Sunday, September 30, 2012

Haunted Review - The Haunted Hotel




Our next stop brought us to another staple haunted attraction in Louisville, The Haunted Hotel. I had the honor and privilege of meeting owner Kevin Stich, who was very kind and generous toward our group, greeting us when we arrived and making sure we got to experience the best of The Haunted Hotel.





We were fortunate enough to get to enter The Hotel with just our group, which really made the experience all the more intimate. And horrifying.

Upon entering the haunt, we were greeted by a creepy hotel staff member, that showed us on our way to the elevator. Which I am now referring to as the death box of horror. Our "attendant" literally had Aly and me both clinging to the guys, and even the guys were shrinking away from his frightening demeanor and appearance. The elevator was especially terrifying for me, since I already hate elevators that work, let alone one that was so clearly malfunctioning. We moved through some pretty terrifying scenes, a lot of which did involve the shock value type of scares. One thing I will have to credit The Hotel with is the level of gory scenes. Body parts and pigs surround you in a couple of rooms, really hitting that gross-out button. I loved it.

There were several scares that really made me not only jump, but twist and try to get away. I won't lie, the scary factor-for me-was pretty high. I had the advantage of being in front, and I think the others got to see the scares before they got there and it made it less frightening for me, so it's definitely a haunt where you want to be in the front to get the best effect. That's not to say Aly and Nick weren't squawking, but their experience was a bit milder compared to mine.

There was one room that some may find offensive. Maintaining a biased position here, It seemed to be more shock value than scare, and among our group, that room was a bit less favorable. Religious patrons may want to take heed, this is in-your-face intense, and could be viewed as over the top and even crossing some lines. It's a gray area that is something to be determined by the viewer, but I felt it needed a mention, because I definitely wasn't prepared for it.

There were a lot of positives about this haunt, and it's really hard to write anything about it without giving away all the best parts. I can't really think of many negatives for The Haunted Hotel, save for the possibly questionable religious room. After taking into account the awesome gore factor, the screams, the "BOO" factor, the acting, the set design, and the overall experience, I would give this haunt 4 Ghosts. 

Don't get me wrong, to have that one room be so questionable and still get 4 Ghosts means The Haunted Hotel is definitely doing something right.

Before I go for the night, I want to thank Kevin for an exceptionally good time. My friends and I truly appreciate everything you've done to make our experience so incredible, and I can see why your haunt has been around for so many years! I also want to thank the creepy clown that terrified me for attempting to use his chainsaw to whittle off the love handles and carve a better bum. This guy may haunt my nightmares tonight. Many thanks to you and all the other monsters that contributed to my new need for extensive therapy and nightlights.

Also, within the next day or so, I'm going to be posting a brief Q&A with owner Kevin Stich, to gain some insider knowledge about The Haunted Hotel and it's history. Stay tuned, I have a lot of exciting things coming up to share with my fellow haunted house fiends.

It's been a screaming good night, and I wish you all to sleep like the dead. 

7 comments:

  1. I went Oct 5th. The scenes were fairly traditional, and seemed short staffed on cast members... some rooms had none. The two girls with me did get a fair fright by a clown, but then they're just scared of clowns anyway.

    I expect more than black hallways to fill out the duration of a haunted house, which Haunted Hotel had plenty of once outside the main haunted house.

    Not calling it a bad haunt, but seems a bit over priced for what it is compared to other haunted attractions locally.

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    1. Hm, I wonder if we managed to arrive on a good night or if we received any extra special treatment because of being a review group, or if perhaps your group managed to go on a bad night...I'm curious on other folks' experiences, now. This is definitely something I want to hear more feedback on.

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  2. Did not enjoy this haunt at all. I took 3 teeen kids with me who had never went to a haunted house and they were even bored with it. It was over priced and the most entertainment I got was laughing at the kids being silly and making fun of it. I was also a little taken back that we spent the most time in a makeshift elevator that the guy in it sexually harrased my 14 year old son go figure to tell him he was gonna get raped was a littl much to me but the kids thought it was funny.

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    1. That's odd, the guy in the elevator with us never said a word to our group. I hate to hear that, though, because that would have pushed my limits, just like the religious room did. Honestly, our group had a great time, but I don't think the experience we had was an accurate representation of the haunt. I'm beginning to believe this less and less. I may have to go undercover and revisit without letting anyone know I'm reviewing it, then make an adjustment. Different people are obviously going to have different opinions and experiences, but I'm getting outnumbered here. I hope more people comment and tell me their experiences as well, this is very interesting and I want to make sure I'm able to give a real and honest review, not one that was made up just for our group...

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  3. I think your review is spot on with the 4 ghost this haunted house is hands on and in your face. It has great features and some that need improvement but i enjoyed the actors and the shock factor!

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    1. Thanks Zachary! I really hope I hear more positives than negatives, because while it's still an unfortunate occurrence, I would still rather it just be one or two off nights compared to a month of good nights rather than the other way around. Not to discount anyone's concerns, but everyone has an off night, and I really hope that's all this was. Fingers crossed!

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  4. How long (in minutes?) would you say this haunted attraction was? Also, would you say it was scarier than the 7th street haunt? I'm trying to find a haunted house to go to this year, and this one seems like a good contender. My friends and I did the Baxter Avenue Morgue last year, and we thought it was pretty good! How would you compare this one to the Baxter Morgue?

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