13 Rooms of Doom (Rising Sun, Indiana)
“A New World of Terror Awaits”
By Noah Wullkotte: Jollypumpkin@aol.com
Rising Sun, Indiana is a gambling town at its core, but losing your life savings isn’t the scariest part of this small town. Deep in the backroads of Indiana is a spooky hearse with orange police beacon lights. It reads “Little Farm On The River RV Park/Camping Resort”. Next to the hearse is a sign that says “13 Rooms of Doom” and there are a few more signs advertising for the haunt. Drive down the street and you’ll see a scary looking building that’s home to 13 Rooms of Doom. It’s a small haunt, but shouldn’t be taken lightly. We honestly didn’t know much about 13 Rooms of Doom except for its name.
We parked our car in the haunt’s small parking lot and walked underneath the Grim Reaper Archway. Orange Halloween lights decorate the ticket area. Inside there are numerous props like an animated witch, a life sized Pinhead, a scary butler, a zombie baby with a foot in his mouth, a crystal ball and more. This small waiting area will surely get you in the mood for 13 Rooms of Doom. You’ll only wait a couple minutes before it’s your turn to enter the haunt.
At 13 Rooms of Doom Roman Rojo Jossart plays Pope Natas in the condemned church of evil and does a very convincing job. This haunt features 13 different rooms which are all unique in their own right. You’ll be clowning around in a funhouse full of twisted clowns and you’ll get infected in the nuclear wasteland where an actor is seen walking around in a hazmat suit. 13 Rooms of Doom has typical rooms found in many haunts like a morgue, a crypt and a butcher house. But there are also some unique effects and scenes you won’t see everywhere.
13 Rooms of Doom has its own version of the endless hallway. We were told that quite a few people would slam into the plexiglass because they actually thought it was a real hallway. Now, that’s a convincing effect. 13 Rooms of Doom also includes an effect I haven’t see anywhere else this year. Just about every haunt has a coffin, but 13 Rooms of Doom has added its own special touch. A clown pops up from a coffin and is illuminated by a red light. The red light illuminating the clown really makes a simple coffin stand out.
13 Rooms of Doom uses low voltage power for the majority of its props. Many are operated using a windshield wiper motor. This helps conserve on electric and the props are very quiet. The only prop that doesn’t really use a small motor is a clown that makes a creaking sound. The fog machines use all natural fog juice that is safe for those who have asthma. 13 Rooms of Doom is about a 7 minute haunt and it’s only $5 a person when using their website coupon for $3 off. This is the cheapest ticket price we’ve seen all year and it’s great for families looking for a cheap night of entertainment.
We were pleasantly surprised at how good 13 Rooms of Doom was. It’s in its 6th year of operation and there are future plans of expanding the haunt. You can’t beat the price and you’ll definitely have a howling good time. There is room for improvement though. The haunt is too short in duration, but this will change when the haunt expands. There aren’t enough actors that use good dialogue. The chainsaw killer, the possessed girl behind the fridge and Pope Natas are the most memorable characters. 13 Rooms of Doom has a lot of potential and is a great value.
Length-6 Design-7 Props/Animatronics-7 Acting-7 Scare Effect-8
Final Stab: 7.0
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