Halloween, like most things, will look different this year because of COVID-19, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep the spooky season alive.
While public health officials recommend against door-to-door trick or treating, there are still ways to celebrate the frighteningly fun holiday while keeping yourself and others safe.
Consider an online costume party or pumpkin carving contest. After all, we do everything else over Zoom.
Dress up your home and yard with Halloween-themed decorations. Get out of the house and cruise through neighborhoods to admire Halloween displays from the safety of your car.
In typical COVID-19 fashion, you could also organize a car parade. People can dress up and drive by physically distanced judges to show off their looks. Get your wheels in on the act by decorating your car, too.
In the same vein, drive-up events for treat bags — only those that are commercially packaged and non-perishable — can be handed out to masked visitors who remain in their vehicles by an organizer with appropriate personal protective equipment. The city of Tucson’s parks and recreation department is handing out 60 activity bags Oct. 20 from 9 to 10 a.m. or until the bags are gone, at Randolph Recreation Center, 200 S. Alvernon Way, for 3- to 6-year-olds.
Local drive-in theaters that have had a resurgence since the pandemic hit Tucson earlier this spring are also doing their part, showing favorites like “Hocus Pocus,” “The Addams Family,” “Blair Witch” and “Freddy vs Jason.” Head to eltorotickets.com or cactusdrivein.com for show times.
Xander Pollock, aka “Little Brother,” chases a guest with his chainsaw at the SlaughterHouse, 1102 W. Grant Road.
All of these activities are Pima County Health Department-approved, as are attractions such as haunted car rides. An Oro Valley event has families listen to stories while driving through Steam Pump Ranch’s haunted attraction.
This event has been in such high demand that the attraction is already sold out.
With the coronavirus looming overhead, the health department urges the community to avoid activities that put others at high risk of exposure. These activities include gatherings, events and parties with non-household members; carnivals, festivals and haunted house attractions; door-to-door trick or treating; and “trunk or treat” events.
Despite the advisory, there are events that are trying to maintain some sense of normalcy by taking extra precautions and following the COVID-19 requirements from the city and the county.
One of these attractions is the SlaughterHouse. Thought to be a haunted venue-turned-attraction, SlaughterHouse opened its gates Oct. 1.
Instead of having their usual five houses, SlaughterHouse has combined its attractions into one large haunted house to make social distancing easier and safer for their guests.
“The main issue was, especially when we get busy, is that you tend to spend more time in line than in the haunted houses,” said Bobby Sutton, the CEO of Tucson Screamers, which runs the SlaughterHouse. “This way, you only go in one line, and we can separate everybody, and once you get out of line and into the haunt, you don’t need to go back around people in line again.”
Temperature checks are required for all staff and guests before entering the property, hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the area, and masks are required by staff, actors and visitors. If the guests do not come with a mask, one will be provided.
Guests stream into the SlaughterHouse. The attraction had to make many adjustments to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.
Capacity is limited to 50% throughout the night, and groups are limited to a maximum of 10 people who have to arrive together to go through the attraction as a group.
Groups are spaced out by about 100 feet, Sutton said.
“One of the things that we are not doing and one of the things that we did industrywide, before, is if you came to SlaughterHouse and there were two of you, we might put you with three or four more people to get bigger groups to get more people in,” Sutton said. “We’re not doing that this year. If you come in as a group of two, you go through the whole thing as a group of two. So we are not matching people together that did not come together.”
To go along with minimizing the guest count, the haunted house has reduced the number of actors but has added more props and animatronics.
“We have good staff this year; we basically brought our best staff back this year to make sure we are giving a good show” Sutton said.
Actors will not touch guests and will stay 6 feet or more away based on how the house is set up. They are also trained on how to keep groups separated if they get too close inside the long attraction.
Tickets have to be purchased in advance at slaughterhousetucson.com.
The SlaughterHouse, 1102 W. Grant Road, has limited capacity to 50% and is spacing out groups by about 100 feet because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the Pima County Health Department does not recommend big events, it did approve the SlaughterHouse’s plan for opening, said department spokeswoman Bonnie Leko-Shapiro.
“The entire 2020 holiday season will look different this year,” said Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen in a news release. “I encourage everyone to have fun, but do so safely. Regardless of how you choose to celebrate Halloween, it is important to continue to wear face masks, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer, and follow physical distancing.”
