The Haunted Hotel-“Scaring One Victim at a Time”
Genre: Haunted House
Location: 3000 S 4th Street
Louisville, KY 40208
Runtime: 15 min
Website: www.hauntednetwork.com
The Haunted Hotel is Louisville’s longest running haunt. When people think of an intense haunt, The Haunted Hotel is one that pops up right away. This is just an all around unique haunt that you rarely come across. There are areas that it needs to work on, but it does so many things right making it one of the best haunts in Kentucky.
This is City Blood’s 2010 review of The Haunted Hotel.
What’s Good About The Haunt?
The Haunted Hotel is an incredible haunt that combines intense actors with state of the art animatronics. Half of the scenes involve you walking in a seamlessly quiet room when suddenly music comes on as flashes of strobe lights blind you. You then come face to face with some of the most sadistic actors the Blue Grass State has to offer. These sick creatures of the night carry bats, chainsaws, guns and whatever they can hold in their bloody hands to scare you.
You’ll venture into some pretty grisly scenes. This includes a twisted laboratory with a screaming victim, a clown house with the words “Die Bitch”, a suicide reenactment, , Killer Santa Scene, a shocking shower scene, a simulated elevator ride with a twisted freak and everything you love about The Haunted Hotel. Inside many of these scenes are some state of the art animatronics you won’t see at that many haunts. New this year for The Haunted Hotel is the Zombie Attack CGI animatronic from Pale Night Productions. You’ll walk past a door where a zombie can be seen feasting on his victim. Suddenly He runs towards the window when out of nowhere a hunter blows his head to pieces as water shoots out of the prop and hits the customer. It’s a dramatic and shocking prop that will have people talking.
Other props include a white claustrophobia tunnel, tortured animals, Pale Night Productions Asylum Door, creature heads emerging from the woods, a vortex tunnel and of course The Haunted Hotel’s signature Hellevator. A Hellevator is a prop that simulates an elevator ride that has gone horribly wrong. I won’t give much away about The Haunted Hotel’s version, but all I have to say is that its intense as Hell. With the great blend of actors and incredible props, you can’t go wrong with The Haunted Hotel.
What’s Bad About The Haunt?
The first half of The Haunted Hotel that takes place inside the actual hotel is great, but the outside needs some improvement. There are just too many areas that have no actual scenes and instead use animatronics to replace real life actors. The Chainsaw Maze towards the end has also become a little stale over the years. At certain points I can tell where the actor is hiding and when He’s going to attack. Some of the maze this year is also carnival themed which doesn’t make much sense.
The scene that has the biggest impact outside is the new laser light tunnel that has a creepy actor hiding in the shadows. It’s very effective and reminds me a little bit of the swamp at Industrial Nightmare. The outside portion of The Haunted needs to be improved in order for it to compliment the indoor portion of the haunt.
I have few complaints about the indoor portion of The Haunted Hotel except for the placement of the Pale Night Production CGI Animatronics. I was in front of a group of girls and looked back for a second to realize that they didn’t even stop to experience this innovative prop. This is a shame since these unique set pieces cost nearly $4,000 a piece. They either need to be replaced with more effective props or set up differently.
Customer Service:
When The Haunted Hotel is open the entire street shuts down and is blocked by police cars. So you are definitely safe when visiting The Haunted Hotel. After you are done touring The Haunted Hotel, make sure to purchase one of their $10 T-Shirts. I’ve had one for years and it’s still in good condition.
Haunts in Louisville are a bit more expensive than some areas such as Southwest, Ohio. So $16 isn’t that high of a ticket price when you consider that the majority of haunts in Louisville have similar rates.
Final Thoughts:
Over the years The Haunted Hotel has built a reputation for being one of the most in your face haunts Kentucky has to offer. This year is no different. The scenes are gory, the actors are relentless and there are some pretty impressive props you’ll die to see. The Haunted Hotel has it all and you have to check it out while you’re in the Louisville area.
Length-8 Design-9 Props/Animatronics-9 Acting-9 Scare Effect-9
Official Score – 8.8
Fun Facts:
*Todd Moore and Terry Campbell are owners of both The Haunted Hotel and Industrial Nightmare.