Screamfest 2022 Review: Houses & Games (Calgary Event)

October 10, 2022 at 2:15pm
By Jason Stettner

The yearly haunted event continues in Calgary with Screamfest 2022. It’s gone basically back to normal at this point with some lingering elements of HEX which includes a few vendor spots. It runs throughout the month of October providing entertainment during the weekends. There’s also an adult only night on October 27th.

It is located at Stampede Park, being housed at the GMC Stadium (previously Grandstand) location which is a spot it had gone back to in the previous year. This space is slightly smaller than the expansion they went for under the HEX branding but it does work effectively for the show and I do wonder if they’ll try expanding again down the road as I believe the concept was interesting.

That aside, they use the space effectively offering a selection of haunted houses to visit and side attractions to take part in throughout your stay. Your time of course will vary based on what you’re doing and how busy the particular night is as it ramps up getting closer to Halloween of course.

When I went to the event it was decently warm out which was nice, a benefit of it taking place in earlier October this year. I went on the second night where it was somewhat quiet with bursts of busyness. I suppose I picked a decent time being there earlier as we didn’t have to queue for very long. There are variations in what sort of passes you’ll grab. The standard one gets you a run through the house whereas the fast pass or well premium option allows two extra visits alongside quicker line movement.

So you can basically skip the haunted houses lines which is a nice feature to have available for those that want it. There’s also some Killer Cash with that which can be used to play the various games that are present. Between both of these options is a mix of standard admission with Killer Cash. This year there are six houses present which includes the following options; “Clown Town”, “Reapers and Grimm”, “Bates Motel”, “What Lurks in the Dark”, “Butcher (not sure on the name, it’s new)” and “What Lies Beneath”. Fairly standard selections if you’ve been there prior years, the special premium house does not return this year either which was disappointing.

For carnival games there’s the following options; “Feed the Demon”, “Pharaoh”, “Wheel of Misfortune”, “Witch’s Brew”, “Gary”, “Lose an Eye” and “Zomo”. You can win prizes by playing these games. Alongside that is an Axe Throwing option which costs four tokens of Killer Cash. They also added back a monster truck ride you can go on, I didn’t recall that being a thing but it certainly looked like a lot of fun.

To access the various haunted houses you’ll head to the back area or well the open side of the stadium. It’s outdoors so be sure to be dressed accordingly. It can also get rather dark, so keep that in mind. The indoors area is warm and features the various games I mentioned. There are a few shops, part of what I imagine came over from the HEX side of things. It would be neat to see the whole HEX aspect come back bigger down the road as the concept was neat but Screamfest also works effectively as is as well. There’s also a screening area where movies are playing alongside a reptilian integration.

It’s got a haunted atmosphere indoors with some smoke machines and other spooky creatures too which you may find fun to take photos with. Finally there’s a bar area which actually featured the scariest part of the event, the drink prices. It was like $9 for a beer, that is absolute insanity and it made me jump for sure. They also didn’t have the advertised hot chocolate like alcoholic beverage so that was disappointing. Anyways, it’s a fun event and something I’m sure many are used to if they’ve gone in the past. If you’re going for the first time it’s enjoyable. You get at least a couple hours of time from it which is good value.

There are some actors that line the houses, with the performances actually being really good this year and well timed. I was very surprised and pleased by the quantity of individuals present and some of the adjustments to the houses which were neat. I particularly enjoyed the new space, very gruesome! You’ll also find some actors wandering about as well outside of being set in house performances. It’s basically a complete return to the old form this year, and it’s been interesting to see it continue. It’s always a neat time, and something I look forward to each year. Oh, and it’s $15 for parking which is a bit wild though I believe that’s a Stampede aspect. You can check out our Calgary hub for more coverage from within the city.

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