The scratchy tones of a vinyl record echo down the hallway. Tip toe through the tulips with me. But the respite from the carnage doesn’t last long as the decrepit hallway soon turns to a blood splattered room, strobing with a brilliant white light. A butcher jumps in front of us, wielding a cleaver—but we dodge him, pushing forward, into a dark room. We hear the screams first. “Don’t you think I’m pretty?” A girl screams loudly. “I can make you pretty too!” Electricity surges through a man strapped to an electric chair—as he violently shakes and the room is lit in sporadic light coming from the violent power of the chair. A second girl crawls—upside-down—from under a tablecloth, straight towards us, as the first girl continues to scream. “Let’s play together. Stay, and we’ll plaaaay!” Welcome to Haunt 223 Haunted House.

Haunt 223 Haunted House is an impressively detailed, ten to fifteen minute long, walkthrough home haunt located in Monrovia, California (in the San Gabriel Valley) and in their 9^th year. In their first year using flats and panels, this haunt combines ten actors, gorgeous sets, impressive sound design unique to each room, and engineering know-how to create some of the best scares we’ve had this season. They even engineered a solution to turn off the streetlights over their haunt to ensure that their haunt is lit only as they deem fit. It’s an incredible undertaking and the result is a home haunt that has better quality than most professional haunts we went to this year.

Haunt 223 Haunted House started out three generations ago with Nate Collins’ grandfather in Georgia who would wear a gorilla glove with candy placed upon it, and then make scared children grab the treat from the palm of a hairy ape. This tradition was passed down to Nate’s father, Tim, who added a tunnel of scares to the effect, creating a haunted house. But as Nate’s passion grew, Nate took lead to bring Haunt 223 to life. At age 13 he was creating with easy-ups and tarps, but now in his twenties and working as a welder for set constructions and a prop maker, Collins now has the capacity to build steel frames for the haunt—including a full gate (that he can do pull-ups on) to welcome guests into the haunt. There’s no foam or PVC here; it’s as authentic as it can get.

Further, Collins designed this haunt to perfection. He drafts the haunt’s footprint on paper and then models it on SketchUp. Utilizing the exact dimensions of his yard (right up to the edge of the sidewalk), he designs each room to maximize the space available. As we spoke with him, he pulled out a tape measure, showing us that his model and the actual haunt align with tolerances even an engineer would be proud of.

Haunt 223 Haunted House was themed around an electric chair that Collins built by himself. “I wanted to build this electric chair that cooked its victim to medium rare. That led to the creation of a cannibal slaughterhouse.” As expected of such a theme, there’s blood splattered walls, a grill hosting numerous body parts, and a meat counter filled with an assortment of human meats. But the haunt also has quieter moments that separate audiences from the gore: a hallway with an old vinyl record, a fog-filled swamp filled with laser light, a broken down truck (in the haunt) with the driver curiously missing.  Yet, the finale ends with the electric chair, as screams echo throughout the haunt and lights strobe, creating an intensity that is sure to have any normal guest running out of the haunt.

While the sets feel professional, the actors mirror that sentiment. With between ten actors in this home haunt, they provide both scares and engagement with audiences. Some actors hide among the fog, jump scaring unsuspected audiences or silently wield cleavers, striking fake bodies in bathtubs with the passion of a scorned ex-lover. But others, like the meat stand purveyor aren’t afraid to engage and interact, asking guests how they’d like their meat cooked—guests soon realizing the meat is their own. A highlight comes at the end, when two female actors scream loudly at the audience, as one crawls upside down across the floor. It’s an impressive showcase of not just volume, but also contortion and visual scares.

Haunt 223 Haunted House is a home haunt that exceeds that of so many professional haunts. This is not a normal home haunt either. With Collins working in Hollywood and employing his prop making skills, welding experience, and lighting/sound know-how, he creates a well-thought out and planned experience with technologically impressive sets and scares. He also employs friends—and friends of friends—that are passionate to come out and scare, and it shows in the energy they bring. Add this to your list for Halloween because this is one cannibal cookout I wouldn’t mind sticking around for.

For more information about Haunt 223, check out their Instagram. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

Haunting is a resource for immersive theater and horror fans in Los Angeles and across the world, promoting art and community. Want to help us reach even more people, and get some cool perks and experiences? For as little as $1 a month, you can join our Patreon and help us keep bringing content to life.

If you like the above article and want to find more like it, make sure to join our community. If Facebook is your favorite, follow us there and become a part of our groups for Immersive Horror fans and/or Immersive creators. We’re active on Instagram, posting evocative imagery and informative stories to promote our reviews and recollections; follow us there. You can even find us on twitter; click here to follow. And subscribe to our event calendar to get emails for all or specific events (look for the link right under the calendar)! Finally, we have a newsletter that comes out once a week; click here to sign up.