Each note played from the organ hangs in the air long past its welcome. The song makes the air feel heavy, dense. It’s not the fog—no—it’s the organ that makes me cough. The orange glow of a candelabra provides enough light for me to make it past the ornate coffin. I glance to my side and see the skeletal remains resting peacefully inside. But then below the bones comes a guttural howl, and a human hand reaches out. I jump back and almost fall through the next door. Happy to be out of that room, I turn, to see a long corridor, a hallway lined with doors. Yet, the fog has permeated this room as well, and a green laser light prevents me from seeing further. Then a singular hand emerges as if it has penetrated a veil. Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt is a gothic mansion hiding nightmarish creatures inside.

Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt is a trailer haunt situated at the Pumpkinland Pumpkin Patch at the Promenade Temecula mall. With an impressive façade of a gothic manor, the Mansion of Lost Souls is bound to catch the eye of most people driving by—and the interiors are just as beautiful as the exterior. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, what this ten-minute haunt does well is provides some clever scares, employs masterful use of lighting, and creates a cohesive aesthetic that immerses audiences in its dark décor.

Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt tells the story of a revered doctor’s home and his family after their brutal murder. Whether the doctor himself lost his mind or a psychotic patient tortured the family—or maybe it was possession of a demonic being—the narrative is light and only provides minimal set dressing here. The driving force of the Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt is the gothic theme and the home itself. Audiences will proceed through the home, exploring long hallways, living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and even bathrooms. Just beware, the house may be falling apart as lighting flickers out and walls come crashing down, stopping just before they crush you.

It’s these little special effects that make this fun. There are many scares and effects that we’ve seen in Las Vegas Haunt’s Hotel Fear or The Freakling Bros’ Castle Vampyre or Coven of 13; but just because we’ve seen them before, doesn’t negate their effectivity. All of the haunts mentioned above are trailer-haunts—haunted mazes that are constructed in trailers, rather than panels or pre-existing locations—and thus, they will share some similarities. These scares include a falling wall, a staircase that collapses into the ceiling, compression air sacks, sparks flying from chain-link fences, and light tricks. These are fantastic effects, and will inspire awe, whether its your first time seeing them or your thirtieth.

Further, where this haunt stands out to me is its use of lighting. Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt juxtaposes bright lights with dark hallways, shocking your vision into never fully adjusting to the rooms. This allows scare actors to hide within the shadows, essentially making them invisible, until they land a quality scare. Or instead, they can hide directly behind the light, blinding you from ever seeing them, until again, it’s too late. One of our favorite scenes was the one described in our first paragraph, in which an actor (Evan Rowe) perfectly uses fog and a green laser light to obscure himself to play in the light. Using just a hand, or his head, or his whole body, he is able to appear and disappear with precision.

While the Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt may not be an innovative and game-changing endeavor, it is a worthwhile experience for anyone in the Temecula area. If you’re attending Temecula Terror this year or Hallows Eve Inc’s Deadwater State Penitentiary, make sure you add on this haunt as a cherry on top of an already frightening sundae. They have gorgeous sets with some very passionate actors, and if you’ve never done a trailer haunt before, this is an exceptional first endeavor. Just make sure you leave without any ghosts following you home.

For more information about the Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt, check out their website, Facebook and Instagram pages. To find other events similar to this one, check out our Event Catalog.

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The Mansion of Lost Souls Haunt brings their beautiful gothic mansion to life this Halloween season.