On the streets of New York during Halloween Horror Nights 32, step back in time to 1969, where some of the grooviest bands are set to take the stage.

Vamp ’69: Summer of Blood

A small town upstate has pulled out all the stops for Music Fest ’69. Banners hang in the local park, vendors line the streets, and out-of-towners pour in on motorcycles, RVs, and buses. No one expects anything but to have a good psychedelic time.

The mainstage is set for performances from Kat and the Gemstones, Pacific Sandals, The Flaming Carrots, The Henderson Experience, Groovy Kitties, and Hazy Diamond Trio.

Photos

Review

This is better than Vamp ’85 but not as good as Vamp ’55 (can’t beat the classic). The narrative is easy to follow, even without the backstory (below). Basically, vampires attack a music festival. It’s simple, but don’t fix what’s not broken. Where the previous scare zones had hair bands and sock hoppers, this one has hippies.

The difference between ’69 and ’85 comes down to victims. The tie-dye, peace signs, and floral outfits, plus the way the festival goers just skip around nonchalantly before being attacked, make for much better interactions between them and the vampires.

Knowing the backstory before you go adds a layer of depth as you watch Oddfellow’s plot play out. But you don’t need to know the backstory to enjoy yourself.

The New York scare zone has so much space and takes advantage of it with large sets and props. There is also a large number of Scareactors this year. It’s not the best zone we’ve had in New York (last year’s Sweet Revenge is hard to beat, not to mention Robosaurus), but it’s strong and repeatable. The Scareactors are clearly having fun, too. This is a great zone for people watching, if you need a place to hang out.

Backstory

New York was home to a secret population of vampires who, for the most part, spread their killings few and far between. However, that all changed due to Dr. Oddfellow.

Oddfellow was, in 1968, living under the alter ego Earlow Wolfe, a fledgling vampire. He claimed to have been turned by a horde of vampires who attacked a circus in 1939, where he worked as a clown. The horde in question was led by the Olatto, who held a high status on the secret vampire Council in New York. Olatto was very old and highly respected and had, in fact, led an attack on a circus.

Using information from another vampire in the horde, Oddfellow-as-Wolfe challenged Olatto at a Council meeting, accusing him of feeding recklessly until satiated while forcing the rest of the vampires to drink the bare minimum to stay hidden.

Olatto bristled at the claim, assuring Wolfe that he had never been satiated. He also acquiesced, declaring that soon, they would have the chance for a feeding frenzy.

Meanwhile, a quaint town upstate was preparing for their very first music festival, which would provide the horde a perfect opportunity to have their fill.

Oddfellow used the chaos and clamor of the massacre to sacrifice Olatto in order to gain his power. By this time, Oddfellow already had the power of the Dark Zodiac and the Cane of Souls, but sought to increase his abilities. Earlow Wolfe and Olatto were never heard from again after that night.

HHN Lore

Vamp ’69 is a pseudo-sequel to two previous Vamp scare zones (’55 and ’85). On the surface, they are all three unrelated other than being era-themed and full of vampires.

However, the Universal podcast about Dr. Oddfellow’s Collection of Horrors and Twisted Origins makes a throwaway comment that could mean there’s a tie between all three zones and other attractions from Horror Nights past.

The narrator mentions having described a vampire attack that took place in 1955 to Dr. Oddfellow (when he was disguised as the vampire Earlow Wolfe). Could Olatto’s horde have been responsible for the homecoming parade massacre?

With Olatto dead in 1969, we know he wasn’t personally responsible for ’85, but we also know the New York horde of vampires was still active until at least 2007, as the narrator mentioned having to deal with the vamps behind Club Vampyr (a house from Halloween Horror Nights 17 wherein vampires used a nightclub as a cover for sourcing victims).

In the end, the specific vampires’ identities don’t matter as much as seeing how all the HHN lore is interconnected.

Location

Vamp ’69 is located at L on the map below.

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