The evening started with the perfect omen for a night of spooks and scares. As I sped along the two-lane highway that would take me directly to the new Bedlam Haunted House —a new haunted house that replaced Harvest—I spotted these words spray painted on the side of a house: “Keep Out I Will Shoot Who Enters.”

Bedlam Haunted House opens at 6:00 PM on Friday and Saturday nights, and I thought arriving around 6:30 would be early enough to beat the rush. After all, the sun was still showing just above the horizon and an Alabama football game had just started, two things I thought would delay the crowd.

I was completely wrong.

A line of over fifty people snaked out the door and into the parking area, and a quick peek inside revealed a packed waiting area. Bedlam Haunted House offers two levels of haunt: general admission for $20 and extreme for $25. I went for extreme, donning a bright green glow necklace, and so did the three young women in line behind me, who graciously let me join their group. I was surprised by the absence of a ‘Skip-The-Line’ ticket option. I asked about this later and learned that Bedlam Haunted House tried that option the first few nights of the haunt, but everyone bought it which ended up just canceling the advantage of paying a premium.

Located at 302 W Willow Street in downtown Scottsboro, Alabama, Bedlam Haunted House is a new haunt, taking over the building from the Harvest Haunted Attraction. While I was not informed as to why Harvest folded, I learned from Mike Bradley, who was directing the groups entering the haunt, that Bedlam Haunted House had only taken possession of the building in July.

A grisly, clown faced, lab coated, bloodied scare actor made the rounds of the line and the waiting area inside, alternating between scares and friendly selfies. He would occasionally toss a patron over his shoulder and carry them into the haunt. This service was inflicted only on customers who selected the extreme option, much to the relief of clown-o-phobes scattered throughout the crowd.

There were other activities to enjoy while waiting, including concessions and merchandise vendors, the Lizzy Borden axe throwing room, a small movie theater, and a number of props for photo ops.

When our group was called, we received a short safety briefing from Mike, an admonition to be on the lookout for his ‘possum, last seen wandering the area, and a reminder that the extreme option meant we would be subject to grabbing, shoving, taunting, and the application of fake blood. If this treatment turned out to be more than we could stand, just drop the glow necklace on the floor and continue the tour.

I quickly lost count of the number of rooms, scenes, and actors. This is an actor-centric haunt, and it is quickly apparent that Bedlam Haunted House draws its theme from its namesake London asylum, but here the patients and the demented staff have taken over.

We were immediately subject to the manhandling we were warned about, being slung up against a wall and menaced convincingly. There was no shortage of threatening banter, and the scare actors had a reply for even our most absurd comebacks. I was reassured to discover we weren’t being randomly thrown around with careless abandon. When my collision with a wall dislodged a bit of scenery, the actor quietly broke character to make sure I was okay. He just as quickly returned to character, full force, when I assured him I was good.

The promised extreme content came in all forms, visceral and in our faces. Chains, weapons, water, fake blood, and chainsaws added to the mayhem.

Thanks to the frequent stops, the walk through the haunt felt long. Despite Bedlam Haunted House’s widely spaced group entry, the couple behind us caught up near the end, mainly because our group spent a lot of time trying to banter with scare actors.

Although Bedlam Haunted House is actor centered, the haunt is full of props, with well-designed themes and strong set design. There is a dim ambient light permeating the haunt, which combined with a variety of dedicated lighting in each setting to give the patron a good view of wrecked labs, exam rooms, security consoles, demolished vehicles, cages, cells, and white hospital walls painted with an amazing variety of dire warnings. We also had an excellent view of the menacing haunt actors. Their costumes and make up were well done.

After exiting the haunt, I asked the group for their reactions. Their answers were quick and unanimous. They loved it, had fun, and would come back. They also loved the extreme option, even though they looked a little nervous sometimes when I had a moment to check on them. They found the interaction with scare actors to be far more entertaining than traditional haunt settings. The last question I asked them was about their reactions and their banter, and the ladies told me they were trying to respond and be engaged with the efforts the actors were making.

After talking to Mike, who also mentioned they had a lot of plans for the building, I was directed to the sign-in table where Jennifer Rowell was extraordinarily busy dealing with a packed house. We squeezed in as many questions as time allowed, and I learned that although Bedlam Haunted House is a new haunt, Jennifer and company have been running haunted trails and other attractions for over ten years, including the sort of full contact interaction that we experienced. The first for them is having a haunt actually inside a building.

Later Facebook posts announced Bedlam Haunted House had over 1000 visitors that night.

If you really don’t like the idea of being touched in a haunt, have at least one person in your group that does. You’ll get to watch your friend be part of the show. And fake blood washes off with soap and water, but it helps to bring a towel.

And have fun. You paid them to scare you!

For more information about Bedlam Haunted House, check out their Facebook page. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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