NIGHTMARE 2011: 8th Year To Explore Gruesome Origins of FAIRY TALES

NIGHTMARE, New York's most horrifying haunted house and AOL CityGuide's No. 1 rated haunted attraction in New York City is celebrating its 8th Anniversary with a return to its origins on the Lower East Side of Manhattan at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center, (107 Suffolk Street between Rivington and Delancey, NYC), September 29 through November 5, 2011.

In what is perhaps the most stylistic NIGHTMARE to date, this year's theme is Fairy Tales. Under the direction of Creator and Co-Director Timothy Haskell, NIGHTMARE: FAIRY TALES stages the original versions of well-known (and some lesser known) fairy tales at their most gruesome and horrific. Over the centuries many of these fables have evolved into sanitized entertainment for children, but they began as racy and violent tales intended to keep children from misbehaving.

Get lost in a dark forest and wander through the woods while becoming the characters and reliving the terrifying experiences extracted from over a dozen twisted stories handed down by The Brothers Grimm, Aesop, Hans Christian Anderson, and more. Try and stay on the path as you go from cottage to cottage - each housing a familiar tale told in the way they were intended - to scare the wits out of you! Each cottage gets more and more intense until you reach the climactic conclusion. Then you have to find your way home. Be careful, though, there are hidden cottages to explore.

"The original purpose for virtually all fairy tales was to scare children straight, so they wouldn't do anything dangerous, bad or amoral," says co-director and creator Timothy Haskell. "We are going to teach those same lessons to our audiences! The narratives of the Fairy Tales chosen lend themselves to Nightmare's unique theatricality, while giving opportunities for fantastical scenarios and set pieces."

Another component to this year's NIGHTMARE will be a sensory assaulting 5-D theatre experience called THE EXPERIMENT created and directed by John Harlacher and Timothy Haskell. Unlike year's past where the second event was a much smaller prelude to the main event, THE EXPERIMENT is actually Full-on, every bit as satisfying and experiential as the haunted house. Experienced from your chair in a small lab, you are part of a focus group for research on the threshold for fear. Will they hit YOUR limits?

The NIGHTMARE: FAIRY TALES artistic team is headed up by Paul Smithyman (Production Designer) and Justin Haskell (Art Director) and David Hinkle (associate Art Director). The rest of the team includes: Garin Marshall (Lights), David Roy (sound), Aaron Haskell (specialty props), ND CandIce Thompson (costumes).

To buy tickets to NIGHTMARE: FAIRY TALES visit www.nightmarenewyork.com or call 212.352.3101. Tickets are $30 in advance/$35 at the door. VIP tickets are $60 and gets you to the front of the line with no wait as well as a goodie bag. A Super VIP ticket is available for $100 and gets you to the front of the line. It also includes a goodie bag, a t-shirt, two drinks and a backstage tour with the director after you walk through.

Website: www.NightmareNewYork.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/NightmareNYC
Twitter: @NIGHTMARENYC
Visit Timothy Haskell's blog at www.iscareyou.com

ABOUT PSYCHO CLAN

Psycho Clan (Producer) is an entertainment company dedicated to special events, theatrical productions and new media marketing and advertisement.

Timothy Haskell (Creator and Co-Director) recently directed Off-Broadway's Stitching (The Wild Project and The Elephant in Los Angeles), The Jaded Assassin (Ohio Theatre), Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy starring Corey Feldman at the Classic Stage Company, Corporate Rock (Blue Heron Arts Center) and the Paris Hilton spoof I Love Paris by Doug Fields also at the Blue Heron Arts Center. At 13 months, I Love Paris was one of the longest-running solo shows in Off-Broadway history. He also co-curated and produced the first ever Fight Festival at The Brick Theatre premiering his new work Last Life that later transferred to the Ohio Theatre. He is perhaps best known for creating and directing the cult hit Road House: The Stage Play, which transferred from Off-Off Broadway to Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre. Mr. Haskell is also the creator and director of the annual Nightmare: New York's Most Horrifying Haunted House. The most recent installation was Nightmare: Superstitions.

John Harlacher (Co-Director,) is an actor and director. Recent acting work includes the indie feature Love Simple, directed by Mark von Sternberg; Off-Broadway's Dog Day Afternoon, adapted by Francisco Solorzano; and the revival of Israel Horovitz's Rats. Both stage productions were produced by The Barefoot Theatre Company, of which he is a member. Directing work includes Cats Can See The Devil, written by Tom X. Chao; the Miami version of Nightmare: Ghost Stories, created by Timothy Haskell; and the feature film Urchin, which he also wrote. Released theatrically and distributed worldwide, Urchin was banned in Malaysia as a "threat to culture."