly event!

Tentative Schedule
3:00pm Zombie Makeup 101
4:00pm Costume Contest (ages 12 and under)
5:30pm Thriller dance!
5:30pm Meet and prep for crawl
6:00pm ZOMBIE CRAWL (down 16th st.)
7:30pm Costume Contest (13+)
8:30pm The Widow’s Bane (live music!)

3pm-6pm DJ set from Marc the Postman

Costume contest prizes include:
-Gift Certificates
-Cash

The Zombie Crawl is completely free! We do however ask that you bring non-perishable food items which Food Bank of the Rockies will be collecting Here are a few types of canned and dry goods that make nice donations: Tuna, ham, beef stew, chili, baked beans, fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, soup and pasta.
Non-glass containers are preferred. Pickled Brains are optional.

If you have always wanted to be part of a Zombie Crawl, than this is your chance.  Dig up those old tattered cloths, brush some dirt in your hair and brains…zombies just love them!  For more information about the Zombie Crawl go to http://eatheartbrains.com.

When you have finished with the Crawl you can drag yourself over to some of the haunted houses that will be opened until midnight on Saturday.  For a complete listing go to HauntedRatings.com.  Happy Haunting!

Denver Haunted Houses l Will The Real #1 Rated Haunted House Please Stand Up!

Trying to decide what haunt to go to drove him MAD!

With the Denver haunted house season fast approaching, it seems especially important to understand where haunted house ratings come from. After all, if you are counting on these ratings to determine which Denver haunted houses you would like to visit, it is probably a good idea to find out what the ratings are all about.

In the newspaper, on the Internet or on the radio, you will see and hear all sorts of claims from different haunted houses about being the scariest, the best, the longest. It seems like every ad in the newspaper is advertising one or more haunted house as the best haunted house in Denver. On the radio, every station will advertise the #1 rated haunted house or the scariest haunted house in Denver and very seldom will they be the same haunted house. So how can they all be rated the ‘best’ or ‘#1″?

It’s easy. Since there are no regulations on ratings, anyone can present their own opinion and advertise that they are the ‘best’, ‘scariest’, ‘rated #1″, haunted house in Denver. That is what it really boils down to…an ‘opinions’ game. Think about it, who, in their right mind, would spend money advertising that their haunted house is the ‘lamest’ or ‘rated #6′?

Everyone has an opinion about what makes a great Haunted House. Just ask your friends. Some of them will tell you that they like lots of special effects, while another will tell you they like a haunted house with a story line, still others will say that they are only scared if the haunted house has a chain saw at the end. Opinions! Everyone has them and for the most part they are happy to share them with you.

So how does this help you find out which haunted house is going to be the best fit for your scare needs? There are two directories on the Internet that give you complete listing details of all the Haunted Houses in Denver. One of them is HauntedRatings.com and the other is Scared.com.

HauntedRatings.com gives you detailed information for all of the Denver Haunted Houses, including dates and times they are open, admission prices, a synopsis of what the haunted house is all about and directions on how to get there. Several Haunted Houses offer discounted tickets and this is the best place to find out that information as well. Scared.com also lists all of the haunted houses in the Denver Metro Area.   Now all you have to do is figure out which haunted house experience would suit your needs best. Armed with this knowledge you can now feel confident that the Haunted Houses you have chosen to visit will offer you the best scare for your buck.

So, get passed all the hype and go to the Denver Haunted House that sounds the most interesting to you. Of course, that’s just my opinion.

Denver Haunted Houses l So you think you can Scare?

Ready to Scare!

As October approaches, several of the Denver Haunted Houses put out the notice that they are looking for actors. What does it take to qualify someone as an actor for a Haunted House?

Stephen Donnelly, Manager of the 13th Door Haunted House in Aurora, had this to say about it. “Anyone can jump up and yell “Boo!”. We call that a “Boo Scare”. Short, sweet and in your face. However, the actors that are the real ‘keepers’ are the ones who understand the subtlety of scaring. They are the ones who make the customer feel slightly uncomfortable without having to utter a single word. It’s the way they look at them, the way they are almost stalking them that really leaves the customer with the best scares.”

“Most people think that it is easy to scare someone.” Michael McElhaney, Manager at the Butcher Haunted House at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield added. “Sure, you can jump out at them and give them a “startle scare” but then what? The customers are standing waiting for the actor to do something else. If all the actor has is that ‘startle scare’ then the customers aren’t going to stay scared very long. What I want is an actor who can add onto the first scare and really creep the customer out. This kind of actor adds volumes to the customers haunted house experience and becomes an asset to have at your haunt.”

Dave Allen is one of those rare individuals who loves to work at a haunted house. He spent 5 years working as a clown at CarnEvil. When that haunted house closed, he went onto being a Butcher at the Butcher Haunted House and is currently working as a Zombie at the new 25th Hour Haunted House. David had this to say about being an actor. “I really enjoy sneaking up on people and invading their personal space. I don’t have to say anything, I just have to get up close and personal and then break out in an evil laugh or cackle and they are out of there.”

The average age of a Denver haunted house actor is 20, although there are some actors who are more seasoned.  “The actors who have some real life experience under their belts can give some of the best scares of all.” Karolyn Jobin stated.   When asked why people want to be work in a haunted house Karolyn had this to say, “It is a great way to make some extra money for the holidays. Each actor is paid a certain amount of money for what amounts to 3 hours of work during the week and 5 hours during the weekend. The hours worked can vary depending on which haunted house an actor works at. Costumes and makeup are usually supplied, but actors are encouraged to use their own creative ideas for the characters they are about to portray as well.  Ofcourse, you have those actors that just love being part of the haunted house experience.” 

One of the first questions everyone asks when buying their ticket for a haunted house is “Is it scary?” Maybe what they should really being asking is “Do your actors really know how to scare?”

Denver Haunted Houses l Zombies Alive in Littleton

Zombies do like to eat

The first and hopefully annual Zombie Crawl was held in downtown Littleton Saturday, October 03. The plan was to show up at the Woodlawn shopping Center and meet at the Adventures in Dance Studio. As the Zombies started to arrive, you could feel the excitement in the air.

Zombies were invited by Dance Instructor, Holly to get on the dance floor and learn the dance steps to Michael Jackson’s THRILLER. As a crowd of less co-ordinated Zombies watched, their more co-ordinated counterparts began to recreate one of the most popular dance routines for the undead, one thing became very clear.  Most Zombies don’t have rhythm.  I would guess it is difficult to keep up with the steps when you are constantly having to drag ones foot.   Once the Zombies conquered enough of the dance, it was time for the Zombie Crawl to begin.

Greg Reinke, owner of the Haunted Mansion, explained to the group the route they would be taking and a zombie with a bullhorn made sure all the Zombies could hear all the instructions.  A New Orleans Funeral Band started to play and the Zombies Crawl began.

As the Zombies began to move, crowds gathered to watch them drag along Littleton Blvd. heading for Downtown Littleton. Diners who happened to be eating at one of several outside restaurants were offered severed hands and legs by some of the more generous Zombies.  Several people in the crowd watching were offered a chance to become a Zombie.  The only catch being that they would have to die first. 

As cars would pass by the Crawl they would honk their horns in support of the Zombie cause.    The crawl took approximately one hour to complete, with the Zombies ending up at the Haunted Mansion.  The studio representatives promoting the new movie, ZOMBIELAND, were on hand to pass out t-shirts, hats and posters to all those who participated in the crawl. 

This years Zombie Crawl unearthed zombies from the Stormbringers, Klingon House, City of the Dead Haunted House, 25th Hour Haunted House, Starland and some Zombies that just happened to be in the neighborhood.  A truly dead time was had by all.

Denver Haunted Houses l Littleton Zombie Crawl – Oct 03

This is a quick reminder about the upcoming Littleton Zombie Crawl to be held in Littleton Colorado Saturday, October 03 at 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Featuring CASH prizes, photo opportunities, Movie Studio Prizes, and Zombie Shopping Cart Floats. With the opening of ZOMBIELAND the night before, it seemed only natural to kick off the Haunted House season with Zombies. Zombies from some of the local Denver Haunted Houses will also be attending including Zombies from the new City of the Dead Haunted House at the Mile High Market Place and the 25th Hour Haunted House at C-470 and University Blvd. The entire parade will be lead by a New Orleans Style Funeral Jazz Band. It could quite possibly be the biggest Zombie Event ever held in the Littleton.

PRIZES:
GRAND PRIZE: 6 person limo tour of the Best Haunted Houses in Denver provided by Sunset Limo.
BEST ZOMBIE: $100 First Place, $75 2nd Place, $50 3rd Place.

ZOMBIE SHOPPING CART FLOATS: Movie Studio Prizes and posters for all entrants.

The Littleton Haunted House Zombie Crawl will start at the Adventures in Dance store at the Woodlawn Shopping Center (1500 West Littleton Blvd). Crawlers will proceed West down Littleton Blvd to Main to S Rapp St. Then the parade will head South to W Alamo Ave, then East to S Prince St., then North to Reinke Bros. Haunted Mansion. The entire route is about 1.2 miles.

ZOMBIE INSTRUCTIONS:
Show up in costume, ready to crawl, at Adventures in Dance at 1:00pm. The Adventures in Dance studio is located at the Woodlawn Shopping Center on Littleton Blvd. The Kick off to the crawl begins at 1:30pm.

ZOMBIE CART INSTRUCTIONS:
We have 20 shopping carts available for decoration. They must be brought back after the parade in the same condition you get them. They can be picked up at the Reinke Bros. Haunted Mansion during their regular hours of operation. If you plan to supply your own shopping cart, please don’t tell us and make us a party to your larceny.

Brought to you by: Scared.com, Reinke Brothers Haunted Mansion Haunted House, Hauntedratings.com,
Starland.com, Sunset Limo and Adventures in Dance.

Don’t just sit there, it’s time to get your Zombie on at the Parade. For more details go to the Reinke Bros. Haunted Mansion website or call (720)261-0570.

Denver Haunted Houses l Haunted Houses, Zombies and Movies, Oh My!

There is no escape!

This year seems to be the year of the Zombie. At least 2 Zombie Parades are planned. They are actually called Zombie Crawls because everyone knows that Zombies can’t actually march in a straight line. they’re dead afterall. The first Zombie Crawl is scheduled for Saturday, October 03 in downtown Littleton.

Touted as the First Annual Littleton Zombie Crawl, this event promises to have something for every Zombie lover. Zombies and Zombie-wannabes are to meet at the Adventures in Dance studio in the Woodlawn Shopping Center at 1:00pm. Zombies are to be in full Zombie costume, ready to begin the Crawl. A New Orleans Funeral Band will lead the way. The Crawl will proceed West down Littleton Blvd to Main and then onto S Rapp St, The Crawl will then head South to W Alamo Ave and East to S Prince St with the final destination being the Reinke Bros. Haunted Mansion.

Reinke Bros. are also providing shopping carts that can be used as floats. You can pick up one of the carts at the Haunted Mansion before the Crawl so that you have time to decorate it Zombie Style.  There will be cash prizes, Limo tour for the winner of Best Zombie Costume and lots of Zombie goodies will be given to those who participate. 

The Fourth Annual Zombie Crawl is scheduled for Saturday, Oct 24.   Join other Zombies dressed to scare at the Denver Pavilions and walk ever so slowly down the 16th st mall a mass of the half dead. Makeup artists will be there to make you into a zombie or you can do it yourself. There is no cost for this event
 
The Crawl begins at the Denver Pavilions at the corner of 16th and Glenarm at 5pm. Those needing blood, makeup, blood, torn clothes, blood… ect can prep before the event. The walk begins at 6 (heading west on 16th to Market st).

Looking for more Zombies?  One of  the Denver Haunted Houses, The City of the Dead Haunted House at the Mile High Marketplace is going to be filled with them.  Watch out for Judge Graves as he sentences you to eternity within the City of the Dead. As you venture through Dolly’s Donuts café, the Biker Bar, Scalpies Barbershop, and the Dentist, watch out for the hoodlum Zombies who feed on the living. Don’t waste time as you move through Mein Vein’s house, he and his wife will be sure to have you for dinner. Or maybe it’s the Asylum or Retirement Home that you may ultimately call home. After this trip through the scariest City that lives, you just might! Be prepared for the scares of your life!

Still looking for more Zombies?  Sony Pictures offers up the ultimate in Zombie overload.  ZOMBIELAND will be released in theaters on Friday, October 2.  Starring Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg this film takes you on an exciting trip as a team of Zombie Killers tries to rid the world of Zombies.  

This Halloween is turning out to be a Zombie lovers paradise.