Additional reporting by Piper Goodman.
The usual Valentine’s Day celebration of flowers, cards and a dinner out isn’t for everyone. Some couples celebrate the holiday more untraditionally.
“We don’t go out to dinner or do anything on Valentine’s Day. There’s too much commercializing, so this is what we do for Valentine’s Day,” said David, a visitor of this year’s Love Bites put on by 13th Floor Haunted House.
The immersive Love Bites was hosted in Denver and five other cities. Open from Feb. 16-18, visitors wound their way through the eerie maze adorned with vampire-themed decorations. Before entering, they had a chance to dip their hands in “vampire’s blood” to ward off unwanted “attacks.” Actors dressed as the bloodsuckers themselves roamed throughout the experience amidst garlands of garlic cloves and coffins. Animatronic monsters popped out from behind corners and rooms filled with smoke from fog machines. Those who survived the frightful sights were greeted at the end with a spooky cocktail at the Shriekeasy.
“Because [Love Bites] is just a one-weekend event, we are able to make the experience really immersive for our guests and let them become part of the story,” said 13th Floor Marketing Manager Samantha Beranek. “We love to go all out for this event and make it fun and terrifying all at the same time.”
Love Bites started in 2014 with the idea that people should be able to celebrate Halloween in different ways and at different times of the year. The event also seeks to give those without a romantic partner a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day. It is a terrifying yet fun twist on the holiday.
“Forget the boring dates of Valentine’s Day past and come experience something stimulating this year,” the 13th Floor Haunted House website said.
Over the past decade, haunted houses across the country have opened their doors year-round to mark holidays one wouldn’t typically think of as horror highlights like St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and Christmas. Valentine’s Day has become increasingly popular with almost 90 haunted houses across the country turning Cupid’s favorite holiday into something much more sinister. Each one has a creative name that riffs on pop culture: There’s My Bloody Valentine in St. Louis, Missouri, Til Death Do Us Part in Portland, Oregon, and Blind Date From Hell in Clarksville, Indiana. The expansion from Halloween time to other holidays is indicative of the rise in popularity of the horror movie genre, which has seen a revival in recent years.
These immersive experiences combine horror and romance at a more affordable price than a prix fixe dinner, plus it’s a great way to get your Valentine to hold on for dear life.
For some couples, Love Bites has become a new Valentine’s Day tradition. David and his wife have been attending 13th Floor Haunted House events since they first started dating. The couple has been married for seven years and they frequently go to haunted events year-round, not just during the Halloween season. David had memorized the layout of the previous Love Bites haunted house, but this year, the layout and atmosphere were different, so David wanted to check it out again.
“I love going as slow as I can because I love to look at the detail because detail matters to me when it comes to haunted houses,” David said. “I love the spin on Valentine’s Day and turning it into horror.”