The Great Horror Campout Los Angeles 2015 is a horror-themed camping experience as indicated by the name.  While not as scary as one would expect, this event is a lot of fun for fans of the genre while still offering plenty of things to do for those with more of a casual interest in the macabre.  It’s less Friday the 13th and a lot more Meatballs, if you catch the reference.  The event was held at Griffith Park near the old Griffith Park Zoo enclosures, giving a rustic, yet refined backdrop to the bloody proceedings.

Campers are asked to arrive no later than 6pm for check-in.  We were also asked to bring the following items

• A sleeping bag
• A pillow
• Snacks and water (though both would be available for purchase on the premises),
• A white T-shirt for the a game of Blood Tag
• A change of clothes.

Parking was ample and spirits were high as we scanned our tickets at the large wooden gates and went to the check-in tent.

Here, multitudes of guests arrive with their sleeping bags and tickets.

Melissa Carbone, Creative head of 1031 productions, the company behind both the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride and The Great Horror Campout.

There were 4 groupings of tents to choose from, Red, Green, Blue and Yellow.  All tents were subject to monster attacks the entire evening except for the Yellow section.  Of course, we chose Red.  We paid for scares and we wanted them all night.

The camping area was in a central lawn area around which there were several concrete picnic tables.  Off to one side of the perimeter were the restrooms and the food truck.

There were only 6 bathroom stalls for the entire group of campers, talent, and staff.  Somehow it worked.

We had just enough time to swing by the food truck and grab a bite before mandatory orientation at the flagpole.

Kimmy and Allison ready to take on the night.

Allison and Norm are up for some fierce horror fun!

Upon returning to our tent we saw that someone had been in our tent rummaging around.  We were a little concerned but realized that there wasn’t anything missing, and really it was just kind of messed up.  We climbed into the tent and began to eat our share of food truck chili fries when our visitor returned.  A squeaking, faceless monster bounded into our tent and began rummaging through our sleeping bags, pillow cases and open shopping bags.

Allison look out!!! But smile and scream!

This monster must work out.

Disinterested in the food he could not open and the lack of treats, the monster left.  Our tent was again in disarray.  SO MUCH FUN!

Now time for orientation.  We headed back down to the flagpole and the stage for orientation.  Here is where the basic premiss for the Great Horror Campout was set up.

One of the camp counselors began orientation.

The Great Horror Campout is a large, interactive experience with the levels of participation dictated by how much you want to be involved.  There are four teams based on the color group of tents that you chose to be in.  The object of the entire night was to collect SCAG or points.  Campers collected SCAG by solving puzzles and participating in the experiences.  At the end of the night campers then turned their points in and the points are tallied.  The tent grouping with the most SCAG at the end of the night would be declared the winner.

We were next introduced to the Headmaster.  A fancy-dressed, ball-headed ruffian with a penchant for swearing.  He greeted the campers and reminded them of the rules of the game.  He then explained to everyone that there would be other ways to collect SCAG, in random encounters with roaming monsters.

Each camper was also given a headband to wear throughout the night.  These represented the different stereotype characters that appeared in horror movies.  With these, the Jock, the nerd, the cheerleader, the virgin, players also had particular advantages.

After orientation we were released to play.  Throughout the evening there were elective activities and mandatory activities.

Blood Tag

One of the mandatory activities was Blood Tag. What is that? Think blood-filled squirt guns in the dark.  You get squirted with blood, you are out.  The red Tent group was called to play first so we headed down to the dry creek.  We were given protective eyewear and asked to put our white shirts on.

Kimmy, Allison, and Norm ready for some bloody fun.

We were told to run off into the woods and hide.  This was made really hard wearing a white shirt.  First the staff came out to hunt for us.  Then, in the second round, all those that got tagged in the first round came out to hunt us again.

I made it through to the third round before getting shot.

Alas, the winners of the game were awarded SCAG by Bigfoot himself!

Kon-Tiki Cave

Blood Tag was a hell of a lot of fun to be sure, but we had a full campout to explore.  We decided to go explore the Kon-Tiki Cave.  Here we had to invade the spirit realm by painting our bodies and passing as ghosts to fool the other demons and get SCAG.

We didn’t fool anyone, but man was that fun!

Camp Skits

After our first adventure we were called back to the stage for another mandatory meeting.  It was time for the Camp Skits!  Here the different teams would compete against each other by reenacting scenes from famous horror films.  This was a hoot, and really, what campout is complete without a bad talent show?

Area 52

Another area we were interested in was Area 52.  Guided by an alien life form we were encouraged to probe the anus of a scientist to leaner more about the human race.  The line for this particular activity was long, and in the end it was a little silly and anticlimactic.

While the wait was a little much for the experience we did end up having a fun time when we were in there.  The actor portraying the alien didn’t utter a word, but squeaked and squawked, gesturing and motioning to tell us what to do.

We collected our SCAG from the alien and headed back out to explore.

Activities

At about 2am the different games around the camp closed down.  This allowed the competitor-types to get a bit of shut-eye.  The night owl types, those still in the mood to stay up, play, and explore were taken care of too.  Camp counselors were out in force reading ghost stories, playing “Scare”a-gories, and there were continuous screenings of horror movies down at the stage.

The Headmaster joined us campers for a few rounds of “Scare”a-gories. If it weren’t for the gash he’d be cute.

Something needs to be said for the talent at this event.  As guests we arrived at 6pm, the monsters were already out, greeting people coming in.  Through the night these characters were constantly interacting with campers, herding them around and creating general mayhem.  That is easily a good 12 hour stretch if not longer, over night, that these diligent performers had to be in full costume and make-up, on point, and delivering.  They did a truly phenomenal job and we were in awe of their dedication and performance.

Notice too their make-up. It was always perfectly ghoulish.

Tent Raid

At about 4:30 in the morning, after all of the points for each of the camp teams had been tallied, and as most of the campers lay sleeping in their tents, a nice little surprise happened.  Ozzy Osbourne blasted over the loudspeakers, cutting the silence of the night like a sharp butcher knife, and The Headmaster addressed the campers.  It was time to announce which of the camp teams; Red, Blue, Green, or Yellow, had won the Campout.  Monsters marauded the camp tents, making sure all were awake for the big announcement.

Of course the very best color, Red, won with the most SCAG points for the evening.  Yay us!  The Ozzy music faded and there were just a few more minutes of night left for campers to get a little shut eye.  Surprisingly the food truck stayed on site and open the entire night.  I sauntered over to grab a cup of coffee and then wandered the grounds.

Things became strangely peaceful as sunlight hit the canyon we were in.  I stood near the camp stage watching the last minutes of one of my favorite horror movies, The Descent, as sunlight exposed the hillsides around us.

Back at the tents I found my tent mates fully awake and peppy.  Punchy from a lack of sleep we recounted our adventures from the evening and laughed uncontrollably.

Caked with body paint, tired as hell, we pose for a selfie.

Giggles + no sleep = AMAZING

This phone is so FUNNY!!!

We even ran into some of our dear friends from Blackout Haunted House, Mike Fontaine and Russell Eaton.

What did I do on my summer vacation?  I went to camp.  A camp run by monsters and hoodlums.  A camp where we were buried alive, made to put probes in scientists butts, shot with streams of blood, imitated ghosts, painted our bodies and played games all night long until the sun came up.  Was it fun?  Oh hell yeah.  Would I go back? without a doubt.  Where else can you stay up all night playing in the dark with your friends along with a bunch of goofball monsters?  Nowhere else but at The Great Horror Campout.  Get your tickets when it comes back.  You will have a blast.  That is, if Bigfoot doesn’t get you first.

The same brilliant team that created The Great Horror Campout and the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride have just announced The New York Haunted Hayride!  Tickets just went on sale so get yours today!