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For years, Theme Park Adventure has held
various contests online - and none are more popular than those
associated with Halloween Haunt. They have become so popular in
fact, that other fan sites have pushed Knott's Scary Farm to give them
and their readers the same perks that ours get. Imitation is
absolutely the most sincere form of flattery - and when it all boils
down to it, we know which readers and fans are the best out
there, and we are more than proud to forge ahead each season with new
and exciting contests for you all. If other sites insist on
following our lead, then so be it.
Our readers know where the root of all things Haunt online is; right
here at TPA. We were the first. We are the best. Just
like our readers. Which is why we continue to push the envelope of
our contests with Knott's each year. This year was no exception -
and both fans and other sites agreed with much buzz and yes... more...
flattery. It was our pleasure to set the groundwork.
That said, this year we set out to create
a new kind of contest - one that would allow the winner to
include a spouse or best friend in their night of terror as a Haunt
monster in the very popular Cornstalkers maze. Over the years, we
have sent souls to their fate as Haunt monsters... but never with
someone to share the experience with; we thought that would be an
amazing offering and the response was overwhelming.
When Mia Moyer of Riverside, California,
entered the Terrory x2 Contest here on TPA at 10:30 P.M. on Sunday,
October 5th, little did she know that her fate was already sealed; she
had a date with the Haunt "veil" that she would never forget.
Mia is a long-time Haunt fan with history
beginning in the '80s with the Scary Farm. She knows many Haunt
personalities and has often been asked when she was going to take
the plunge and become a part of the Halloween Haunt team and cross the
veil. Mia has assured friends for years that it would never
happen; she has too much fun as a guest.
Things change so quickly. Sometimes
with the click of a mouse.
For Mia, the line between fan and fiend
blurred and faded on the evening of Sunday, October 19th. The veil
lifted just enough for Mia to sneak a glimpse beyond... and then be
sucked in completely. And not alone, either. Mia took her
good friend Diana Nunez along for the ride, as terror certainly did
become two.
Diana is a long-time Haunt fan as well...
and then some; she is also the wife of one of the Scary Farm's
most famous lycanthropes, Lucifer, who took the night off to photograph
and video tape the experience from start to finish. It was a very
exciting moment for both Mia and Diana as they made their way into
Warehouse P.
The first step in their transformation
was Wardrobe. It was decided that Cornstalkers would be the maze
to use for our contest this year because the winners could easily be
blended in to the group with minimal effort. No clown costumes to
worry about, no alien masks to put on. No - the look was going to
be pretty much "zombie", which would lend itself nicely to the whole
bizarre theme of Cornstalkers.
Once Mia and Diana were fitted and put
into their costumes, the next stop was Make-Up. Both ladies were
put into artists' chairs and for the next good 35 minutes or so, each
was transformed into a creature of the night - so fun! So scary!
They both sat still like pros and laughed about it and were really
enjoying the experience, which was very rewarding to witness.
Throughout the transformation, various
monsters stopped by to wish them well and see how their transformations
were coming along. To see these two fans cross the veil and
become, with the blessing and friendship of many Haunt vets...
what an awesome moment. The reason we offer these contests,
absolutely.
Once the make-up was on and the hair was
sprayed (any more "bed head" comments from Lucifer and we were sure that
lycan would be neutered on the spot), both Mia and Diana made their way
from Warehouse P into the Scary Farm, accompanied by friends and family
as well as Michele Wischmeyer, the head of Knott's Marketing department
and TPA's Rick West.
Once at Cornstalkers, the two posed for
pictures and then were greeted by the maze's Talent Captain, who took
them through and explained the "rules" of being a monster to them.
After the team was escorted through the maze, they were asked where they
would like to be and for how long.
The answer from Mia and Diana was
instant: they wanted to roam freely throughout Cornstalkers and they
both felt that they wanted to scare the entire night, as opposed to past
contest winners that have only lasted an hour or so as monsters.
And that is exactly what Mia and Diana did: they hit the ground
running and never looked back.
Well, Mia looked away several
times, because she couldn't contain her giggling or smirking after
scaring the hell of out people!
Both Mia and Diana were rock stars
through and through - the night was filled with terror that they
brought to Cornstalkers and to the unsuspecting guests that had the
misfortune of crossing their paths.
Theme Park Adventure is so proud
of our monsters! Each lady brought it and brought it hard.
JUST the way we'd hoped our readers would. And neither
disappointed.
A special thank you to Knott's for
continuing to support our contest proposals each season, to the Haunt
family for being so accepting of our winners and to the crew of
Cornstalkers for welcoming Mia and Diana with open arms. It was a
fantastic night filled with memories that will last lifetimes.
If you look at the images below and wish
it was YOU in the shots... the good news is, there is only just another
year to go before it might be your turn! |