The House of Shock Horror Show, Haunted House and Halloween Festival

It’s Halloween and Mardi Gras all rolled up in one attraction at the legendary House of Shock, conceivably the edgiest haunted house in the New Orleans area. In celebration of their 21st anniversary, the area in front of the house has been given over to a free Halloween festival with concessions, a bar, nightly music, side show acts and pre-tour theatrics.

Like the House of Rock, the House of Shock was conceived by head banging rock ‘n roll musicians, an in-your-face kind of irreverent, theatrical pyrotechnics show – think Kiss, Alice Cooper and Grateful Dead, with plenty of gruesome visuals and pseudo-satanic imagery. A 1990’s era attempt by religious zealots to close it down only made it more popular, and now almost 400 volunteers dress up as ghouls and zombies to frighten and amuse some 20,000 visitors.

Originating as a backyard party for around 200 guests, the annual event grew with each iteration to larger and larger warehouse spaces until finally becoming the House of Shock, with much more building and health codes, controls and safety requirements than ever dreamed of by the four original co-founders.

Despite a beating from Hurricane Irene which severely damaged the graveyard and the stage, the House of Shock opened on schedule this year with a spectacular festival and fundraiser for Toys for Tots and a live auction for Zulu’s Thanksgiving Basket program. New last season was a mechanical bull-like giant spider ride, a zip line to allow costumed banshees to fly over the crowd, remote-control air cannons to jolt unsuspecting visitors and a meat processing plant/torture chamber theme room.

General admission is $25; go to the front of the line with a VIP fast pass for $50 – $40 if purchased online, which includes unlimited trips through the attraction on night of purchase and a House of Shock souvenir backpack. Or if you’re too scared to go through the haunted house, come for the free festival, enjoy the music, sip a brewky and nibble on some gruesome appetizers from Hell’s Kitchen!

Congratulations to House of Shock…The Victim’s Choice for one of the “Top 31 Haunted Houses in America” at HauntedHouseRatings.com.