Gingerdead Krampus Maze – Holiday Horror From Vandal Image and R&K

Over the years, just as the popularity of haunted attractions during Halloween time has skyrocketed, so too has the presence of their Christmas cousins. The increasing ubiquity of figures like Krampus has reflexively caused many professional haunts to throw holiday overlays over their attractions during December, but guests should not let that deter them from checking out the handful of home haunts the celebrate on those very same yuletide scares. To that end, Whittier’s Gingerdead Krampus Maze is a fantastic neighborhood haunt that manages to pack quite a punch into a very small space.

 

 

 

 

This Christmas-themed home haunt is the product of a partnership between R and K Haunt Props and Vandal Image Productions, a combination notable for featuring a former Knott’s Scary Farm maze designer. This bit of information is unsurprising, given the level of attention given to the maze’s garage facade, an ominous gingerbread house which stretches up into the sky well past the roof.

 

The excitement of the cast and crew is palpable, buzzing with the anticipation of eager aspiring scareactors. The adults man the outside of the walkthrough, waiting for passersby, while the cast (mostly small children) mill about inside, hurriedly taking their places when guests approach. For their Gingerdead Krampus Maze, the creators have been accepting donations of toys and cash to benefit the local community, further enforcing that very same atmosphere of pure family fun.

 

There’s something innate, almost savant-like about the impeccable sense of timing a child seems to possess when trying to scare an adult. Children crawl out from fireplaces and leap from behind bedsheets hanging from clotheslines to deliver some seriously effective jump-scares, while the lack of soundtrack provides an eerie silence that only enhances the dread throughout.

 

 

 

 

Also adding to the ambiance is the vastly impressive set decoration, as each room of the haunt is packed to the gills with detail, from the fireplace and Christmas tree of a simple living room, to the grimy, discarded toys that reside with Krampus himself underneath a desolate bridge.

 

Given the footprint that it occupies, the Gingerdead Krampus Maze may be on the briefer side of Southern California home haunts, but given the work and care that have clearly gone into it, eager hauntgoers would be remiss not to pay it a visit this holiday season.

 

The Gingerdead Krampus Maze continues to run on December 17, 22 and 23 from 6:30PM to 10:30PM, at 13323 Lakeland Rd., Whittier, CA, 90605. Donations of toys and cash are accepted.

 

For more information on Vandal Image Productions, visit https://www.facebook.com/VandalImageProductions/

For more information on R and K Haunt Props, visit https://www.facebook.com/R-and-K-Haunt-Props-1972935699620393/