BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 Presents Nightmare

I walk through the empty office building of BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 ; the lack of people elicits an unease that isn’t easy to shake. A pale red light beckons me forward—but I pass door after door, and nothing shows sign of life. Until I hear a pounding. Rhythmic and loud, it grows in intensity, like a monstrous cricket in the night, until it stops. I’m close. I step into what appears to be a waiting room, and a creature stands silently off to the side. His lack of movement is scarier than any jump-scare could provide. So I keep walking—and realize he’s following. But he’s not alone. A second one appears. Then a third. And then I’m at a dead-end. A double doored exit is front of me, with three pale creatures slowly appearing. I turn to face them and take a step back, pushing the door open—and I exit into a demented tea party.

Haunted houses and charities go together like a witch and a cauldron—and BCR A Place to sCARE is a perfect example. Produced by Michael Escamilla, BCR A Place to sCARE has produced a drive-through experience during social-distance times as well as an experience in 2021 and 2022 that bridged the line between theatrically immersive and a walkthrough haunted house. This year is no different as BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 is a linear walkthrough haunted house with a few more theatrical scenes that guests can stop, watch, and even interact with the actors for some entertaining outcomes. This year, BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 welcomes participants into their “Nightmares” with varied vignettes showcasing fears that range from nondescript creatures in a backrooms like office, a tea party where human flesh is the main course, a festive funhouse of man’s-laughter, a Bloody Mary conjuring, and an arachnophobic nightmare.

My favorite aspect of BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 and its prior iterations is the level of interactivity with the actors. As it bridges the line between theatrical and haunted house, there’s numerous opportunities for audiences to engage with the actors. The standout this year is a tea party in which a mother (with a microphone so you can hear her dialogue amazingly!) offers you finger foods. But as her husband stands just feet away with a large cleaver, it becomes clear that the finger foods are literal fingers and flesh, served fresh. While this has been done before—what made it wonderful for us was, as Escamilla explains, this was the creation of a six-year-old girl who was working the haunt and personally leading us from room to room. Her enthusiasm and excitement for the scenes was infectious—making every scene better just knowing we had our own little demonic guide. When we took too long in a given scene, she would point, directing us into the next area.

Another standout would be the clowns. As one slammed her oversized mallet into the floor, a second laughed manically. But he manned a wheel of various tortures and deaths. I inquired, wanting to see how I would die—and with a spin, it said I should be shot. The clown, excitedly, then found a laser gun straight out of Killer Klowns and proceeded to shoot me with enthusiastic sound effects. This was another special moment that gives BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 a magical charm that can’t be reproduced elsewhere.

BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 is a wonderful haunt with heart and an even better charity. They assist people with intellectual and development disabilities, empowering this community and helping them find and grow their independence and place within society. They create a unique style of haunted house that explores that threshold between immersive engagement and haunted walkthrough. If you prepare yourself to engage with the actors, this is one of the best out there—just don’t treat it like a traditional haunted house and barrel through—because you’ll be missing what makes BCR so special.

For more information about BCR A Place to sCARE 2023 , check out their Facebook, Instagram, and website. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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