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If getting chased down by clowns, ax-wielding rednecks and the chupacabra for 12 hours is your bag, then the Great Horror Campout was made for you. The camping trip that makes horror movies come to life (and also makes you poop your pants) is hitting the Old Zoo at Griffith Park on June 6 and 7.
In its second year, the event, which is also touring through other cities throughout the country this summer, basically aims to freak campers out from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. It's not your average Halloween Los Angeles Haunted Hayride where you can get scared, but the creatures aren't allowed to touch you. Great Horror Campout patrons basically agree to be "forcibly handled, moved, bound, hooded, chained and subjected to simulated torture" by the actors there, according to the event's website. If you get too scared, the safe term is "I want my mommy" and the ghouls will stop terrorizing you. Yes, really.
Folks will get to go through elaborate sets and creepy mazes. In addition, they'll also get to stay entertained throughout the night in The Hell Hunt, a hardcore scavenger hunt "that will send campers bathing in the blood of a 'Pope Lick,' partaking in a sacrificial voodoo ritual, digging through road kill amongst “Beasts of Bray” and more," according to the website.
This year's event might be a lot crazier than last year's that was held downtown as Mark Cuban invested $2 million in the company on Shark Tank, according to The Examiner.
Here's how the sleeping arrangements work: you can either get a two-person tent (in which all tents are supplied by the Great Horror Campout) for $223 per person or a 4-person tent for $159 per person. If you don't quite have four people or are going solo, they'll match you up with strangers. (That sounds even scarier, but as it looks like it, maybe nobody's going to bed that night so it might not even matter.) There's also a special safe section for scaredy-cats who want to camp at the Old Zoo yet not interact with any of the monsters. (Wouldn't camping at Lake Arrowhead or something be better for those folks?)
Although the event-holders got some complaints last year by campers on their not-so-great food selection, this year's buffet-style dinner—which comes with the ticket price—is being helmed by Street and Mud Hen Tavern's Susan Feniger and Kajsa Alger, according to Thrillist. Sure, having a nice meal before a series of traumatic events sounds comforting.
Find out more information on the event here.
