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- Fright Dome: Circus Circus fear factory teems with terrific human horrors (10-12-2009)
- Jason Egan, owner-operator of Fright Dome (10-1-2009)
- Fright Dome: Dark, scary meets hot, heavy (10-8-2008)
Hold your children tight. Michael Myers is coming to the Strip.
The lead character in the “Halloween” slasher films will make his Las Vegas debut in October at Fright Dome, the horror extravaganza that takes over Adventuredome at Circus Circus in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Fright Dome creator Jason Egan teamed up with Compass Films International to bring Myers and the “Halloween” franchise to two of the Fright Dome’s haunted houses. One will mimic the series’ Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, where Myers was held before escaping. (Visitors will check into a nurse’s station, only to soon find themselves trapped in a psychiatric ward.) The other will re-create Myers’ childhood home, where he killed his sister and stalked a teenage babysitter.
Other regular Fright Dome attractions, such as “Chainsaw Massacre” and “Hillbilly Hell,” will remain.
“ ‘Halloween’ is such an iconic movie. I think it will bring out a little older demographic and help get people back to Fright Dome and show them it’s not just for high school kids,” Egan said.
Not that Egan has any trouble attracting a crowd. Last year, the 19-day Fright Dome brought in more than 70,000 people. This year, Egan hopes to break the 80,000 mark.
“Even with the Las Vegas economy, we have never taken a dip (in profit and attendance),” Egan said. “We’ve always gone up. Some years have been better than others, but I firmly believe it’s because we keep putting so much back into the event and changing it up.”
Egan tweaks Fright Dome every year. He has paired with movie companies before, but never “Halloween.” In 2009 and 2010, he teamed with Lions Gate and Twisted Pictures to create attractions themed after their “Saw” and “My Bloody Valentine” movies.
“It was testing whether the partnerships work,” Egan said. “And they really did.”
The growing popularity of Halloween and all things creepy-crawly has only helped Fright Dome, now in its ninth year. Once relegated to B-level status, horror films are often now blockbuster productions that cost — and make — millions.
If recent trends continue, Egan expects Halloween to soon surpass Christmas as the nation’s biggest holiday.
“Horror is bigger than ever,” Egan said. “Halloween is right on Christmas’ coattails.”
The Fright Dome will open from 7 p.m. to midnight on select nights from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31. Tickets cost $36.95.