Haunted Amusement Park – Where Childhood Memories Come Back to Haunt

Marshall Scotty’s Playland Park lives again as the Haunted Amusement Park.

A place once filled with the sound of children’s laughter now echoes with screams and scares. Marshall Scotty’s Playland Park was raised from the dead 10 years ago to become the Haunted Amusement Park.

A place we went on Saturdays with friends and family, where we celebrated many a birthday with cupcakes coordinated with homemade sundresses. There were Smurfs, Cabbage Patch Dolls and Strawberry Shortcake, to name a few. Littles running around without a care, standing in line for pony rides and bumper cars. Back then, the scariest moments at Marshall Scotty’s were the questionable length of time we left the potato salad on the picnic table.

What remains now are remnants of the Little Dipper roller coaster, a couple of buckets, chairs and cars from the original rides, along with a small Ferris wheel that frightened the 4-year-old Tiffany. A fear of heights started at a young age for me. Luckily, nowadays there is no major climbing to induce my screams, but they come, still the same.

Some might think it would be sad to see a memory changed so completely, but maybe because it has transformed into a Halloween wonderland, I think I love it more now. If it could open throughout the year, that would be even better. I did attend a Zombie Prom on the grounds once, but I haven’t heard about much more happening there.

From Pony Rides to Pure Terror

The entrance is friendly and inviting and full of good spirits. You’re handed the cutest ticket, with vintage-inspired graphics that make for a great keepsake.

I have been coming to the haunt since it opened. Run by family members and high school students who handled most of the scares, it surprised me how skilled they were at scaring. As I entered this year, I was greeted by a ticket taker who shared that she had been participating in the haunt since she was a kid. I’m sure she was responsible for a few of my past screams.

The haunt was good then and has continued to improve, change and grow along with those high school students. Every year is a new experience with a new footprint, additions and improvements to the props and builds. The haunt matures, growing into something better.

Now celebrating its 10th year, the Haunted Amusement Park is a family business with a goal of providing a fun Halloween activity for San Diego families. According to Vikki, they make it a point to add something to the experience every year to make it even better.

It appears they have spent money on quality animatronics. I have seen bigger haunts make the mistake of replacing actors with animatronics, and I’m happy that’s not the case here. They’re additions hidden in corners, discovered at just the right moments.

I turned the corner and stepped into the dark. A couple of quick turns through a blackened passage, cautiously walking, not knowing if I was alone. I emerged into the night sky for a quick stop for a photo op, interrupted by a scare from cute and gruesome clowns.

Wandering a trail through dark carnival games, I meet the next challenge. The area that once held bumper cars has been reborn as a fluorescent 3D clown experience, with skulls floating, surprises around each corner and a disorienting tunnel. Crazy laughs mix with screams. The cars are gone, but the bumping continues until you make your way out, and then the trail continues.

Surprised by contortionists and clowns hanging from bars and builds above, I make my way through a winding walkway to a sinister building. Friendly giggles give way to more sinister sounds as they seem to surround you from the ground up.

Spectral Speculation

The atmosphere changes as I step inside. The interior is tight and dark, filled with dolls and decorations with a possessed vibe, demons and crosses that don’t seem to offer much protection. The air is heavy, and that may not just be the work of the actors and decor.

There are rumors that the building may be haunted. Personally, I’m not aware of a reason why it would be, but the woman in the ticket booth said she wouldn’t go there alone.

There are tales of people working in one room and hearing something completely fall and shatter in another, only to find absolutely nothing on the floor. I also heard of an actor having her ponytail pulled straight up in the air.

And I’m not alone when it comes to the uneasy feeling. Many people have reported the same going through the white building, haunt season or not. Although I can’t say I’ve had an experience beyond a heaviness, the idea of real ghosts joining you in this haunt definitely adds to the scare.

After you escape, you think the frights are behind you, but the maze continues on, wandering through catacombs and encountering zombies along the way.

This haunt is a full event, taking you through different themes and spaces. Face-to-face interactions with familiar slashers, wandering through a swamp and a slaughterhouse, and spaces where simply being alone in the dark is scary enough.

Fight, Flight or Fall to the Floor

Eventually, you reach the finale, where the chainsaws come into play. There is no half-hearted chainsaw actor at the Haunted Amusement Park.

What starts as running turns to freezing, and then, I’m not sure why, whether it’s magic or science, being confronted with a chainsaw-wielding scare actor turns my knees to Jell-O. I become a pile of pudding.

It hasn’t happened just once or twice. It’s a phenomenon I’ve experienced through the years at different haunts. I truly hope I never find myself in this situation in real life, for a few reasons, but mostly because there’s clearly something not right with my fight-or-flight response.

The family’s commitment to creating something special for the community doesn’t end with Halloween. The Haunted Amusement Park supports Santa’s Treehouse, a nonprofit that helps local families in need by providing gifts for their children and a holiday meal. Starting Thanksgiving weekend, they also hold a fundraiser where families can visit Santa and have family portraits taken.

Conveniently located just down the street from where I live, this haunt has become part of my Halloween night tradition. I create an evening around my decorations and platters of edible eyeballs, fingers, chili and Halloween treats. I can enjoy a couple of horror movies, have a couple of friends over and head down the street for an adrenaline rush.

In my world, that really is the perfect night, and it says a lot about how I feel about the Haunted Amusement Park.

I work at celebrating Halloween every day, but the thirty-first of October is the most special day for me. It’s precious to me. I stay up later to absorb every ounce of the day, spend time with people I love and surround myself with the comfort of all my favorite things.

Including this haunt in my Halloween is an honor, and it hasn’t let me down yet.

What was once a place I gathered with family and friends for sun-filled celebrations is now the place where I get my final scares of the season. It’s a new tradition at the height of what I look forward to all year long, the pinnacle of Halloween before the sadness of its end hits.

I hope it continues to fill the neighborhood with fog, screams and spookiness for years to come.