I was raised in Santa Clarita, with a view of Six Flag’s crimson Sky Tower visible from my backyard. Fright Fest was an annual tradition for my family growing up. Even before they implemented haunted mazes into Fright Fest, visiting the dyed red fountain, seeing the giant spider that dangled above guests at the entrance, and seeing all the scare actors wandering the park was heaven for a young horror fan. And after attending for the majority of the past thirty years, Fright Fest is back for its Thirtieth Anniversary; and I can say with confidence, Fright Fest 2023 is the best year in its history.

So what makes Fright Fest 2023 the absolute best experience in its thirty years of operation? Well, it’s a combination of three elements in my opinion.

First, they added two mazes based on James Wan’s horror franchises: The Conjuring and Saw X. The lack of IP-focused mazes was always a main barrier that set Universal Halloween Horror Nights apart from Fright Fest and Knott’s Scary Farm. Yet, with the addition of these two behemoths of horror, Fright Fest 2023 has elevated itself, and immerses its audiences in scenes they will recognize from horror films that they love.

Second, The Conjuring maze adds an element of immersive storytelling with an actor that begins the maze—I love this addition and have been hoping to see more of this from Magic Mountain ever since they did it with Vault 666.

And finally, the actors were incredible. They brought energy; they brought scares; and they were passionate. A maze is only as good as the actors inside—and this year, they hired the right people. (Note: this was also my praise when we attended in 2021, proving that Fright Fest has the best actors of all of the theme parks).

Now, let’s get into the review:

Fright Fest 2023

Six Flags Mountain Mountain’s Fright Fest 2023 is an annual façade for the world-class coaster park that runs each September to October to celebrate Halloween. They create numerous haunted mazes for audiences to experience with purchase of a wrist-band, as well as plenty of scare zones scattered around the park for any guests of Six Flags to enjoy. Fright Fest 2023 has EIGHT mazes and SIX scare zones.

Three mazes are brand new this year: The Conjuring, Saw X, and Condemned House Party—with Willoughby’s Resurrected, Truth or Dare, Vault 666 Unlocked, Sewer of Souls, and Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising returning from prior years.

These mazes rely on well-timed jump-scares and high-budget décor and theming to ensure audiences are frightened. A select few of the mazes offer some elevated, immersive elements, allowing guests (who opt in) to crawl through a cupboard in a kitchen, sneak behind the broken walls of a frat-house, wear 3D glasses that bring the maze to life, and engage with priests looking to exorcise demonic infestations.

The Conjuring

Of all the mazes at Fright Fest 2023, The Conjuring is the scariest. Following the narrative of the film series of the same name, the experience welcomes guests into Ed and Lorraine Warren’s Occult Museum, where everything inside is cursed or haunted. Yet, as the experience continues, guests are sent to the Perron family farmhouse and experience the sinister spirits that plague all who dare enter.

Like Vault 666 Unlocked in 2019 with the shopkeeper, The Conjuring isn’t just a walk-through, conga-line experience. Instead, small groups enter and are given a tour of the Museum by a docent. He’s engaging, warning people not to touch anything, and providing a moment for guests to admire the gorgeous set design of the museum. Annabelle rests comfortably at the front behind a glass case, hinting potentially at a future maze—and there’s an amazing mannequin in the corner wearing a full wedding dress, just daring to come alive. It’s a nice change to be able to admire the care put into these sets before guests are sent screaming through the rest of the maze.

As the demonic infestation takes hold, the actors do a perfect job of showcasing these horrors. Our group’s favorite of the night was a woman standing over a baby carriage as her body contorts in ways it shouldn’t—until the lights flash and she jumps past the carriage, landing mere inches from where we are standing. She brought the same energy both times I went through this maze—and I’m amazed at the passion and liveliness of this poor possessed girl. Other highlights are a girl who is forcefully pulled across the room by her hair, and a ghost of the past who appears at the end of a long hallway, only to reappear elsewhere when you reach her. These scares are great and even had me scream out loud a few times.

Saw X

The Conjuring was the scariest of the mazes at Fright Fest 2023, but the Saw X maze was the most recognizable. The Saw film franchise is known for its horrific traps and kills—and this maze expertly recreates the fan-favorites across the series in full glory (including the famous cover shot from Saw X). Each room is devoted to a single contraption, showcasing the brutality, the horror, and the art behind these kills. While a fear exists that we could become the next victim in the chair, the jump-scares of this maze comes from the Pig-Masks killers that emerge from behind doors for a quick scare before retreating back to the darkness.

If you’re a fan of the movies, this is the closest you’ll get to experiencing the Saw contraptions in real life. It’s so much more than just a museum where you can appreciate the work in them—you get to see how they are actually used. It’s fantastic—in a brutally voyeuristic way.

Once again, the actors here are incredible. Each one has their moment to shine, showing fear, horror, and pain on their face as guests walk through their room. Creating a scare every 30-seconds is one thing, but showing that level of emotion for each group across the entirety of a night is impressive. These scare-actors really show that the latter half of that name is needed in this profession.

Condemned: House Party

Condemned: Forever Damned began in 2018, inviting guests into a condemned home, featuring scents and projections to create some of the most vile and disgusting scares. This was always a stand-out maze to us in 2018 and 2019, allowing guests to crawl through areas, climb behind walls, and explore a broken house in ways other haunts don’t allow. But at this year’s Scream Break (a mid-season offering of Fright Fest 2023 offerings), Condemned: House Party premiered and was awarded the fan-favorite of the event.

Condemned: House Party takes the original concept and adds an army of boozed up frat boys (a very different kind of fear), using the party atmosphere as a façade over the previous maze. It’s no longer a dark and creepy house; every room is now brightly lit with Christmas lights, creating a great dichotomy between the joy of parties and the horrors inside.

One of my favorite scares was a sound effect of a beer opening and a spray of water hitting it. I laughed so hard. It felt like something that actually would happen at a party—and would scare me there too.

The scare-actors here pop-out from every corner, offering drinks (that you sadly can’t take). They do a great job of making guests laugh and scream in the same breath. I can see why this one was voted fan-favorite of Scream Break.

I would love to see Magic Mountain Fright Fest turn this into a premier experience, in which guests willing to pay more, can spend more time in a maze like this, playing “beer” pong with the monsters, enjoying drinks with the frat bros, and perhaps even competing to earn the right to leave.

Prior Mazes:

While the majority of the crowds at Fright Fest 2023 were focused on The Conjuring and Saw X, we found the returning mazes to have vastly reduced lines, allowing us to walk onto most with little to no wait.

Vault 666 Unlocked was born in 2019, after the prior Vault 666 closed its doors in 2017. Guests enter an antiques shop to explore the exhibits inside, now that they have been unlocked. While the scenes inside are not as recognizable as The Conjuring maze, Vault 666 Unlocked does have some of my absolute favorite visuals from any haunt. There’s a long hallway with arms reaching out from both sides, there’s a cult-like room with a dozen of mannequins all wearing masks and black cloaks daring you to wonder if any will come alive, and a doll room full of veiled figures ready to welcome you. It’s such a cool haunt and definitely still a favorite.

Aftermath 2: Chaos Rising is a massive outdoor haunt covering 40,000 square feet that began in 2016, following the first Aftermath closing in 2011. Taking place in the old Batman Stunt Show lot, there are massive police buildings, fire effects, and an apocalyptic city to traverse. This maze does an excellent job of making the space feel huge—and then bringing it in tight for more personal scares.

Sewer of Souls is a 3D maze created in 2018 with the maze painted in blacklight making everything feel like it’s jumping out at you. While this maze was never that impressive in the past—this year, it was in top form. We walked on, allowing all of the actors to divert their attention onto us. They were relentless, following us across rooms, and scaring us at every chance they found. Further, the lighting was optimized, allowing for one of the pit-gags to finally work for me (in previous years it was too bright and it never looked real). There’s also some fun inflatables here, creating a claustrophobic nightmare.

Willoughby’s was the first haunted maze for Fright Fest and the Resurrected variant first debuted in 2012. While it has seen some variants over the years—like a Zak Bagans Ghost Hunters collaboration in 2021—Fright Fest 2023 brings it back to the original façade. Much like Disney’s Haunted Mansion, this is a maze that I look forward to visiting each and every year and don’t mind that it doesn’t change much. It’s how I would want to decorate my home. The set décor is perfectly gothic and the changing paintings on the wall utilize tech that feels unique and exciting. Even the actors in this maze have found new ways to bring life to their characters, most notably a woman in her doll room and a man dressing himself in the mirror.

Truth or Dare is in its second year, providing something distinct among the other mazes. It follows the narrative of a now defunct television show in which guests are dared to survive some impressive stunts. They do an incredible job of making this feel like a television show: from the façade out-front to the eerily friendly jingle played for those waiting in line. Taking inspiration from Red’s Revenge (who used to be in the space), a video introduction does a great job of prepping audiences to the scares inside. As guests go through make-up, wardrobe, and the various stunts inside, actors move across the ceiling, jump on bungie cords, dodge lasers, and hold their breath as toxic gas fills the room. It’s a fun concept and innovative with the various stunts seen inside.

Final Thoughts

Six Flags Magic Mountain is known for having passionate actors, infusing life into the mazes that have persisted over the past few years. However, Fright Fest 2023 changes that, infusing three new mazes into the park with two of those capitalizing on the power of recognizable Intellectual Property. On opening night for Saw, it was clear just how much this maze can draw crowds as the line was almost three hours long. While this does create a queue for Saw and The Conjuring, it allows the other mazes to shine as the lines become shorter and the actors direct their passion towards you. It’s the best I’ve ever seen from Fright Fear. If you haven’t been to Fright Fear in a few years, or even if you have, 2023 is the perfect year for you to attend.

Happy Haunting!

Six Flags Magic Mountain Fright Fest 2023 runs Thursdays-Sunday through Oct 29 and is open on Halloween. For more information about Fright Fest 2023, check out the Six Flags Magic Mountain Facebook, Instagram, and website.For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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