Six Flags Great America gets ready for Halloween with Fright Fest

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee has begun its annual Fright Fest activities, featuring extended hours until midnight on Saturdays, six haunted attractions, six Halloween-themed shows, and decorations that transform the 100-acre theme park to create a dark and foreboding atmosphere.

"Fright Fest is the most immersive Halloween event in the region," Six Flags Entertainment Manager Kristopher Jones said. "Each year we strive to ramp up the fear factor so that our guests encounter something new and scarier at every corner of the park."

Some of the elements that contribute to the Fright Fest atmosphere include:

• 250 actors portraying zombies and monsters lurk in the midways and haunted attractions;

• 15 master makeup artists use 2,500 ounces of makeup and fake blood to transform actors each night, which takes more than 1,250 minutes per day;

• 25 pounds of food-grade, red vegetable dye create a blood-tinged reflection pond;

• 100 flaming torches;

• 300 bales of hay;

• 25,200 stalks of corn;

• 4.5 tons of pumpkins;

• 160 yards of mulch;

• 1,000 gallons of fog juice generate a rising fog effect throughout the park;

• 1,600 yards of cheese cloth are used to give the illusion of spider webs around the park;

• "Love at First Fright," Fright Fest's trademark musical, kicks off its 24th season;

• Tiny, the 200-pound spider, has been perched on the American Eagle during Fright Fest for 22 years;

• A 500-pound gorilla claims the Sky Trek Tower each Fright Fest season.

"Thrills By Day" daytime activities at the park, which are free with general admission, include trick-or-treating on a character trail for children every Saturday and Sunday, scare-free zones for families with young children, pumpkin carving demonstrations, and the family musical "Love at First Fright."

"Fright By Night" evening activities include six haunted house attractions: "Fear Haunted House," "The Abyss," "Mausoleum of Terror," "Massacre Medical Center," "Manslaughter Manor" and "Wicked Woods."

The haunted mazes and houses are not included in general admission. Fright Fest haunted house wristbands provide unlimited day of access to all six attractions.

Fright Fest runs weekends through Nov. 2. Hours are 5-11 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13 (Columbus Day); and 6-11 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. Fright Fest remains family-friendly until 6 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. Sundays.

For more information, visit frightfest.sixflags.com/greatamerica.