[Howl-O-Scream]/Calling in the Clowns and a New Maze!

Such a loveable face, eh?

Well, I can't say that this one was a surprise at all. Busch Gardens Tampa has unveiled the #13 evil today and it's...well, you guessed it by the headline, a clown. Not only that bit this laugh factory of terror is going to be inhabiting his own maze as well!

I have to say that only a few places have ever done clowns properly. For a long while it was even something that +Carrie H.C. and I figured was overdone at one point. Sure, there's tons of people who are afraid of them and if played right, they can be freaky as hell but usually they don't live up to the hype. It's not as if we're talking Pennywise here...or are we?

So, what does our tormented entertainer have in store for us at this year's Howl-O-Scream? Let's take a peek at his back story, shall we?

Taunted by others as being a freak and shunned by others, he relied on his toys to keep him company.
 
With no human contact, he became paranoid and very superstitious. As time passed, he began to resent his only companions and thrived on his individuality. Soon, he would take his aggression out his toys he once dearly loved. And then, on you.

But how much harm could he do? Aren’t all clowns here to bring you laughter and joy? Not #13 The Clown. This time, you won’t be laughing.

In fact, he finds it funny how incredibly terrified you are.





So there we have it. We can mark off another on the list of classic Halloween archetypes! Psychotic clown? Check.


However, that's not all there is to this bundle of joy. Oh no...The Clown will be inhabiting his very own maze at this year's event that he has become minion over. Inside it's tented walls guests will be subjected to thirteen superstitions in hopes of surviving.

 Circus of Superstition 3D will attempt to assault the senses and sensibility of all who enter...

You’ve tried to avoid black cats and sidewalk cracks, but all those years of bad luck caught up with you! 

The #13 Clown challenges you to survive 13 superstitions in their 3-D Tent of Terror, but it will take more than luck to escape his whole new dimension of fear.

No surprise here that it's 3D either. Clowns+3D are pretty synonymous with each other these days and have been for quite a while.

Every haunt out there tries it at least once and you can't exclude the big players in the industry either, sometimes it's done extremely well...other times not so much. Either way, it usually is fun and bizarre no matter how you end up feeling about in the end.

I'm curious to see how it's handled, mostly because it seems to be a similar idea to the "13" house that was in Busch Gardens Williamsburg last year but instead of dealing with phobias we're going after superstitions. Which ones they'll incorporate into the mix has raised my curiosity and I'll be looking forward to seeing just how far they push the boundaries with this. There's a lot of potential here, let's see if they use it.