Aside from free candy, scary movies and dressing up, one of the highlights of October is the Halloween events that take place at Florida’s theme parks. Every year Busch Gardens and Universal Studios set up Halloween events that feature haunted houses, “scare zones”, and live shows. These annual events have gained a lot of hype and popularity over the years.

“I look forward to this every year. I love anything to do with Halloween and being scared,” said sophomore Tifane Bynum.

During the day, these parks perform their daily operations. However, at night Universal is transformed into Halloween Horror Nights and Busch Gardens becomes Howl-O-Scream.

This year, Halloween Horror Nights has eight haunted houses which includes themes of “The Walking Dead” and “Alien vs. Predator”. In addition, they added a “Purge: Anarchy” scare-zone among many others as well as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”.

“A lot of people are going this year to Halloween Horror Nights because of all the themes they have added,” said junior Sian Donovan.

Similar to Halloween Horror Nights, Howl-O-Scream features eight haunted houses, multiple scare-zones and frightening shows. On the contrary, Howl-O-Scream is based on an overall theme; this year’s theme is “Cursed”.

“I’m really excited to go this year because I’ve gone to Howl-O-Scream in the past and I’ve never been disappointed,” said sophomore Terry Tan.

Events like these can be an abundance of fun if you have the courage to try and survive a night full of screams, haunted houses and the terrifying scare-zones.

“I love being scared and going with a big group of friends because they make the experience even more worth-while,” said sophomore Jordyn Maddison.

If you are planning to attend Halloween Horror Nights it is suggested that you buy an express pass for all the lines. As a result of all the exposure and adoring fans, this event has become especially crowded and prominent. As for Howl-O-Scream, it is not the same case and you won’t have to worry as much about overcrowding compared to Halloween Horror Nights.

“It can get really crowded because of how many people want to go. It’s so popular especially at Universal and some lines to the haunted houses can be over two hours long,” said junior Elizabeth Cheung.

FSA Questions

1. In the article the author suggests what main idea?
2. Select two sentences from the article that support the main idea.
3. In the piece the word “abundance” means what?
4. Use the word abundance in a sentence with the same connotation in the story.
5. Summarize the article in one sentence.