Nightmare Haunted House in Lexington, Kentucky

September 22nd, 2009

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On Sept 12th, I took advantage of the opening of Nightmare Haunted House for ScareFest (a Horror and Paranormal Convention).

I enjoyed meeting the owners and got to talk to Dean Stephens and his wife about the event they have been running for several years. Located in a light industrial park, Nightmare is contained in an old warehouse and is approximately 7,500 sq feet for the actual walkthrough. There is also a dark maze that is open during the regular season but wasn’t open tonight.

Ticket price is $14 + $6 VIP upcharge and the Dark Maze is an extra buck during the season.

After the wait in line, customers are ushered into a makeshift movie theater that is actually pretty well done where we sat and watched a short movie about the backstory of the Haunt. We learned it was a hospital where something went horribly wrong! The way they concluded the video and introduced one of the actresses was a nice touch (but I won’t spoil it for you).

After the movie, we moved into a waiting room – how appropriate that the room where we were being divided into groups and then distributed into the haunt at intervals was themed as a waiting room – complete with a nurse receptionist who told us when to go.

The scenic design in the Haunt was very strong. Great detail, a real morgue table and animatronics that added to the scenes without dominating the scenes. The animatronic props were great which is no surpise since one of the owners is also a partner in Hauntatorium Studios. The VooDoo scene was very strong and had a great feel to it. The Make-up and costumes were both well done and the actors energetic. The final scene was fun and while I knew what was coming (because I got a tour right before the opening), the two guys in my group that I was with didn’t and it got them pretty good (though they quickly composed themsleves and acted like it hadn’t).

Overall, I had a lot of fun at this Haunt and it has some good scares. In fact, two people left once they hit the Waiting Room before we even really got into the Haunt. Then, there were six people in my group, but the two girls and a guy practically ran through the place after the first chainsaw.

Thank you to the staff and crew and Nightmare Haunted House! Have a great season!