From the Press Release
The Darkness, America’s most celebrated haunted house, has been scaring fright fans for two decades. To mark its 20th anniversary of terror, the nation’s scariest haunted house has been completely renovated.
Ranked the top haunted house in America, The Darkness combines special effects with Hollywood-quality set designs to create an experience like no other. For the 2013 season, new scenes and state-of-the-art digital effects and animatronics have been installed and are waiting to terrorize visitors. Nearly one million fans have visited The Darkness since it opened in 1993.
“In 2013 The Darkness will be at its biggest and best ever,” said Larry Kirchner, owner and the man behind the haunt’s terrifying vision. “We’ve completed our biggest renovation in the history of the haunt to make our 20th season the scariest yet. So if you’re a fan of haunted houses, this is the year to see if you can stand up to the things waiting to scare you in The Darkness.”
The Darkness is so terrifying it’s been featured multiple times on national television shows dedicated to finding the top haunts in the world, including National Geographic Channel, USA Today, Modern Marvels on The History Channel, the Travel Channel, the Today Show, Fox News, A&E and many others. This year, “Making Monsters” has visited The Darkness to create a new creature that will be unveiled during the season.
For the haunt’s 20th year, the fear begins outside where the Dead Drac band will entertain the crowds and monsters will slide up and down the street. Inside more than 35,000 square feet of sheer terror awaits guests with frightening scenes enhanced by unpredictable scares from live actors. TerrorVisions in 3D – a screamingly popular part of The Darkness – is all new for 2013 with CGI effects The Darkness Celebrates 20 Years of Fear incorporated with animations and explosions. The Darkness’ Monster Museum sports new horror movie memorabilia for the 20th anniversary.
The Darkness opened for the season on Friday, September 13, 2013 and remains open weekends in September and October 4, 5 and 6, then remains open each night from October 11 through Sunday, November 2, 2013.
Tickets begin at $25 for adults and $22 for children ages 10 and under. Fast passes and combination tickets for The Darkness, Creepyworld and The Haunting of Lemp Brewery are available and tickets may be purchased online and printed at home.
Ticket details and complete operating schedule information are available online at www.Scarefest.com.
The Darkness is located at 1525 S. 8th Street in St. Louis’ Soulard neighborhood south of downtown.
The horror masters at The Darkness also operate Creepyworld Haunted Screampark in Fenton, MO, and The Haunting of Lemp Brewery, both of which open for the season on Friday, September 13, 2013.
This year Creepyworld presents its biggest expansion to date with 10 different attractions for the price of one including four new haunts. The new attractions at Creepyworld are The Evil Dread, The Dark Zone, The Tool Shed and Carnivorous in 3D. Creepyworld is the biggest and longest haunted attraction in America.
The Haunting of Lemp Brewery is located in the natural limestone caves and caverns beneath the historic Lemp Brewery south of downtown St. Louis. Billed as the only “real” haunted house in Missouri, it will appear on a Travel Channel show called “Halloween Crazy” in October.