New Yorkers have Halloween fun with costumes and haunted houses

Record ID: 80802

  • Title: New Yorkers have Halloween fun with costumes and haunted houses
  • Date: 27th October 2016
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - 2013) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE, PEOPLE PERFORMING "THRILLER" DANCE
  • Embargoed: 11th November 2016 12:37
  • Keywords: Halloween New York City Parade Village costumes haunted house
  • Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA00455S7CRD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The meaning of Halloween can mean anything from fun to fright, and in New York there are numerous ways to celebrate.
    People looking for a scary good time hit up "The Uninvited: Awakening," New York's largest immersive haunted house, where organizers say guests will hear, see, smell and feel fear.
    "As you go through it, it's all about storytelling and you get to be immersed in this really, crazy, scary world, where the spirits are full contact. Which means they will touch you, you do have to sign a waiver and of course, you're in purgatory. So they're lots of spirits here who do very terrible things to you. They will steal you, and you can only hope to make it out alive," explained creator and producer, Dalton Dale.
    The experience has 45 actors roaming around 25,000 square feet all in the hopes of spooking guests to so-called, code levels.
    "Last week we had a code brown and I'm sure you can imagine what that is. The poor audience member got scared so much they just went to bathroom all over their self, all down their legs. Which is really great because I buy the actors pizza if they call a code brown," said Dale with pride.
    The attraction is expecting to welcome 75,000 people through its doors.
    Marketing director, Nika Cadet, at Abracadabra in lower Manhattan, say costume trends always follow pop culture.
    "There are tons of political things because that's going on right now. And there are a lot of Suicide Squad, which is very popular movie over the summer. But New Yorkers are very creative and innovative, so we prefer to take one thing and make something else and sort of make a mollage of random costumes," said Cadet.
    Shopper Patrick Kane is hoping to have a big effect with a small budget.
    "I want to keep it as cheap as possible because it's a costume I'll never wear again," said Kane, who plans to be Garth from "Wanye's World."
    "I have to get a wig, so I'll probably spend about twenty dollars on that, and I got the hat. And that's pretty much it, I have a black t-shirt and I'm going to put on a pair of ripped jeans and a pair of Chuck Taylors," he added.
    For Maya Blanco, the day is a chance to escape from reality.
    "If you're working and have an office work, or something like that, this is one of those opportunities that you can just do anything and be anyone."
    But Cadet's best advice is to just enjoy the day.
    It's all about having fun. I think people take Halloween too seriously. Just relax, I've seen couples fight and argue over what costume to be. It's just a day guys, relax, just have fun."
    Halloween is celebrated around the world on October 31.
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