Last year, we called Castle Dark 2022 the best value per scare in Southern California—and this year we stand by that claim.  Located in Riverside, Castle Dark 2022 is the Halloween transformation of Castle Park, and with that change, comes the addition of dozens of scare actors, three mazes, and plenty of décor across 26 acres. Combine that with the spooky dark ride, Ghost Blasters, and the world-class miniature golf, Castle Dark 2022 is deserving of everyone’s time.

Haunted Houses / Mazes

Funhouse of Terror

While this haunt has changed names numerous times over the past years, it’s theme has remained strong with its focus on clowns. From Jinxx and Havoc’s Twisted Circus in 2019 to Mr. Tubbs Presents Twisted Circus in 2021, Funhouse of Terror is the best we’ve seen it—mainly because the actors.

Last year, we were critical of the lack of set dressing—which relied heavily on actors and only gave them flat panel walls to work with. This year, numerous sets and props have been added, ranging from a ventriloquist dummy in a chair and a marionette theater, to neon hallway with splattered paint and blood, to numerous rooms of mannequins dressed as intricate clowns—and a few real ones interspliced. This sets helped tremendously in creating more to see—and help immerse audiences in the Funhouse.

While they aren’t reinventing the wheel with this haunt, the atmosphere is silly and enjoyable—and the actors are definitely having fun with it. Our favorite was a man in a pumpkin mask who repeatedly (every time we went through) pretended to vomit into his hand and then present a fake cockroach to us. He loved it and I’d love to see how much teens screamed at the roach.

The House Next Door

Similar to last year’s Home Sweet Home, The House Next Door offers improved set design from Funhouse of Terror and a bit more interactivity. The actors here are engaging and happy to play with the audiences, often following them from room to room, ensuring they scare them numerous times.

The theme is reminiscent of last year, focusing on the danger of people on Halloween night—and especially strangers in your neighborhood. While last year’s Home Sweet Home felt a bit more cohesive in terms of narrative as you moved through the home, this year had some more striking visuals. Two such notables were a funeral parlor scene that was gorgeously decorated, and a ten-foot-tall monster that created scares from within the obscurity of fog and lighting.

Like Funhouse of Terror, The House Next Door works so well because of its actors. In the first room, an actor barraged us, asking us if we thought she was pretty—and then would pose for us, if we showered her in compliments. An old man waited for us outside the maze and followed us through the maze to scare us multiple times. And finally, a doll-masked creature would peek her head around corners and slowly rap her fists on the wall to create some truly off-putting visuals.

This reminds me of the haunted houses of my youth and reinvigorates a child-like wonder and fear in me that many haunts can’t achieve. I really like this one, and found myself coming back three to four times just to play with the actors.

Morgana’s Revenge

Morgana’s Revenge is the longest maze, running a full ten to fifteen minutes, compared to the previous two mazes, at roughly five minutes each.

As the name suggests, Morgana’s Revenge welcomes guests into a nightmare where Merlin has been taken captive, and we must enter Morgana’s laid to face her army of monsters to free the powerful wizard.

The design fits this theme extremely well. Skeletons hang from the ceiling and skulls adorn the walls. Two massive dragons breathe smoke, filling the antechambers with fog. Large spectral forces rise beyond the walls, watching you, and attempting to thwart your progress. The monsters inside range from wizards to goblins to skeletal monsters to pumpkin-head ghouls. A Medieval theme of wizards and warlocks is rarely attempted in a haunt setting—and Castle Dark 2022 is stepping into their castle theming and lore to expertly bring this to life.

Apart from skulls, skeletons, and dragons, the majority of this haunt is dark, with black panel walls twisting and turning to offer the longest experience at Castle Dark 2022. There’s some great rooms—notably a room with a cloaked man in a plaque doctor’s mask that looks truly menacing bathed under the glow of a red light and fog, and the two dragon rooms. But the rest of the haunt could use some care, moving into future years.

While this maze is truly scary and its length helps to immerse audiences and further scare them, we have to admit, we were a little disappointed that some of the strong interactivity and choices offered in 2021’s Phobias was removed. In Phobias, guests were split up, asked to sit in a dentist’s chair and squitted with water, and were ven locked in small spaces for a few seconds. This was truly innovative for a large theme park haunt and felt reminiscent of Knott’s Trapped—and we applauded that daring approach. Yet, Morgana’s Revenge is a very strong haunt—but simply lacks some of the immersive elements we saw last year.

Castle Dark 2022 and its Attractions

Miniature Golf

With your admission for haunts, you also receive access to their miniature golf courses—and there’s four different 18-hole courses that can keep everyone busy for an entire day. This miniature golf is amazing too because they have unique challenges, sets, and buildings to navigate. From a haunted house to a wild west area, to a Japanese Pagoda to a Spanish Mission to a classic windmill to a Taj Mahal—there’s so many fantastic designs here that you will find yourself playing multiple courses, just to experience the different areas and challenges on the course.

Attractions

While not all of Castle Park’s 21 attractions are open and operating during Castle Dark, Castle Dark 2022 does offer guests access to plenty of family-friendly and adventurous rides. These rides span the spectrum of thrill levels and are worth checking out if you’re a family with kids or adults looking for a scare. Dragon’s Tower ascends 100-feet into the air and drops at 35 mph, a gravitron ride spins at 65 mph, and a scrambler. Like any good carnival, guests can also find bumper cars, swings, tilt-a-whirls, and even the Screamin’ Demon roller coaster.

Ghost Blasters

As you leave Morgana’s Revenge, you are diverted through the Castle—which serves as their arcade. And inside, you’ll find Ghost Blasters. At first, it may look modest, but hidden behind its door is a massive dark ride that spans two floors and offers audiences two guns to shoot any paranormal specters that need a good blasting.

It’s reminiscent of Haunted Mansion and Toy Story Mania were mashed together, to create, in my opinion, the best dark ride I’ve ever been on. It’s so perfectly themed and detailed with neon haunted mansion vibes and ghosts that react in charming and fun ways as you shoot them.

There’s plenty of nods to the Haunted Mansion too, from hitchhiking ghosts carrying Boo or Bust suitcases to a skeletal fortune teller.

Final Thoughts

While Castle Dark 2022 is a drive for anyone coming out from Los Angeles, it’s definitely worth your attention and your time—and would make a perfect Saturday adventure with a combo day + night pass. Start with the rides and roller coasters, then play miniature golf, and end with three very entertaining haunted houses. The haunts range in scares from Funhouse being approachable and silly by all to Morgana’s Revenge being the darkest and longest experience. This is perfect for teens looking to test their courage—as well as families looking to brave some scares together.

Castle Dark 2022 has passionate actors and a strong eye for detail. We would love to see them bring back some of the interactivity and choices that 2021’s Phobias offered, but Morgana’s Revenge is a wonderful intermission, with perfectly apt theming for the park.

We will be back every year to have one of our favorite days—getting scared, scoring hole in ones, and busting some ghosts. For more information about visiting the Castle Dark 2022 this Halloween Season, check out their Facebook, Instagram and website. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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