The Asylum House


A personal favorite, largely because I appreciate the ridiculously involved construction and the in-your-face attitude of the actors. (Plus it has a real spanking-by-evil-witches dungeon; go ahead and make your Club Dominion jokes now, line forms on the left.) If the main house was all Asylum offered, it would still be worth the price: Spooky sets and actors specializing in full-contact, weapons-grade horror. Most houses put some distance between you and the actors; the Asylum crew is likely as not to put you in a barber chair for some quality time with Sweeney Todd. But that’s far from all; Asylum has expanded considerably this year, adding a more elaborate outdoor Crystal Lake woods walk, two external cemeteries, and a Hellraiser-themed maze to the mix. Plus they’ve got mind-bending 3-D sections and freakishly complex psychedelic painting. It’s one of the longest single houses out there, and probably the most intense. Asylum House by Paul F. P. Pogue Oct 17, 2007


Nuvo They bill themselves as "Fear and Fetish in the Dark," and Asylum House definitely lives up to that billing with a decidedly R-rated approach. I can't be sure, but I think that this house tops the list for sheer size and scale in a single event, packing an enormous amount of stuff into its warehouse layout and then spilling out into a Crystal Lake-esque woods. Asylum House is by far the most theatrical of the haunted houses, with many actors on hand who really, really get into their roles. It's a page right out of the forbidden horror magazines of the the 1950's, with beautiful captive damsels, evil cackling tormenters and diabolical torture chambers. (And everyone plays their cackling and screaming to maximum decibelage!) Add to that a 3-D maze and several other themed sections and you've got the best Grade A+ bang for your hanted house buck in the city. Through Oct. 31;www.theasylumhouse.com. - PFPP


The production values are impressive, with elaborate sets and costumes and a cast of actors who really throw themselves into their roles. No half-hearted scares here; their scream queens let out ear-splitting shrieks at the slightest provocation, and the requisite bloodied killers wandering the halls will stalk you for minutes at a time, especially if you find yourself lost in the labyrinthine wooden maze at the house's heart. It gets top marks for creativity, with no detail spared in the prop and set design. The action sprawls outside into the woods, with a Camp Crystal Lake theme, and finally into Screamers Cabin that's a tiny masterpiece. Through Oct. 31; www.theasylumhouse.com. -Paul Pogua


THE ASYLUM HOUSE German Park. Walking through the Asylum House it's hard to believe that its most impressive monsters are hand-made. Even harder to comprehend is that such a twisted little funhouse was built to raise money for two Southside charities. While this year's theme, "Fear and Fetish in the Dark."falls a bit flat, what it lacks in kinky thrills is made up for in classic screams. The over 5,000-square-foot maze of well-staged frightening scenes and foreboding passages was as frightening as promised, but it was really the superb acting by some of the participants and the hand-crafted monsters by Asylum House creator Patrick Greathouse that made the Asylum House stand out. The very professional and well-costumed actors drove and directed us through the house's seemingly endless twists and turns without leaving character. The threat of a dominatrix younger than most of the visitors elicited little fear, but although it lacked thrills, the overall look of the room and the concept behind it was as well-executed as the rest of the house. The end is a partially chaperoned trip to Camp Crystal Lake, home to psycotic murder Jason. While this last outdoor segment comes like a suprise bonus after a very complete indoor section, the pacing of the trip through the wood seemed to quick to build suspense and the acting by our counselor" seemed forced - more comic than scary. Untill the chainsaws began, of course. For those looking for a realistic movie monster experience it doesn't get more realistic than that. The entire experience was worth the $12 admission price, if only to see some of the most impressive hand-sculpted monsters this side of Hollywood. For the last weekend of the month, admission will also include a performance by local Halloween hardcore band Per vertebrae. Though Oct. 31; www.theasylumhouse.com, -Anna McCleary


S.R. 135 and Fairview. The Asylum House certainly knew what it was doing when it set out to scare the bejeezus out of the attendees of Monster Mayhem. My wife confided in me on our way home; “Just when I thought I could get through it without screaming again, something else jumped out and it started all over.” A man dressed in scrubs and a straight jacket led us to the giant gates of the Asylum, where we could hear screams of torment and anguish from within. Inside, what I didn't expect was the massive amount of time and attention to detail in the pitch-black labyrinth of terror. You really get your money's worth with this place. Complete with a terrifying encounter with two famous movie monsters, this haunted house delivers the scares. The haunted house resides in an old Marsh Supermarket building, with the words “ Explicit Content” written on the window. This is not a place for children. Through Oct. 31; 979-9347 – Thomas D. Brown II