This past Friday I went to the scariest haunted house I’ve ever been to. Literally – according to ABC News, Etna, PA’s ScareHouse is the scariest haunted house in America! As someone who watched Stephen King’s IT for the first time at age four, and whose dad transformed their entire garage and front yard into a haunted house every Halloween, I don’t scare easily. But ScareHouse definitely lived up to its reputation.
Attendees walk through in small groups of no more than six people. My boyfriend and I somehow ended up in the front of our group, so we got the brunt of the scares. Just like in any haunted attraction, we started by walking through a dimly lit, creepy room, with actors jumping out from behind curtains and around corners. But then, we walked down a long hallway, and all of a sudden everyone started losing their balance and falling all over each other. The floors were moving! They were shaking from side to side, making it impossible to put one foot in front of the other without clutching to the guardrails.
Eventually we came to a little stand, where a clown was handing out 3D glasses. A girl behind me mumbled, “What is this fresh horror and where’s the exit?” I didn’t blame her! The next set of rooms were covered in 3D paint, so with the glasses on, our depth perception was totally thrown off. Any time I went to touch a table or a prop, I’d miss. The rooms seemed longer and wider. We couldn’t tell where the actors were hiding until it was already too late. This really raised the stakes and made for a frightening time!
ScareHouse really lived up to the hype! Next year I’ll definitely have to check out their other attraction, The Basement.