Is This Scare Park One of the Best Parts of Fall in Lubbock?
Velcome! (say it like a vampire)
It's spooky season (it has been since July 5th) and it's socially acceptable by the normies to celebrate with all the decorations and attire that fill our souls with satisfaction. One of those things includes all the scares like scary movies, scary stories, or even scary haunted attractions like Lubbock's own Nightmare on 19th Street.
Boo-yah!
This haunted attraction is like diving into a portal outside of Lubbock and almost like the waiting room of a scary slasher video game. To kick off the spooky season, and their 2023 open, Nightmare also hosted a Dark Market where local artists could come and sell their spooky inspired items to those that have a deep and profound respect for them. I may or may not have contemplated purchasing a taxidermied pig head on a boy doll's body from the Dark Market which was a great opportunity to meet like minded people.
Right of Passage
This was my first time ever attending Nightmare on 19th Street and honestly if you live in Lubbock it's very much a right of passage for tweens and teens to go and get the living daylights scared out of them. I did a lot of people watching before going through and loved watching the teens get scared, especially the boys who thought they were too cool to get scared and could hear their screams which cracked because puberty. Also a few teen girls were so scared you could hear them throughout the entire park and it was almost like adding to the anticipation of being scared.
Spooks
As I ventured in, behind the scenes, I was able to take in the beauty that almost everyone forgets to take in because they're screaming and running. From the graveyard to the water features to the beautifully made caves housing all the creepy creatures it was honestly just a thing of pure dark beauty. Also seeing the interactions between the actors/scarers is beautiful because it's like this big beautifully scary home where everyone is welcome to be themselves and scare because the owners care. I did go inside the attractions and was scared a lot but would laugh because it's fun to be scared and the entire aura that fills the scare park is intoxicating from the fear and excitement.
Adventure Time!
While I would for sure do it again and advise anyone who is too afraid to go to just do it because it's literally one of the best parts of living in Lubbock that I didn't know I needed to enjoy. There is an opportunity for little kids to enter the scare park with friendlier less scary Trick or Treating event in partnership with United Supermarkets, Blue Bell Ice Cream, and other supporters. There is an event post Halloween month being held at the park for those that believe they can survive a zombie apocalypse with their Dead by Dawn! event. Also just announced is the Rampage by the Stage! event where there will be Rampage Wrestling on the Mayhem Midway that is free to watch for everyone.
Most say laughter is the best medicine but in all honestly that might be wrong because fear is the best medicine and I'm prescribing everyone about 2-3 doses of Nightmare on 19th Street. More information about Nightmare on 19th Street can be found on their website, Facebook, and Instagram pages. Pictures from Nightmares opening night can be found below, for a look at the entire scare park you will have to go in person because we don't want to spoil all your fun.
Nightmare on 19th Street Opening Night 2023
Gallery Credit: Mikael Donnovan
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