As Halloween comes to an end, we reflect on two of San Diego’s most popular scare attractions and see which one comes out on top when put head-to-head.

The competitors for this head-to-head will be Balboa Park’s Haunted Trails and SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream.

The scares:

Howl-O-Scream at SeaWorld featured great scary makeup and costumes. Where they fell short, however, was in set design. 

It was clear that many of the sets relied on the lighting and fog to mask some of the cheaper decorations. Many of the decorations lacked the realness that would have made them feel truly scary.

One of the houses was slaughterhouse-themed and featured cheap plastic limbs, which lowered the scare value of the house. Other themes brought guests through a haunted bayou, alien infestation, mental asylum and circus. 

The most well-done of the houses was the haunted bayou by far. The foggy graveyard setting created a suspenseful atmosphere giving the scare actors the perfect opportunity to pop out of the shadows. They used fog and music to create the perfect eerie atmosphere that transported guests into the New Orleans landscape.

Falling lackluster, the alien infestation haunted house was not scary but boring. The mental asylum felt similar with little to no jump scares and reliant on the acting of the scare actors. This felt like a mistake in that many of the scare actors didn’t have the acting skills to carry the houses in the direction of scary rather than boring.

The long lines were good indications of the circus and slaughterhouse which had more jump scares. The sets felt cheap, but had higher production value than their alien and asylum counterparts.

Music and sound effects were relied upon heavily to make the atmospheres creepier. Pumped-in screaming sounds felt out of place when surrounded by blank-faced adults.

The interactions of the scare actors with the public though were great, but they were often comical rather than the intended scary. 

One of the scare actors was attempting to entertain a bored audience waiting in line. The actor used the physical appearances of the public to make cannibalism-related jokes. This made some audience members uncomfortable but some enjoyed it.

In contrast, Haunted Trails at Balboa Park was all around quite impressive, the decorations were not so obviously cheap and made of plastic. The fog and lighting were present but didn’t feel overpowering like Howl-O-Scream.

The spooky decor has no limit at Balboa Park, as attendees are greeted by a large killer clown and terrifying ghouls and goblins reaching out from the ground. 

The line to go into the trail goes by rather quickly and attendees are entertained by a scary movie playing on a big screen. 

Before entering the trail, attendees are made aware of several rules enforced by Balboa Park including the strict no-phones policy. Phones are expected to be kept in pockets or bags. 

However, the scare factor of the first trail could be compared to that of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. 

Minimal jump scares occur in this trail with the set decoration and props overpowering the actor’s intentions to scare the audience. Just don’t get too distracted, or they can surprise you when turning a corner. 

As attendees weave their way through the maze they encounter several rooms with common Halloween horror tropes including killer clowns, possessed dolls and witches. 

Darkness filled the witches’ hut as they conjured up spells in their smokey cauldron while the killer dolls enticed you to play with them as they jumped on the bed of their murderous-themed playroom. 

The use of probe lights and fog plagued the entire maze, creating an eerie atmosphere. 

While not the scariest thing in the world, the first trail provides a good warm-up for attendees before entering the second trail. 

Similar to the first trail, it encapsulates common horror tropes into one and is a significantly longer trail, leaving no room for escaping. 

The production value in this trail was notably better than the first, as the quality of the sets was more realistic and featured settings from the hit horror movies “The Nun” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

When arriving on Elm Street, attendees were forced to hop onto a school bus and encounter various Freddy Kruegers who would pop up from in between the seats and lurch out at you with their long claws. 

Ear-piercing sounds of sharpening knives accompanied the freakish voices of the actors playing Krueger. 

Apart from the Elm Street setting, attendees are taken into a morbid church, haunted graveyards, a foggy slaughterhouse and other horrifying settings. 

A unique aspect of The Haunted Trails is how the park’s landscape is used throughout the trails, which stretch nearly a mile long. 

When attendees are not inside the haunting sets, they are walking outside to the next but are not taken out of the experience as actors continue to interact with the audience, along with the plethora of decorations as you walk. 

One thing trails do fall short in is the length of the activity, which is about under an hour, but is easy to attend if you need a last minute activity. 

Although you won’t die of fright at The Haunted Trails, the actors provide great interactions and the sets do not fall short. For the price, it is an entertaining Halloween activity to do with your friends and family. 

The attendees:

Howl-O-Scream had a younger audience than those appearing at Haunted Trails. Many children and teenagers found themselves at Howl-O-Scream whereas Haunted Trails featured a largely adult audience with hardly any teenagers and no kids to be found.

The truly scary part: ticket prices

It’s impossible to compare these two events without talking about the prices associated.. SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream is $59.99 for an any-day ticket. This is in comparison to Balboa Park’s Haunted Trails which will cost you $35, in cash, at the door.

For the almost $60 cost Howl-O-Scream will get you five haunted houses, four rides and seven scare zones, with scare actors themed to each zone. For the $35 cost of Haunted Trails, you will get two haunted trails.

Overall, San Diego has many events each Halloween season. Next year, consider checking out SeaWorld’s Howl-O-Scream or Haunted Trails at Balboa Park, or both!