Are you ready for the fright of your life?

Last year, the first horror theme park in the south of Europe opened in Cercs, in Berguedà county. Such was the theme park’s success that a new and improved Horrorland opened for a second season on October 4. With Halloween on the horizon, this year Horrorland has employed 170 people, 35 more than last year, while at the same time completely renovating eight of its 11 attractions. Despite being somewhat out of the way, in Catalonia’s interior, Horrorland is expecting some 25,000 people to visit over the Halloween period.

It’s not unusual to hear some diehards still grumbling about how Halloween is not a traditional Catalan festivity. But just think of this, the United States is where Halloween is most popular and it wasn’t a traditional festivity there either until the English took it over the Atlantic. Besides, kids love sweets and dressing up — the two main ingredients of a successful Halloween.

And if you do decide to make the trip to Horrorland (other theme parks, such as Port Aventura, also have Halloween-related attractions at this time of year), you can shoot zombies to your heart’s content. One of the new attractions this year is called Zombie Killer, in which visitors can shoot the undead with paintballs. According to sources at the park, it is “pure adrenalin, unique in Europe, in a space of 4,000 m² loaded with special effects, fire, lights and sound.” Where do I sign up?

the eye