Haunt enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that Rob Zombie is returning to Chicago again with his Great American Nightmare ultimate Halloween horror event! This will mark his second year in the Chicagoland area with his extremely popular Halloween event. The haunted attraction will run on select nights from September 25 through November 1. This year will also mark a brand new haunt based on Zombie’s upcoming horror film, 31. This writer had the utmost pleasure of getting an inside look at GAN last year as well as being able to interview Zombie himself and I look forward to returning again this year to bring you Horror Society readers all the scoop. Read on for all the details down below.
From The Press Release
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare–the ultimate Halloween horror event–returns to Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, IL (just outside Chicago) for its second engagement from September 25-November 1. Tickets go on sale for all Great American Nightmare dates on Friday, July 31.
October 2 & 4 will also feature two special concerts with groundbreaking musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie.
“I am thrilled to be bringing The Great American Nightmare back to the Chicago area for its second year,” says Rob Zombie. “After last year’s overwhelming response we’ve decided to return with a completely new Nightmare. It’s more vile and disgusting than ever. Have fun.”
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare 2015 will feature three attractions based on Zombie’s own horror films:
Captain Spaulding’s Clown School In 3D: This irreverent school of pure terror is a hallucinogenic trip through the mind of Captain Spaulding (House Of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects). Startle after startle will thoroughly frighten even the bravest patrons, who won’t know if they should be laughing, screaming or crying.
The Devil’s Rejects: The murderous, backwoods Firefly family takes to the road to escape a vengeful police force that isn’t afraid of being as ruthless as its target. Guests will become part of the state troopers’ search and destroy mission against the Firefly family, who are wanted for over 75 homicides and disappearances.
31: On October 30, 1975, five carnival workers are kidnapped and held hostage until the following night (Halloween), and are put in a compound named “Murder World.” They’re told that they are there to take part in a game named “31,” where the goal is to survive the next 12 hours.
This is made difficult by the fact that they are not alone in “Murder World” — a violent gang of evil clowns are there and stalking their every move.
Captain Spaulding’s Clown School In 3D and The Devil’s Rejects debuted at Great American Nightmare in Scottsdale, Arizona last year. 31 is a brand new, never-before-seen haunt based on Rob’s forthcoming film of the same name.
The fully immersive haunted house experience at Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare will include the ALL NEW Bloody Boulevard with major carnival rides, freak shows, musical entertainment, roaming characters, themed food and beverages, games and vendors each night. Note: Carnival rides will not be open on concert nights.
Great American Nightmare producer Steve Kopelman says, ”Given the tremendous support we received last year in Chicago, we are extremely excited to make it the first location that we are coming back to. Last year was just a taste of what’s in store. This year will be Bigger, Badder and Bloodier! We can’t wait to show Chicagoland our all new event.”
Tickets for Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare go on sale Friday, July 31 at 9:00 AM CT, with prices starting at only $25. Each ticket includes access to all haunted house attractions and the Bloody Boulevard activities.
Tickets for October 2 & 4 include the Rob Zombie concert and will be available starting at only $45. A limited number of VIP packages will also be available for purchase at www.GreatAmericanNightmare.com. All VIP packages include a commemorative t-shirt and quicker access to the haunted attractions than general admission. Some packages also include a designated viewing area for the concert and a VIP-only bar.
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare will celebrate the Halloween season on the following dates between September 25 and November 1:
September: 25, 26
October: 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 31
November: 1
Hours for Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare will be 7:00 PM until midnight (Fridays and Saturdays) and 7:00 PM until 10:00 PM (Thursdays and Sundays). On concert nights, Great American Nightmare will be open until midnight.
Rob Zombie’s Great American Nightmare is a creative collaboration between master of the macabre Rob Zombie and preeminent haunted house producer Steve Kopelman. The event is produced by Rob Zombie, Steve Kopelman and Andy Gould.
Odeum Expo Center is located at 1033 North Villa Avenue in Villa Park, IL, just outside Chicago. It’s easily accessible from downtown Chicago by major highways, and from the Tri-State area by tollways.
Website: www.GreatAmericanNightmare.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RobZombiesGreatAmericanNightmare
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rzgreatamericannightmare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobZombiesGAN
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RobZombiesGAN
“Great American Nightmare may be the best example yet of the upsizing of haunted houses over the last decade…”
–Steven Kurutz, The New York Times, October 24, 2013
About Rob Zombie
As a rock icon and filmmaker with a unique vision, Zombie has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of both music and film. Zombie has sold more than fifteen million albums worldwide, and is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of seven feature films with a worldwide gross totaling more than $150 million. Most recently in 2015, Rob released Spookshow International Live, showcasing his notorious and uniquely raucous live show. He recently finished production on an excitingly brutal new film called 31 as well as a new studio album, both of which will be released in 2016.
About Steve Kopelman (Great American Nightmare Producer)
Kopelman is the preeminent haunted house producer in the United States and one of the most creative forces in the haunted house industry. Over the past 30 years, he has produced more attractions in more cities than anyone else in the field, including “The Mind Of Madness” and “Killers: A Nightmare Haunted House” in New York City, as well as “The Nest” in Phoenix. Kopelman’s state of the art, award winning, bone-chilling events have attracted millions. His attractions have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and on ABC News, Good Morning America, The Travel Channel, The Food Network, AOL and MSN.
About Andy Gould/Spectacle Entertainment Group
Manager/film producer Andy Gould has been a behind the scenes icon of the music industry over the last 4 decades. His management expertise and marketing genius have impacted the careers of acts like White Zombie, Pantera, Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses, and many others. His partnership with Rob Zombie over the last 20 years has yielded several multi-platinum albums, as well as 6 feature films including The Devil’s Rejects (Lionsgate) and the record breaking remake of Halloween (Weinstein, 2007), all of which Gould produced. He is also the president of T-Boy Records, a joint venture label with Universal Music Enterprises.
