Brookfield Zoo’s 2011 “Creatures of the Night” Unearthed!

Last month we reported the Halloween activities at the two zoos in which The Daves are volunteer docents; Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo and Rhode Island’s Roger Williams Park (in a story you can revisit HERE)! Both zoo’s served up a fantastic seasonal event that is something ALL local readers should plan on attending next year. Brookfield Zoo gets a special nod from horror fans for delving into the darker side of Halloween and proving (by its huge turn out) that us adult horror fans are a financial force to be reckoned with. “Creatures of the Night” proved a devilishly good time with lots of great activities such as this “Pumpkin Execution” – courtesy of a device created by the zoo’s exhibits department and utilizing materials laying around the zoo. While orange and black are most commonly associated with the holiday’s colors, Brookfield Zoo made it even more spectacular by going “Green.”

We were delighted when the genius behind one of the event’s main attraction’s – The Trail of Terror: Underneath! contacted us shortly after posting. I had assumed that the zoo had hired someone from the outside to put on such an amazing monster-sized event but such was not the case! Matthew Owens not only has a background in monster-making, he also works for the zoo’s exhibits department! Matthew delighted us by allowing me to revisit “Creatures of the Night” but, this time, behind the scenes. I video taped interviews with Matthew and cast mates from the event (including a walk through) and will now share it for those who were unable to attend…

INTERVIEW WITH MATTHEW OWENS