Scream-A-Geddon Scarier Than the 2016 Election?

PASCO COUNTY, FL — Tampa Bay area motorists who travel Interstate 275 northbound may have noticed two familiar faces staring down at them. Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton get top billing on side-by-side billboards that proclaim Pasco County’s Scream-A-Geddon is scarier than either presidential candidate.

The billboards went up in time for the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 and are expected to remain in place through October. Scream-A-Geddon is a seasonal haunted house attraction that features plenty of frights and jumps. It proclaims itself as “Tampa’s Newest Horror Park,” on the billboards.

Since the billboards went up, Jon Pianki, Scream-A-Geddon’s director of marketing, said the attraction has garnered a lot of attention.

“This is clearly one of the most paid attention to election seasons,” Pianki explained. “We couldn’t pass up on the opportunity.”

Most people, Pianki said, understand the billboards are meant in good fun. Since they call out both candidates equally in their placement just north of Interstate 4, they're also not biased, he insisted.

Feedback, so far, has mostly been good, Pianki said. Not everyone, however, is pleased to see the candidates looming over them as they head up I-275. The park has been panned a few times for the billboards, but most people find them funny, he said.

Election season was too good to pass up on when it comes to comparing scares, Pianki. “We couldn’t help but notice in this current climate everything is so polarized,” he said. “There’s a fear of the other side winning.”

Hoping to play off that sentiment, the side-by-side billboards contend there are things scarier than the candidates.

Now in its second year, Scream-A-Geddon is located at TreeHoppers Aerial Adventure Park, 27839 Saint Joe Road in Dade City. The park features three outdoor and two indoor haunted attractions and a Monster Midway.

This year, Scream-A-Geddon includes two interactive attractions – the new Blackpool Prison and Infected. At these attractions, visitors age 18 and older can choose to become a part of the show, so to say, by wearing a special “glow necklace.” Patrons with a glow necklace, Pianki said, get a more hands-on experience as they go through the attractions. Visitors under 18 can attend Scream-A-Geddon, but they can't go through attractions in interactive mode, Pianki said.

To find out more about Scream-A-Geddon, visit the park’s website at www.ScreamAGeddon.com or check out this previous Patch story. The park is open on select nights through Nov. 5.

Photos courtesy of Scream-A-Geddon