Screams Waxahachie

Last Saturday my wife and I and our daughter visited Screams. It is something we tend to do around every Halloween. Screams is the world’s largest Halloween theme park. It is located half an hour south of Dallas in a small town called Waxahachie. The park features a haunted cemetery, five haunted houses, a horror museum, games, live shows, horror movies, dozens of eateries, restaurants and pubs, and other entertainment. There are a lot of dressed up actors walking around and scaring people. You are not allowed to dress up yourself as that can cause confusion. The actors will never touch you, but you can’t guarantee that there will not be problems if visitors are allowed to be dressed up as well.

Claudia dressed in black and blue jeans on my right. I am wearing dark blue and blue jeans. We are sitting in front of dozens of Jack’O Lanterns
My wife Claudia and me at Screams. I am holding a milk stout from Left Hand Brewing in my left hand (where else).
Claudia and our daughter is standing inside a long tunnel lit my colorful lights.
My wife Claudia and our daughter in the spooky tunnel.

At Screams, there are several places to buy a drink or get something to eat. However, in the middle of the park there is a dedicated area with restaurants and several places where you can buy Mexican food, Greek food, corn dogs, turkey legs, sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, funnel cake, desserts, beers of various kinds including craft beer, German beer, cocktails and other drinks. On each side of this area there are covered seating areas. The restaurant naturally has its own indoor seating area.

The photos show two spooky props lit up by colorful lights. They are standing in the corner of the playground.
A portion of a children’s playground. It had a large inflatable (not shown). In the background is an eating area for several restaurants and bars.
The image shows a female zombie dressed in brown.
A portion of the haunted cemetery. It was dark and it was very difficult to take photos with my phone camera unless the objects were nearby.
A dimly lit castle that looks like the Bran castle in Transylvania.
The haunted castle is one of the five haunted houses. It is very big and features several floors. It might be the biggest haunted house I’ve been to.

It is a fun place to visit even if you don’t like haunted houses. There are a lot of less extreme entertainment to choose from.

Another spooky thing happened this evening. I took a swim in my in-law’s swimming pool (not heated so a bit cool). As I was swimming, an owl flew right above my head and sat down in a nearby palm tree and just sat there and stared at me. As I continued swimming I was attacked by this big black thing. I thought it was maybe a big insect or a black bird, and I thought it tried to bite me. Then I realized it was a leaf. I decided to take a photo of the owl who was still staring at me. So, I went inside the house to get my phone. As I came back out and approached the owl, he kept staring at me. In should have taken a photo at this point but I kept getting closer to the owl and unfortunately it flew off before I could take a photo. The photo below from pexels will do.

The incidence was a little bit creepy because according to Scandinavian folklore an owl that flies right above you or in front of you is a bad omen. Typically, someone will die. My grandmother died the day an owl flew in front of my dad. Anyway, if I’ll make another post tomorrow, you’ll know that I am still alive.

Close up of owl with bright yellow eyes.
Owl from pexels pixabay.

Happy Halloween

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

37 thoughts on “Screams Waxahachie”

    1. Thank you so much Laura. Yes it is a fun place. You can choose your level of scary, which is great. Not everyone likes the really freeky haunted houses so you can just avoid those and do the big but more lighthearted haunted castle, the cemetary and the monster museum.

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    2. Yes time is running out. The last day for Screams is November 4th. When the kids were little we used to go trick or treating, and we took our big Leonberger dog with us, who was very friendly and loved that stuff. But that was years ago now.

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  4. I’m so glad you brought us along on that because I’d never get there otherwise. How was Bronco with scary stuff? My current Casey is afraid of everything. Last night, someone shot off a whole magazine and the poor dog wouldn’t leave our bed after that!

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    1. Bronco was perfectly fine with scary stuff and even came with us on a trick or treat. He seemed to think it was fun. He barked at our scarecrow though. I think we could have brought to Screams even though we didn’t. Rollo, our mini-Australian Shepherd, on the other hand is scared of everything like Casey. You could never take him trick or treating or to Screams.

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  6. This is a very cool post Thomas. I hadn’t heard of either Waxahachie nor Screams, but as a horror fan this looks like fun to me. How scary was the haunted castle would you say on a scale of 1 to 10? The owl story is indeed quite spooky plus you taught me something about Scandinavian folklore.

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    1. Thank you so much Leighton. I think you would love it. If you ever come to north Texas in the fall I would recommend it. The haunted castle is the biggest of the haunted houses but maybe the least scary because a lot of people bring their families. On a scale from 1 to 10 I would say 5 in terms of scary. However, it is well done with lots of actors. About the owl, I am not superstitious and I am still alive today. But I have to say that being attacked my a leaf right after an owl flew above my head was kind of freaky.

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  7. That does sound like a really fun place with so much to see and do there. I like your experience with the owl, how it just sat there for awhile. I’ve never seen one in person. Cool photos! 🙂

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    1. Thank you Barbara. Owl’s are very shy animals so it was kind of amazing that I just sat there and stared at me for a long time. It is too bad I got over confident with the photo. I should have taken a photo when I was still a bit away but I got really close to the owl (maybe 2 yards) before I actually attempted to take a photo and then it flew off. I don’t believe in the owl superstitoun. I just think my in-laws have a problem with mice and rats in their yard.

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    1. LOL yes but my imagination carried me off. I thought it was something big, a giant insect or a black bird, or a black ghoul, and it was just a small dry leaf the size of half my thumb. I think you are right about the owl. I am still alive today. I just think my in-laws have a mice or rat problem in their yard.

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  9. Screams sounds like a lot of fun. I hope your owl encounter doesn’t prove to be an ill omen. In New Mexico folklore, it’s sometimes said that owls serve as the familiars of witches. Rudolfo Anaya’s famous novel Bless Me, Ultima, includes that as an element. As someone who works at night, I have to admit that I feel a certain kinship to owls.

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    1. I am not superstitous. All I think it means when an owl fly in front of you is that they are out hunting. “..owls serve as the familiars of witches” that is an interesting fact. Screams is a fun park that balances the scary for the whole family. Some of it is really scary and some of it less scary. However, the food and beer is a bit on the expensive side. “..kinship eith owl”, well I guess owls are seen as smart and wise, and yes they are working at night.

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  11. What a fun place that looks to be and huge too… Loved your photos of you and your family Thomas..
    You had me laughing as you fought off the ‘Leaf’ … 🙂
    Owls hold dual symbology and are not always a bad omen.. Cyril my owl is most definitely the Wise One LOL… 🙂 🦉
    I found you the Native American Omen meaning and it holds various meanings …. I am sure be here tomorrow to share your Wisdom 🙂

    https://nativetribe.info/the-owl-in-native-american-mythology-a-significant-role/

    Have a great new week Thomas…. 🦉

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  12. That looks like a fun haunted attraction! There’s a singer I like named Katie Crutchfield whose stage name is Waxahatchee, but she apparently took that name from a creek in Alabama. I suppose there must be some linguistic connection between the town in Texas and the creek in Alabama …

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    1. Thank you Jennifer. It is too bad they removed the maze, but I think it being in complete darkness could have made it dangerous to clumsy people. Screams is a lot of fun for the whole family. Our daughter is 25 now. She loved Screams when she was 12 and she still does.

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