Is Halloween canceled? With no end to the pandemic in sight, many are left wondering if the classic trick-or-treating, trips to haunted houses and mazes, and other Halloween traditions are still a thing in 2020. Well, one Tokyo-based production company got creative when it came to providing scares while social distancing — a haunted house drive-in.
When Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort canceled their annual Halloween Horror Nights for the 2020 season, many fans were left mourning. Viral videos from Tokyo’s pandemic-friendly scarefest are now bringing some hope back into the Halloween conversation.
Typically, production company Kowagarasetai is hired to set up haunted houses at amusement parks. With the pandemic, they knew that this year needed something different.
A Glimpse of Halloween 2020
According to CNN Travel, the haunted house drive-in is located in a covered parking garage in downtown Tokyo. From their cars, visitors get a 360-degree, front-row experience that has them feeling like they’re stuck in a car mid-zombie outbreak.
For $75, they get to experience the scares from their own car. Or, if patrons don’t have their own cars they can pay an additional $10 for the company to provide a car. Drivers are given Bluetooth speakers, and the scares begin. Blood-soaked ghosts and zombies proceed to give a 17-minute performance, lunging at the car and smearing fake blood everywhere. Patrons are safely separated by their car windows, but that doesn’t mean zombies still can’t get a good few scares in.
The best part? The blood smeared during the scares is promptly cleaned up by the zombies post-performance.
While their drive-through frights are limited to Tokyo, it does give a glimpse of what’s possible this Halloween. After all, both Universal parks have very big parking areas…
The full video of the drive-in haunted house can be seen below.
Haunted House Drive In — Sources
HuffPost: Drivve-through haunted house offers socially distanced scares
Halloween Horror Nights
CNN Travel