Ghosts, goblins, ghouls and even a few killer clowns have returned to Middletown for the 2012 season of Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park. And this year is looking to be one of the scariest, fun filled years to date.

The park will open its gates Friday, Aug. 31, for its 15th season with an opening weekend party featuring Dr. Psycho’s Psych-O-Logical Showdown, a battle of the bands. The bands will compete for a $1,000 prize.

The battle of the bands marks a new approach to promotions for the park by bringing in world-renowned brands, such as Peavey, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of musical equipment, to sponsor such events.

“We started polling our Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus fans last year to see what they wanted, and we’ve listened to what they told us,” said Robert Hoffman, marketing director for the park. “We want to begin including brands that find value in our visitor demographic.”

The park is also offering more of a party this year with DJ ETrayn, one of Cincinnati’s premiere club DJs, offering up beats for patrons to dance to inside Club Zombie every Friday night.

“We found that everyone wanted to party and have a good time on Friday nights,” said Hoffman. “We had a lot of single people and a more party type atmosphere.”

Hoffman said they have also found that many people like to be scared and then give themselves a few minutes to get their nerves back.

On Saturday nights, more of a date night, Hoffman said, different local artists and performers from Cincinnati Circus, the Zoot Theater group and even a special appearance from Butch Patrick, who played Eddie Munster, will take over the park for a more family-friendly environment.

“The Zoot Theatre group out of Dayton will be doing a number of things by bonfire, ranging from magic to zombies and ghouls running around to ghosts flying around 20 feet in the air,” said Hoffman. “I would deem it more of a Carnaval approach to entertainment.”

Yet the 100-acre scream park is not straying to far from its roots.

“People are there for the haunt,” said Hoffman. “And that is what we do best.”

Patrons to the park will still be able to enjoy Dr. Psycho’s Haunted Estate filled with mutilated bodies and bloody murder scenes or the Middletown Haunted Trail, one of the park’s scarier attractions, complete with mindless chain-saw-wielding ghouls and grotesque madmen with real blowtorches.

And for the most courageous of patrons the Temple of Terror offers pitch-dark passageways, terrifying monsters and the howling undead waiting to snatch any unsuspecting visitor. This one is not for the feint of heart.

The park is open to the public, with no age limit, although the park cautions against bringing anyone terrified of blood, guts or men with chain saws. A $3 parking fee is also charged in addition to the park admission. All proceeds from the parking fee go to local charities.