Local Haunts Reviews & Recommendations

[JawsVictim]

Could anyone share vids of some of the cool looking local haunts?

If you’re in SoCal, Westcoaster.net has a ton of local haunt reviews and a really handy guide. Here’s the link to the latter: Southern California 2021 Haunted Attractions Guide — Westcoaster.

I used their guide last year to see a ton of home haunt displays. Definitely recommend Rotten Apples in Burbank, Beware the Dark Realm in Santa Clarita, and Pirates Cove in OC.

I know these aren’t videos, but if you’re in SoCal, these are worth seeing in person.

 

[Stryker]

Could anyone share vids of some of the cool looking local haunts?

This is not necessarily a haunt. More of a family-friendly Halloween light show. I haven't seen it in person yet, but I hear about it every year on local news stations.

If you’re in SoCal, Westcoaster.net has a ton of local haunt reviews and a really handy guide. Here’s the link to the latter: Southern California 2021 Haunted Attractions Guide — Westcoaster.

I used their guide last year to see a ton of home haunt displays. Definitely recommend Rotten Apples in Burbank, Beware the Dark Realm in Santa Clarita, and Pirates Cove in OC.

I know these aren’t videos, but if you’re in SoCal, these are worth seeing in person.

I second Pirates Cove in Orange, CA. I went last year along with Macdevitt Manor Haunted House in West Covina and a few others not listed on the site you mentioned. Pirates Cove is an excellent show with several live actors. The scare actors interact with guests in line waiting for the show to begin. They'll attempt to scare older crowds, but will gently interact with younger kids. Can't wait to visit them again later this month.

 

[Ebuilder]

I'm helping with a local haunt this year as well. I was there last year and I will link the walk through from last years maze:


The haunt is in Baldwin park and this years theme is going to be called "Fear Extractor"

The ad for this year is attatched below as well!

 

[MikePat]

Just visited another great local haunt. Haunted Overload in NH is really impressive set wise. It's all DIY to it's max. Great sound and lighting too. The event was more tame compared to last year (and that was during the pandemic), however, the actors on the bikes were scary.

Their is no 2021 trailer, but this 2019 trailer I think does the place justice...

 

[Rideguy70]

There's just so many options in SoCal, it makes your head spin. We have literally been doing a different haunt event every weekend for 6 weeks.

In addition to the usual major haunts (HHN, KSF, Fright Fest, and now Howl-o-Scream at Sea World SD--going this weekend to the latter), I do love the immersive experiences. In my plans are Delusion (mind blowing haunted house play with top level effects), Creep (immersive theater with incredible actors, more about the psychological unease than jump scares--and you will be touched and sometimes separated from your group), and It's Alive (an interactive play about Mary Shelly writing Frankenstien, set a real life mausoleum). I also usually see Zombie Joe Underground, but there just isn't enough time this year... but it's an unforgettable experience if you haven't seen them before (and be prepared for total nudity of both sexes during the show).

Also did the Ventura Fear Grounds which was okay... no real set design, but it was their first year, and it was nearly all outdoors, making it very safe from a COVID point of view. They only had three mazes, a Ghost Train (kinda dull aside from one key scene), the Cage (maze of chain link fences with monster), and the Terror Trail, which, while light on scares, was a mind blowing 20 minute walk.

The SoCalHauntList is also a great place to find events in SoCal, as well as the already aforementioned Westcoaster.

 

[Freak]

Well, I had no idea this thread existed until just now.

I'm helping with a local haunt this year as well. I was there last year and I will link the walk through from last years maze:


The haunt is in Baldwin park and this years theme is going to be called "Fear Extractor"

The ad for this year is attatched below as well!

I got excited for a second thinking this was Baldwin Park CALIFORNIA ....but alas there's apparently there's a Baldwin Park in Florida as well. Oh well.

There's just so many options in SoCal, it makes your head spin. We have literally been doing a different haunt event every weekend for 6 weeks.

In addition to the usual major haunts (HHN, KSF, Fright Fest, and now Howl-o-Scream at Sea World SD--going this weekend to the latter), I do love the immersive experiences. In my plans are Delusion (mind blowing haunted house play with top level effects), Creep (immersive theater with incredible actors, more about the psychological unease than jump scares--and you will be touched and sometimes separated from your group), and It's Alive (an interactive play about Mary Shelly writing Frankenstien, set a real life mausoleum). I also usually see Zombie Joe Underground, but there just isn't enough time this year... but it's an unforgettable experience if you haven't seen them before (and be prepared for total nudity of both sexes during the show).

Also did the Ventura Fear Grounds which was okay... no real set design, but it was their first year, and it was nearly all outdoors, making it very safe from a COVID point of view. They only had three mazes, a Ghost Train (kinda dull aside from one key scene), the Cage (maze of chain link fences with monster), and the Terror Trail, which, while light on scares, was a mind blowing 20 minute walk.

The SoCalHauntList is also a great place to find events in SoCal, as well as the already aforementioned Westcoaster.

I was thinking of checking out Ventura, but I guess I won't go if that's all it was. Probably not worth the hour and a half drive for me then. I am planning on doing Corona Haunt and Coffin Creek as well later in October. I did Coffin Creek several years ago and I liked it. It's a more low-key haunt but they have a really cool trail and hayride as well as three interesting mazes.

The SCV also has two really dope home haunts! Beware the Dark Realm and Club Fear. Club Fear is awesome because they cram the whole haunt into their garage and they make excellent use of the space!

Check out Dark Harvest as well! That's a really good corn maze haunt!

 

[pumpkinbot343]

Anybody in Florida ever checked out these places:

• No Way Out Miami Haunted City (Hialeah)
• House of Horror Haunted Carnival (Miami International Mall)
• Paranoia (Miami)
• Cortez Manor
• Tormented Trails (Davie)

Some of these are quite pricey so I want to k ow if any are worth the wait.

 

[JawsVictim]

There's just so many options in SoCal, it makes your head spin. We have literally been doing a different haunt event every weekend for 6 weeks.

In addition to the usual major haunts (HHN, KSF, Fright Fest, and now Howl-o-Scream at Sea World SD--going this weekend to the latter), I do love the immersive experiences. In my plans are Delusion (mind blowing haunted house play with top level effects), Creep (immersive theater with incredible actors, more about the psychological unease than jump scares--and you will be touched and sometimes separated from your group), and It's Alive (an interactive play about Mary Shelly writing Frankenstien, set a real life mausoleum). I also usually see Zombie Joe Underground, but there just isn't enough time this year... but it's an unforgettable experience if you haven't seen them before (and be prepared for total nudity of both sexes during the show).

Also did the Ventura Fear Grounds which was okay... no real set design, but it was their first year, and it was nearly all outdoors, making it very safe from a COVID point of view. They only had three mazes, a Ghost Train (kinda dull aside from one key scene), the Cage (maze of chain link fences with monster), and the Terror Trail, which, while light on scares, was a mind blowing 20 minute walk.

The SoCalHauntList is also a great place to find events in SoCal, as well as the already aforementioned Westcoaster.

Thanks for this list of recommendations!! Delusion is now on my radar. Glad their production goes into November so there’s more time to check it out!

Highly recommend LA Haunted Hayride this year. It was my first time going and found the experience to be delightful! The Hayride ranges from pretty cool to okay to sometimes laughably bad, but two of the three mazes, Trick or Treat and Dead End Diner are great! Lots of amazing scares by their energetic casts and I legit got lost in both of them as parts are actual mazes. Also, the Monte Revolta show was such a surprise! Truly a highlight of any haunt I’ve been to this year. This guy’s like the Halloween version of Weird Al, turning songs like Hall & Oates Maneater into Re-animator, complete with on stage theatrics. Loved the show and all the scareactors roaming the crowd creeping people out.

 

[amar831]

Anybody in Florida ever checked out these places:

• No Way Out Miami Haunted City (Hialeah)
• House of Horror Haunted Carnival (Miami International Mall)
• Paranoia (Miami)
• Cortez Manor
• Tormented Trails (Davie)

Some of these are quite pricey so I want to k ow if any are worth the wait.

I went to House of Horror last Friday and it was pretty fun. Just basic carnival rides and three houses that all share the same space (which I’m pretty sure is an emptied out JC Penney).
I got there with my family right at opening and were able to get into the houses as soon as those opened up at 7pm, basically walk ins but heavy pulsing in the houses. The actors are putting a lot of energy and having a good time, but most rooms are wide open spaces and I would say only about 8-10 actors per house. They do get up close and personal though which was pretty cool to experience. As far as on the street there were maybe about 3 actors walking around.
They had a long strip of some carnival food and local food trucks as well.
It’s not really anything out of this world but it was only 35 per ticket and no extra fees for any carnival rides or houses. We didn’t stay past 10 pm because it got super crowded and lines for everything we’re getting crazy long, but it was practically empty right at opening

Oh and they just have the spinning tunnel randomly inside a warehouse type prop area that you can walk in through, just in and out lol.

 

[ghostsarejerks]

For anyone in SoCal who likes the extreme end of the haunt spectrum. Definitely check out the 17th Door in Fullerton! I've been going for years and they always have the highest quality theming and some of the coolest effects in the industry. I think this is their last year with their current theme. If you're apprehensive I'd go online and check out the liability waiver.

 

[shiekra38]

Not sure if this is the place to post this, but here are a few shots from my haunted house this year

Posting a walkthrough later








Edit: Here is a walkthrough if ya'll want to see

 

[PenguinCowboy]

Figured this was as good a place as any, but my friends and I have a little haunt production company that it would mean the world if y'all could check out! We are Dark Hollow Productions, and we consist of a group of friends who have been putting on haunts together since high school! We've since all split off into our various professions (I'm a mechanical design engineer, our one friend runs a sewing business, and the other is in film/television production), but we still love to get together and scare up some fun!

I live up in Boston, but we put the haunt on inside/around their house in Brooklyn (which lends itself to some...interesting challenges, haha); it's totally free, but we usually only limit it to people we know/their guests because it literally dumps out into their house, lol. We don't have much space at all, so we try and play with the theatricality of the experience more than just jump scares, and so the tech plays an important role in the haunt (which we have to tear down and put back up each night because things tend to grow legs in the city)

This was our 2019 highlight reel; we decided to go with a classic staple of Halloween and take our stab at building a haunted graveyard in the middle of Bushwick! (and we were months into planning and building when Graveyard Games got announced, lol):


We usually stick to original storylines, but we wanted to flex our creative muscles and see what we could do with an IP, so after 3 years of planning (we wanted to do this in 2019, then I got cancer, whomp whomp [all better now!], then 2020 happened, and now it is 2021) we finally got to unveil our take on the It franchise:


We have walkthroughs and scare cam footage as well as a lights on tour that we filmed that we are going to be releasing, but we have some pics from the event in the meantime:








In the meantime too, we also have a little behind the scenes series we have put together going into some of our design process!


Let me know what you guys think! Even if you just take a peek at our channel any little bit helps out!

(And if you feel especially generous, following us on Instagram or @DarkHollowProductions on Facebook!)

 

[MikePat]

Figured this was as good a place as any, but my friends and I have a little haunt production company that it would mean the world if y'all could check out! We are Dark Hollow Productions, and we consist of a group of friends who have been putting on haunts together since high school! We've since all split off into our various professions (I'm a mechanical design engineer, our one friend runs a sewing business, and the other is in film/television production), but we still love to get together and scare up some fun!

I live up in Boston, but we put the haunt on inside/around their house in Brooklyn (which lends itself to some...interesting challenges, haha); it's totally free, but we usually only limit it to people we know/their guests because it literally dumps out into their house, lol. We don't have much space at all, so we try and play with the theatricality of the experience more than just jump scares, and so the tech plays an important role in the haunt (which we have to tear down and put back up each night because things tend to grow legs in the city)

This was our 2019 highlight reel; we decided to go with a classic staple of Halloween and take our stab at building a haunted graveyard in the middle of Bushwick! (and we were months into planning and building when Graveyard Games got announced, lol):


We usually stick to original storylines, but we wanted to flex our creative muscles and see what we could do with an IP, so after 3 years of planning (we wanted to do this in 2019, then I got cancer, whomp whomp [all better now!], then 2020 happened, and now it is 2021) we finally got to unveil our take on the It franchise:


We have walkthroughs and scare cam footage as well as a lights on tour that we filmed that we are going to be releasing, but we have some pics from the event in the meantime:
View attachment 15536

View attachment 15537

View attachment 15538

View attachment 15539

In the meantime too, we also have a little behind the scenes series we have put together going into some of our design process!


Let me know what you guys think! Even if you just take a peek at our channel any little bit helps out!

(And if you feel especially generous, following us on Instagram or @DarkHollowProductions on Facebook!)

Wow @PenguinCowboy, your production company looks really great with the space y'all have to work with. I currently live in the Boston area too, but is this in Brooklyn, New York?

Seeing this has really made my night though...

 

[PenguinCowboy]

Wow @PenguinCowboy, your production company looks really great with the space y'all have to work with. I currently live in the Boston area too, but is this in Brooklyn, New York?

Seeing this has really made my night though...

Thank you so much! It's just the four of us working through the year to put it on for a few nights, but responses like this make it all worth it!

But yessir, the actual haunt is in Brooklyn, so I am usually building pieces in isolation up here, or doing remote programming then bringing the stuff down on the weekends (I only paid $25 in electrical for the months of September and October for my apartment up here, I was down there so much, lol...gas is another matter, haha)

 

[MikePat]

So, the Midwest Haunters Convention happened this weekend and a total of 5 haunts in the Chicago area were open. There is one haunt in particular I visited that I did not expect anything from that blew me away. Located in Elgin, Evil Intentions Haunted House is located in a building that looks completely abandoned. After entering the building and meeting some of the sinister characters who play very extreme and dark roles, I was hooked. From there, I could have not imagined the events that unfolded after a clever "coffin" entrance. It's so unpredictable how really dark it gets, but it is so amazing to see a haunt that can go to so many places but have a purpose and style.

I do not want to spoil anything about this place because it's best to go in blind (especially with the theme of the whole house), but as someone who has visited attractions all across the country, Evil Intentions is a top 5 haunt for me. Highly recommend to anyone who is in the Chicago area.

 

[Freak]

So it looks like I may get to travel to Texas with some friends in October. We’re planning on hitting up FF at Fiesta Texas, HoS at Sea World, and we are going to the State Fair. Anyone know of some really good Indy haunts/screamparks around the San Antonio or Dallas area?

 

[MikePat]

So it looks like I may get to travel to Texas with some friends in October. We’re planning on hitting up FF at Fiesta Texas, HoS at Sea World, and we are going to the State Fair. Anyone know of some really good Indy haunts/screamparks around the San Antonio or Dallas area?

Cutting Edge (held the record for longest haunted house in the world for a while) and Dark Hour Haunted House

 

[Freak]

Cutting Edge (held the record for longest haunted house in the world for a while) and Dark Hour Haunted House

Awesome! I'll look in to those and tell my friends about them!

 

[Rideguy70]

I'm visiting San Antonio myself during the summer, and just found out the surprisingly-descent looking Ripley's Haunted Adventure (with live actors and a funicular at the start!) will be closing in August of this year.

 

[Freak]

I'm visiting San Antonio myself during the summer, and just found out the surprisingly-descent looking Ripley's Haunted Adventure (with live actors and a funicular at the start!) will be closing in August of this year.

Whoa, that’s crazy. I’ve been in front of it twice but never got to do it. I’ve done the one in Gatlinburg. Are they both similar?