USS Nightmare 2007 Pre Season Preview
By Noah Wullkotte
Wednesday August 29th we took a behind the scenes tour of USS Nightmare before it was completed and with the lights on. It was nearly a month before the haunt would be open to the public and boy was it an experience seeing everything before lighting was added, actors were used, music was incorporated and everything functional. Being that it was late August, it was still hot out and the sweat was dripping from my oily forehead.
The old steam boat was docked in Dayton, KY and stood out from the rest in the water. It’s rustic, mysterious and downright spooky looking even in the daylight. Our tour guide for the evening was Brian Robbe and his enthusiasm for USS Nightmare was infectious and the many new changes that were being implemented were obvious from the start.
Now I’m not going to give out all the new rooms for this year’s USS Nightmare or tell you about some of the hidden surprises, but I will share some things that you will surely notice on this year’s tour. Let’s start with the gallery. This year’s gallery room has an extreme amount of details and props that have been added. Old news clippings, spooky photos and more has bumped this spooky room up a notch. This year the dynamic lighting will almost follow you in different places of the haunt and make it that more intense before the grim reaper pops out of the painting. This is one of those rooms that usually gets a shock out of newcomers to USS Nightmare and now patron’s frightened reactions will be photographed. But you will have to visit USS Nightmare this year to find how this is going to occur. All I can say is that it’s unique and different.
Fan favorites return such as the butcher’s meat locker, coffin maze, Egyptian Tomb, haunted forest and all the favorites you’ve come to love. One of the rooms USS Nightmare is known for is their ball pit, but this year it will be replaced with a more detailed carnival room that uses snow, a pop up clown, flashing jesters and more. Another addition is going to be added to that room and fans are going to love it. The ball pit was beginning to become stale and something needed to be done to make that room flow better with the rest of the haunt.
More bloody and detailed props have been added to the rooms this year to add a new level of realism. And of course the Impaler returns better than ever. This year you’ll be able to view this massive creature from up above and see some of the Impaler’s Victims. Be careful and don’t fall into its mouth. You’ll know what I mean when you tour this year’s USS Nightmare.
New elements of fright have been added to this year’s USS Nightmare such as claustrophobia, electrocution and more. Some of the dark spaces from last year have been spruced up with new effects such as shock strips, a tight claustrophobia room and more. Many things in this year’s haunt have been moved around and makes a lot of classic scenes fresh and new.
We were able to tour the majority of the boat, but some areas were kept off limits such as the top deck and I can’t wait to see what the USS Nightmare crew is hiding from me. What can be up there and what will everything look like when lighting is added, props are turned on and everything is working just right? I can’t wait for the haunt season to start and USS Nightmare is a haunt at the top of my list that I think will improve the most.
Some added props to the gallery room
Watch out for the Grim Reaper!
Some more props in the gallery room
Spinning Psycho Animatronic
Another strung up victim at USS Nightmare
A classic that everyone loves
One of the many bloody props that have been added
A classic organ prop before organist is added
The Egyptian Room before the Hollywood lighting
An overhead view of The Impaler
A gory prop in the doctor’s room
Brian showing off his Grim Reaper tattoo
Here’s Brian and Jason making love to the camera.