Nightmare on Edgewood (Indianapolis, IN)
“45 Years of in Your Face Fear”
By Noah Wullkotte: jollypumpkin@aol.com
Nightmare on Edgewood is one of the most interactive haunts we visit and it’s intense as hell. You’ll be pushed, grabbed and more. Your personal space is going to be invaded. I was forced to sit down in a chair as the dentist examined my teeth. Hopefully you won’t get yours pulled out. This is a very suspenseful haunt because just about every actor is physical in some shape or form. My hand was placed in the mouth of a werewolf who was chomping down. You might get shocked or even have water thrown on you. I was strapped to a table while an actor threatened that I would be tortured. On the other side was a glass window where patrons could watch in horror.
There’s no safe place to hide at Nightmare on Edgewood because the monsters and madmen are out to get you. Even the bathroom isn’t safe. One actor wanted to give me a swirly and placed a plunger on top of my head. Many of the props are interactive and will get very close to you. Some will even attack. The massive crocodile and wild boar crashed into me. I definitely wasn’t expecting that at all.
You’ll explore a variety of scary scenes such as the taxidermy room, a swamp, the spider’s domain, a movie theater and much much more. A lot of time and effort has been spent in making Nightmare on Edgewood a unique experience. At one point the wall closed in on me and the floor collapsed below. The facade for Cinema 13 is one of the kind. Every 30 minutes it opens up to reveal a man who is pulled down by ferocious demons that want him to go straight to hell. This isn’t necessarily a gory haunt, but there are moments where you’ll be freaked out and grossed out. I definitely wasn’t going to lay down next to a corpse even though they asked nicely.
Nightmare on Edgewood has one of the best laser swamps around. It’s large, immersive and frightening. There are plenty of eye catching props. Nightmare on Edgewood spares no expense when it comes to the haunt. It’s high tech, has in your face scares and it’s very suspenseful. You’ll be on high alert wondering what is going to happen next. This is a haunt that’s quite detailed. The movie theater has old theater seats and you must exit through the projector screen. Inside The Conley Farm portion of the haunt, you’ll notice slabs of meat, bodies and more on a conveyor.
Nightmare on Edgewood is one of those haunts that you look forward to seeing all year long. It’s that good. There are a few areas that could be worked on. The scene inside The Factory where you sit down in a chair and have your picture taken wasn’t that effective compared to the rest of the haunt. It took a little too long. The acting in this scene was good though.
Total tour time was 26 minutes and Nightmare on Edgewood features 3 attractions. These are Cinema 13, The Factory and Conley Farm: The Final Harvest. You’ll enter a line between each attraction, but the wait is very short. General admission is $30 and a Fast Pass is $50. We definitely recommend the fast pass on busier nights like Friday and Saturday. The closer it gets to Halloween, the more crowded Nightmare on Edgewood is going to get. Chicken tickets are $40. They’ll give you a bright yellow “chicken” vest, signaling to the actors that you don’t want the full contact, hands on interactive experience. Keep your ticket stub for $5 off Black Out and Holiday Nightmares.
Trick or Treat takes place on October 22nd from 4-6 PM. On November 3rd and 4th, they’ll have classic horror movie villains for their Lights Out event. Walk through the haunt in complete darkness. There are various concessions available and you can buy your photo that was taken inside of the haunt. The queue line is beautifully decorated with a sleeping giant, a ghost and more.
We were overall impressed with Nightmare on Edgewood. It’s one of the scariest haunts we tour and quite unique in the way it creates its scenes. Don’t miss out on one of the best haunts around. You’ll regret it if you do.
Length-9 Design-9 Props-9 Acting-9 Scare Effect-9
Final Stab: 9.0
www.nightmareonedgewood.com