Poster for Fear Overload. Photo courtesy of Fear Overload’s Facebook

SAN FRANCISCO—On Saturday, October 19, Fear Overload, California’s haunted house scream park, will be hosting the first-ever sleepover challenge inside their haunted houses.

Participants in the sleepover, which begins at 11:59 p.m., only need to bring a sleeping bag with them “to survive the abyss at Fear Overload Scream Park,” according to the release. They will also be provided a dim flashlight for the night.

“This sleepover has been designed to be so horrifying that we had to have strict emergency procedures to account for the possibility of heart attack and fear-induced illusion,” Nathan Polanco, producer of Fear Overload Scream Park, said in a statement.

Throughout the night, participants in teams of two will go through several haunted houses and attempt to avoid being eliminated while completing a series of tasks. Contestants will be eliminated when they are either too horrified to continue or if they fail to complete a time-sensitive task.

According to Polanco, “Contestants will be notified of their status by smart phone text messages, and at any time, should a contestant feel too horrified to continue, he or she may shout or text a ‘safe word’ to be immediately evacuated from the haunted house.”

As part of the scare factor, creatures and some of California’s most talented actors will be let loose in the haunted houses during the course of the contest.

“Think of it like Survivor, but for Halloween,” Polanco said. “The bravest and most strategic soul will win. We have a grand prize in store for the winner who survives the horror to sunrise,” he added.

The event will last until sunrise, approximately seven hours from start to finish, and KSCU 103.3, a radio station in Santa Clara, will be broadcasting the sleepover event to witness the horror. Hidden cameras throughout the park will also be capturing the night’s events to stream online.

Fear Overload, presents a 20,000-square-foot labyrinth of “outrageous, horrifying [and] heart-throbbing” haunted houses, according to their Facebook page. This year, they have added two new attractions: Ward 9 and Abusement Park.

“These are high-shock haunted attractions with horrifying scenes,” the site warns. “If you’re under 15 years old, pregnant, or faint at heart, then don’t even bother showing up.”

General admission tickets start at $20 and go up to $35 for unlimited VIP admission, which includes unlimited and front-of-the-line priority to both houses.

Fear Overload is located at the Bayfair Center at 15555  East 14th Street in San Leandro across from the Century Movie Theaters.

For more information on the Sleepover Challenge, including ticket prices or to participate in the event, visit www.fearoverlad.com/sleepover.

By Melissa Simon