The crackle of electricity echoes through the tight chambers. A man, strapped down to an electric chair, jerks back and forth, current coursing through his flesh. Somehow, his death doesn’t bother me—I already know what awaits me in the next room; and that is what has my anxiety racing. I step across the threshold into a labyrinthian maze of chain link fences. I navigate through them, dodging the chains hung from the ceiling. I’m doing well, that is until I hear screams coming from behind. People begin to push, as they are being tormented, urging me to move forward. I can’t control my movement anymore as the chain press into my skin. My muscles burn, contracting with the same cruel current that just killed the man in the previous room. I press on. Freakling Bros Horror Show is back in 2021 with a the new addition Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room .

An Introduction to Fear

Freakling Bros’ Trilogy of Terror is a series of three separate haunted house attractions, each of increasing intensity. Each experience lasts ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how fast you run from the terror inside—or how much the horror stops you in your tracks. These haunts range from a traditional walk through experience in which illusions surprise and scare you, to a full Rated R experience that immerses you into the fear with use of mild shocks, abusive language, and mild contact.

While 2019 was planned to be the final year for Castle Vampyre—their lightest experience in terms of scares—Covid 19 disrupted those plans, resulting in the maze returning this year. Thus, 2021 has been dubbed, The Return, hallmarking the final, final year for this maze. Next year, we will have a new maze to look forward to; yet, for today, we have one final chance to experience the magic that is Castle Vampyre.

Trilogy of Terror

As we have reviewed the Trilogy of Terror in the past and the mazes have not significantly changed (apart from The Men’s Room—but we’ll get to that below), we will forgo a full review of the entirety of the attraction again. Please see the previous reviews here and here.

Yet, TL;DR (too long, didn’t read): Each attraction in the Trilogy of Terror acts as a stepping stone to the next, increasing in intensity and scares. Castle Vampyre capitalizes on nostalgic fear, whimsy, and illusions – leaving guests amazed and impressed, with of course, some great scares coming from environmental scares. Coven of 13 elevates the fear by separating audience members, forcing participants to crawl, and even adding some water effects to further immerse guests. And Gates of Hell is the most intense, a rated R experience that pushes the traditional haunted house into extreme haunt territory, allowing touch, mild shock, abusive language and some potentially triggering themes.

We recommend doing the mazes in that order (Castle Vampyre, Cover of 13, Gates of Hell) to properly build the fear over the night until it climaxes with a Rated R horror experience. However, for those who do not wish to experience the extreme nature of Gates of Hell, conquering the other two haunted houses is completely worthwhile and should not be dismissed.

Location Change

Now focusing on some of the changes for this year, we’ll start with the location change, to help you set expectations.

First, the entire Trilogy of Terror has moved four miles away from its prior dirt lot location to the Ikea Parking lot. This adds more parking, an asphalt ground to stand in while waiting in line, and a bit more of a professional polish to it with the high lights above. While it does lose some of the “underground haunt in a dirt lot” aesthetic, we think it’s a great change for Freakling, hopefully a sign of a future in which they can continue to expand, grow, and gain more of a fandom.

Safety

On the Saturday night, just a week from Halloween, that we attended on, that fandom was out in full force. Wrapping all the way around two entire sides of the attraction, there was a line that looked to last an hour or more. The major bottleneck was the addition of metal detectors in the front, in which all guests must go through. While this does make the progress slower to get in, we applaud Freakling Bros and their commitment to our safety, ensuring that no dangers—apart from the horrors inside their haunt—are brought in from the outside.

The lines for the haunts were extensive, but the VIP passes / shirts provided a great deal that allowed access to a much shorter line. This made the experience far more enjoyable as we didn’t have to wait in the long lines. However, if you have a Victim Experience shirt, make sure you wear it. It earns you access to skip even the VIP line, getting straight to the front of all mazes, no wait. Just be warned, you may be forced to crawl up the stairs to enter the Gates of Hell.

Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room

Our favorite change this year is The Men’s Room. While we recommend going in blind and not reading any spoilers, we can offer some hints for those wanting to know a bit more. Freakling Bros’ The Mens Room is an addition to Gates of Hell, replacing the shotgun suicide scene that used to occupy the space. The room has been completely revamped, creating a full replica of a men’s bathroom. Vulgar and suggestive graffiti adorn every surface, looking more like a truck-stop bathroom than a haunted house. The sets are beautiful, complete with a glory hole, all helping to immerse you in the scene: a group of strangers entering a bathroom in which a hulking behemoth of a man is relieving himself at a urinal, and stare awkwardly at this man—and he does not take kindly to this.

Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room is a perfect addition to Gates of Hell. We love seeing haunts adding full immersive scenes with interaction and engagement. While the prior room in which a man commits suicide via a shotgun blast to the face was a fan-favorite scene, The Men’s Room is only an elevation of this, allowing for more direct involvement from the audience, forcing them to be active in the scene. This level of involvement is only seen again in the firing range scene. We loved Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room and want to see more scenes like this created for Freakling Bros entertainment.

Final Thoughts

Freakling Bros Trilogy of Terror is the must-see attraction in Las Vegas. With three of the best haunted houses of any state or city, these experiences are so well regarded and respected due to the variety in their themes and scares. These aren’t three of the same experiences, giving you more of what you want; but rather, each provide a different type of scare, showing that Freakling Bros are masters of horror, able to scare you in many different ways. And Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room only adds more engagement and interactivity into the mix. Whether it’s an optical illusion, an environmental scare, an actor engaging you, or a theme that settles into your head to haunt you far after you leave the haunt, Freakling Bros is exceptional. This is your last chance to see Castle Vampyre; don’t miss it.

For more information about Freakling Bros Horror Show, check out their website, Facebook and Instagram pages. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room is the newest addition to the Freakling Bros Horror Show haunts. Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room is an interactive scene in Gates of Hell. Freakling Bros’ The Men’s Room replaces the suicide scene.