Howl-O-Scream Begins at Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Florida

Watch your back...Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Florida, is holding its eighth annual Howl-O-Scream and it promises to be more thrilling...and chilling...than ever.

According to a press statement from Busch Gardens, Howl-O-Scream will run during certain Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays throughout October. Following a discounted-rate "preview" going on this weekend (September 28-30th), Howl-O-Scream events will be occurring the evenings of October 5-6th, October 11-13th, October 18-21st, and October 25-28th. Operating hours are 7:30 p.m. during the "Freaky Preview" (September 28-30th), Thursdays and Sunday nights, and 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Howl-O-Scream, dubbed "too intense for young children," is an event for which one will need to pay separate admission. General admission is $59.95, but there are several admission offers that include discounts and front-of-the-line permits. Guests are not permitted to wear costumes at Howl-O-Scream.

There are several new Howl-O-Scream events and attractions this year, including:

*Catch Your Breath: The Messengers are a torturous group of fiends out to suffocate their 13^th victim.

*Taste of Blood: Underground vampires come out at night to find unsuspecting victims.

*Radiation Alert 3-D: Radiation is leaking from a nearby facility; guests will therefore have to evacuate the area wearing their special "protective goggles."

*Masters and Monsters: Small monsters and large monsters will do battle against one another inside cages covered with the remains of past losers. Guests caught inside the game will be in for the fright of their life.

*Eternal Midnight: Walk among the many unrested souls haunting a graveyard as the clock bells continuously ring midnight chimes.

*Sweet Dreams: The "Master and Mistress of Nightmares" are trying to control the dreams of a sleeper. This new show includes frightfully good music, dance numbers, and special effects.

*Freak Show: Professor Black and his group of "freakish" performers (which includes tattooed and pierced persons) put on a stage show like none you have seen before.