Tunnel of terror: Canonsburg car wash hosts immersive Halloween event
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Ghostly beings greet visitors to All Washed Up Auto Spa in Canonsburg, and other thrills abound during the car wash’s Haunted Halloween event, which runs Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22.
An advertisement for the Haunted Halloween event at All Washed Up along Route 19 in Canonsburg hints at the horrors car wash customers can enjoy on select days in October.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
When customers pull up to All Washed Up in Canonsburg Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22, they’ll be greeted by ghouls and clown, including Pennywise from the Stephen King novel, “It.” Folks are welcome to dress up and experience the auto spa’s haunted Halloween wash on those select days in October.
Photos: Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
For the first time ever, All Washed Up Auto Spa in Canonsburg invites customers to a Haunted Halloween car wash. Kids are encouraged to dress up for the haunted event, which includes spooky lighting and ghouls.
Car wash customers delight in All Washed Up Auto Spa's color displays, which create psychedelic patterns on windshields while sudsing them crystal clear.
Visitors to All Washed Up Auto Spa in Canonsburg will delight in ghoulish greetings and spooky color displays on Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22. Kids of all ages are encouraged to dress up for the first-ever haunted Halloween event.
Car washes across the U.S. are modernizing, including All Washed Up in Canonsburg, which delights customers with vibrant color displays and, this Friday and Saturday, a haunted Halloween attraction.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A trip through All Washed Up Auto Spa in Canonsburg delights the senses, and vibrant color shows delight visitors of all ages. This year, the car wash is hosting a haunted Halloween attraction, complete with ghoulish greeters and spooky color shows.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Immersive car washes that offer trippy color shows are gaining in popularity throughout the U.S. At All Washed Up Auto Spa in Canonsburg, customers delight in the colorful sudsy patterns decorating their car windows.
Car washes throughout the country are offering customers more than suds and shine – they welcome folks to immersive color shows that leave hearts happy and cars clean.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
An All Washed Up customer gets the signal to put their car in neutral before the vehicle is hosed down. On select days in October, visitors to the auto spa will enjoy a car wash like no other during the Spooktacular Haunted Halloween event.
Austin Palumbo, owner of All Washed Up in Canonsburg, invites folks to the haunted car wash Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22. The usually bright, inviting car wash will on those days be transformed into a tunnel of terror that is fun for all.
Think getting your car washed can’t be fun?
Then you might want to visit All Washed Up Auto Spa, a car wash in Canonsburg, which is offering a frighteningly good time for Halloween.
On Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22, the drive-through car wash will host a haunted car wash.
“We did it last year in our Harmar location and the reaction from people whenever they were going through was very positive. There were a lot of people who went through several times. It was actually a lot of fun,” said All Washed Up general manager Austin Palumbo. “It was a blast for the employees and customers.”
At the Canonsburg car wash, creepy clowns will be roaming alongside customers’ vehicles (be warned: Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King’s book and movie, “It,” will be among them), and tombstones, fog machines, strobe lights, and eerie music will add to the spooky atmosphere.
“It’s going to be a whole experience,” said Brad Kramer, manager of the Canonsburg All Washed Up. “We’re going all out to make this scary and fun.”
Nationwide, there is a trend in the car wash industry to make car washes more interactive for customers. Car wash owners are adding lights, lasers, sounds, projections, and even smells, to turn a mundane task into a fun outing.
Haunted car washes provide another opportunity to focus on the entertainment aspect of going through a car wash.
“In a nutshell, there has been an effort in the last five to seven years to really improve the guest experience at car washes, and with these light shows and the haunted house, it’s about improving the experience for the customer,” said Dave Edwards, president of the Car Wash Association of Pennsylvania.
Kramer mentioned that one family visits All Washed Up at least once a week because one of the children loves the LED light show.
“It definitely makes it more of an experience for the customer, instead of a boring car wash,” said Kramer.
For the haunted car wash, Kramer hired three actors who, along with All Washed Up employees, will provide plenty of scares during the event.
The terror begins even before the conveyor belt pulls the car in, Kramer said. Clowns and monsters wielding props such as bricks will follow participants’ vehicles.
Customers who dare to go through All Washed Up’s “tunnel of terror” will line up to enter the car wash tunnel, set their vehicles to neutral when prompted, and remain in their cars as surprise scares loom throughout.
Water and soap will resemble blood on the windshield.
All Washed Up also is offering the haunted car wash at its Harmar and Dubois locations.
And the best thing is, when you’re finished with the haunted “ride,” you’ll drive off in a squeaky-clean car.
When: Oct. 14, 15, 21, 22 from 7 to 10 p.m.
Where: All Washed Up, 405 Old Pike St., Canonsburg.
Tickets: $25 per vehicle (free for All Washed Up monthly members)