“Welcome Home.”
That’s what the concierge promised upon entering the Haunted Hotel. That was spoken ominously right before he led us into the elevator from Hell. Kevin Stich, Owner of Haunted Hotel, as well as all his staff, set the stage for an adventure that gets tweaked and - if you can believe it - perfected with each new season!
Enter the elevator at your own risk! Darkness in your face, but there’s MORE! Shake, rattle, and scream as you witness through aggressive actors who are super scary and totally nerve-wracking fun! It seems like everything is closing in on you. A great lead up to a scary ride through this haunted hotel. (I loved the new twist!)
Be careful. You will likely get touched, poked, prodded, licked, sprayed, and even electrocuted! I screamed so many times! I found myself searching for moments to take a few breaths before having my senses heightened all over again. Things WILL most definitely go boom in the dark! Monsters jump out, follow you, get full on in your face, grab your head, and every little thing is nail-biting intense awesomeness!
Did I mention that this season was absolutely tremendous? The extreme props never let you down. The strobe lights and fog machines force you to stumble and hesitate to take that next step. Because you just KNOW that something is waiting for you. Whether you are the first, middle, or last in your group…there’s something for every single one of you! The engineered scare tactics worked perfectly with the sounds and music building up to the next heart-pounding rush of adrenaline as you scramble to escape each room…wondering what the next one has in store for you. The all original costumes and masks were spectacular. Don’t expect to see anything cliche or on-screen horror crap in the Haunted Hotel.
I appreciated that there were no long walks of silent boring blah that you will sometimes encounter with hauntings. Nope. You won’t find that hear. You’re lucky if you are given enough time in between scenes to catch your breath, wipe your tears, and think “What the hell am I doing here?” Simply enough seconds to build up the anticipation and make sure you have the shirt of the person in front of you clenched in between your shaking fingers.
One memorable character I’d like to call out is Cece. She was both cute and monstrous to the point that I didn’t know if I wanted to cuddle her or kill her…before she could end me. And can I just say…those freaking chainsaws! I learned something during this haunt. If you cover your face, it doesn’t make them go away. No. It only encourages them to give you more. They desire your fear! They will lick it up. And if that’s not enough, they will buddy up with another chainsaw chasing terror. Teaming up against you to drain every bit of your fear and tears. Your worst nightmare is their greatest desire.
Some things were similar to previous seasons; the good things. The scenes that stand the test of time. The changes this season only enhanced the entire experience for me and I would, without a doubt, say that this was the best I’ve encountered compared to previous years. I commend Kevin, his extreme characters, horrific scenery and props, and sinister scaring was truly a remarkable adventure. A lot of hard work goes into creating and making it all work. Showmanship was at 100% throttle. I ran my ass off and screamed a good number of times. It was totally lit.
The theme of Haunted Hotel is every worst possible nightmare one could ever hope to encounter in a grungy, nasty, horror-filled hotel. And this season was one of the best, in my opinion.
5 out of 5 Stars for this multi-award winning haunt!