2013

Horror Nights

At Horror Nights 2013, you are thrust into a twisted fairy-tale hell where even the most innocent stories turn into bloody nightmares and every encounter could be your final chapter. Whether in the cursed fairy-tale world, in a seemingly harmless restaurant that transforms into a gruesome slaughterhouse, in a dilapidated manor house full of dead eyes, or in underground catacombs where the dead rise again – everywhere you go, you are hunted, cornered and driven to madness. And the further you go, the clearer it becomes that every door leads you only further in, until your own fairy tale ends in horror.

Schneewittchen als Zombie Charakter mit blutverschmiertem Gesicht bei den Horror Nights 2013 im Europa-Park Erlebnis-Resort.

In fairy tales, the magic number seven brings good luck and keeps evil at bay to ensure a happy ending. The fairy tale Snow White also has a happy ending – though not for the visitors. The devilish princess invites them to dance on red-hot iron slippers. The wild and romantic entrance to the tranquil mountain world is deceptive. Seven zombie dwarves lie in wait for their victims behind seven zombie mine carts. Snow White has long since lost her princess-like appearance. The only things as white as snow here are the faces of frightened mine explorers. The teeth of thirsty vampires are red as blood, and the creaking coffin lids in the terrifying fairy-tale bride’s hidden dungeon are black as ebony. ‘Mirror, mirror in the tomb, what’s the source of this mysterious gloom?’

The hunter, tasked with killing Snow White and bringing her heart to the Queen as proof, is still stalking through the Matterhorn mountains, and it seems that he intends to claim more than one victim along the way. The treacherous shopkeeper is just waiting to strangle the next maiden and wreak havoc with her poisoned combs. In Snow White, there’s one rule: ‘Don’t touch the juicy apples!’ And if you value your life, you shouldn’t trust the hunchbacked market woman. In Horror Nights, there’s no brave prince riding to the rescue on his noble steed. Here, the glass coffin means only one thing: the end of the line!

Zombie Charakter kriecht auf dem Boden bei den Horror Nights 2013 im Europa-Park Erlebnis-Resort.

A Chinese takeaway sounds a thousand times more appealing than a horror trip with Snow White. But this ‘quick bite’ is the gateway to hell. The sweet scent of rice is replaced by decay and rot. Crude sounds fill the room. The shrill, piercing, bone-chilling sound of sharp nails scraping across slate fills the air. The cuisine offered by Asia-Snacks quickly proves to be a rather dubious culinary experience.

Voted the world’s best horror attraction, the venue has been completely transformed with new shocks and thrills in 2013. Blood drips from the corners of the waitress’s mouth as she waits for her guests with a wild look in her eyes. Or are they her next victims? A whimpering sound emanates from the kitchen. Cats locked in cramped cages await their demise. The chef swings his cleaver without mercy. The sight of him brings a cold sweat to your brow and spoils your appetite.

Gruseliges Holzgesicht auf einem Gemälde bei den Horror Nights 2013 im Europa-Park Erlebnis-Resort.

If you manage to escape the butcher and flee into the confines of The Villa in your seven-league boots, you’ll embark on a gruesome journey through British history. The owners of this dilapidated Victorian estate – a completely deranged family – are not to be trusted. Even from a gallery of ancestors steeped in misery, eerie beings gaze down upon the visitors.

It is not only their faces that have been captured in oil; their tormented souls, too, eke out their sad existence behind the heavy wooden frames. The undead wander through the refurbished rooms towards the intruders, taking their breath away. The words “Seven at One Blow” are emblazoned above a heavy, rusted door. The slogan foreshadows evil. The power of the past weighs heavy on the mind like lead. The urge to leave the dust of the walls behind them sends the guests rushing back into the cold of the night. Breathless, they eventually escape the mustiness of centuries past. Freedom at last!

Blutverschmierter Zombie Charakter bei den Horror Nights 2013 im Europa-Park Erlebnis-Resort.

Gross! Shreds of flesh dangle from the ceiling, the tendons and fibrous muscles glistening. The still warm remains of their bloody meal hint that the zombies aren’t far away. DEAD Inside is not for the faint-hearted. From bulky wooden crates, snarling undead creatures stagger towards their victims. Wandering corpses and twitching dead bodies lurk in dark corridors, just waiting to sink their teeth into their prey and reproduce their kind.

Underground, scheming laboratory experts are researching how to breed zombies, injecting their saliva into unsuspecting passers-by and, once transformed, confining them to large crates which are deposited on the grounds of DEAD Inside until the army is strong enough to rule the world. But the experiment goes wrong. The test zombies develop truly primal strength and burst out of their boxes. Escape is the only salvation!

A werewolf figure and a skeleton in a scare attraction at Horror Nights at Europa-Park.

On gravestones, the heptagon symbolises eternal rest. The shadow of death looms over the gloomy catacombs of The Crypt. The icy draught chills the would-be grave robbers to the bone the moment they step inside. But it is not the cold that gives them goosebumps. An unpleasant shiver creeps down their spines to their legs, paralysing their steps, gnawing at their minds. Hopelessly trapped within their own bodies, the bewildered figures stumble down into the depths. Passing the bones of those that are long dead, they follow the wistful song of tormented souls.

Porous bones crack beneath the heavy footsteps of the fearful, as clattering skeletons send shivers down the spine time and again. From the deep, empty eye sockets of countless skulls, you sense a diabolical glint.

A cruel professor conducts experiments using the secretions of mutated spiders, which he uses to travel through time and bring the dead back to life.

The Crypt is a horror experience for all seven senses. You see the misery of the decaying corpses, hear the creaking beneath your shoes, smell the musty odour of damp walls, taste your own cold sweat, which lies salty at the corners of your mouth, feel your way along slippery stone, find your bearings by the flickering light of grave candles, and try not to lose your balance in the darkness.