A grotesque clown, his face tired and aged, paint aged and worn with time. His arms move up and down, rhythmic in motion, strung up with rope ascending to the sky. Next to him, a life-sized ventriloquist dummy, dressed in a dusty old suit, his arms and head suspended by thick strings. His head is lifeless, but his arms, like the clown next to him, move to some unknown beat. And next to him, another, and another, and another. The light flickers revealing an entire room of life-sized dolls—no, puppets—all controlled by an unseen master. Then I hear something behind me, and I turn. One of the puppets stands, the strings controlling his feet, his legs, his hands—as they reach out to me. The puppet room is one of the many scares in All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021.

All Saints Lunatic Asylum is a professional, linear haunted maze in Apple Valley, CA. Running at approximately fifteen minutes, this maze excels in creating dread by showcasing a wide variety of themes, all within the context of their asylum. Further, with a permanent location, All Saint Lunatic Asylum is able to invest in high quality sets that expand their haunt beyond simple panels with open ceilings. Further, they are able to basically run year-round, hosting not just a Halloween experience, but also Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day haunt experiences–and every Friday the 13th.

As with the previous years, All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021 invites guests to step into the asylum and fall victim to the delusions, nightmares, and hallucinations of the patients within. Most of these result in themes that are haunt classics, meant to delight all Halloween fans. There’s the classic church set-up: pews lined with cloaked figures, all bowing their head towards a massive coffin adorning the alter. A polka dot room also creates some genuine scares, even if you know they are coming. And of course, there is the cannibal room, a morgue, and a nursery.

Yet, the rooms that feel more unique to All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021 this year is a long set of corridors that get increasingly more claustrophobic, the deeper you progress in. Also, the aforementioned puppet room is simply gorgeous—and the fact that you know there are actors hidden amongst the puppets makes it even more frightening because they are all moving, albeit slowly. When the actor finally reveals themselves, the catharsis is palpable.

While All Saints Lunatic Asylum has gorgeously decorated sets, focusing more on vintage medical equipment and aged furniture, this year, they have opted to focus on relying on darkness for their scares. Perhaps this is due to the success of their prior pitch black Valentine’s Day experience: Two Hearts Together… Forever. Regardless, numerous areas utilize light to create a major sense of dread. Lights flicker on, revealing an actor or path forward, and then flicker off, leaving you enveloped in darkness with a monster you cannot see. It works wonderfully—even if you only get the slightest glimpse of some of their sets.

Sadly, this year, the gift shop at the exit is not operating—and is now replaced with a laser fog area with a large creature to scare you towards the exit. We miss this as it has become custom for us to adopt a haunted doll from All Saints Lunatic Asylum each year we attend. Perhaps next year, we can add to our collection and give Cindy a friend.

Overall, All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021 is a wonderful professional haunt that combines gorgeous sets, strong acting, and effective lighting to elicit scares. While we haven’t noticed major shifts in rooms or themes this year, we did notice slight changes and a focus on lighting that elevates the experience, changing it for those who know what to expect. This gives the actors new ways to interact with guests and a continuous building of dread that escalates throughout. Catharsis doesn’t come until you exit the haunt, back into the fresh October air, knowing that you are no longer a patient at All Saints Lunatic Asylum.

While All Saints Lunatic Asylum is located a drive from Los Angeles, we highly recommend making a night of it, by attending this, Manor of Fears, Fear Farm Phelan, and High Desert Haunted House. All of these are fantastic haunted attractions and worthy of your attention. For more information about All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021, check out their website, Facebook and Instagram pages. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

Haunting is a resource for immersive theater and horror fans in Los Angeles and across the world, promoting art and community. Want to help us reach even more people, and get some cool perks and experiences? For as little as $1 a month, you can join our Patreon and help us keep bringing content to life.

If you like the above article and want to find more like it, make sure to join our community. If Facebook is your favorite, follow us there and become a part of our groups for Immersive Horror fans and/or Immersive creators. We’re active on Instagram, posting evocative imagery and informative stories to promote our reviews and recollections; follow us there. You can even find us on twitter; click here to follow. For those who want to explore deeper, we have a vibrant Slack community with new event alerts and immediate ticket sale announcements; click here to join. And subscribe to our event calendar to get emails for all or specific events (look for the link right under the calendar)! Finally, we have a newsletter that comes out once a week; click here to sign up.

All Saints Lunatic Asylum 2021 is a permanent haunted house in Apple Valley, CA.