Some haunts don’t need to reinvent the wheel or push boundaries—some haunts just need to be a fun Halloween walkthrough experience meant for kids, teens, and adults alike; OC Nightmare is one such haunt. Consisting of two separate haunted houses at Garden Walk, Anaheim—just a scream away from Disneyland—this haunt combines a more interactive creepy haunt themed around the dead with a second haunt that focuses more on classic jump scares and surprises. Both haunts work well in their own right and are a fun addition to any night of Orange County haunts. Each will last around five minutes or so, and are walkthrough mazes with no contact, crawling, or creatures.

OC Nightmare’s Upstairs Haunt

The haunted house begins as expected: black panels snaking back and forth. Body parts chained to the walls; their bodies long lost to the winds of time. As guests venture deeper, various scenes showcase themes of death and the afterlife: a cemetery with a grim reaper standing guard, a funeral with a coffin salesman, and a handyman who seems to be collecting the dried remains of the dead.

Where OC Nightmare differentiates itself is in the interactivity. Each room serves as a mini scene, a small pause for interactivity, to allow the actors to scare you in a way that extends past the traditional jump scare. The actors do a fantastic job of it—but this is creepier than startling. While they do jump out on occasion, they stay, ready to engage. There’s no discernible lore dispensed—but rather, just remain around being eerie. The coffin salesman offers to put you inside one of his coffins (but sadly, its already taken). The handyman introduces you to his “pappi” and then makes the group hug him as the skeletal hand of the corpse rubs your back. And later, a clown revs a chainsaw, wanting an arm as admission to later areas of the haunt.

It’s nothing insanely innovative—but it is a fun haunt with some good scares and well-dressed sets to enjoy on a weekend night in Anaheim.

OC Nightmare’s Downstairs Haunt

The second haunt is themed in a less cohesive manner that its upstairs brethren. A maze of switchbacks, with numerous pre-purchased Halloween decor hanging from the walls and ceiling. This includes plastic chains and cages, skeletons with glowing red eyes, and other monstrous creatures.

The actors remain mostly hidden as well, utilizing sounds to scare as they pound on the black panels or startle from behind drop panels. The interactivity of the first maze is gone, replaced more with startles and screams. This is a more traditional haunted house and feels right at home with most charity haunts or starting home haunts.

What differentiates this haunt for me was the use of children in the maze. There are a few strong child scare actors inside who are just loving scaring. They chase you while brandishing large plastic knives and white masks. It’s surprising to have to look down to see a masked creature standing only a few feet tall charging at you with a knife. Definitely elicited some screams and laughs from our group.

Final Thoughts

OC Nightmares is a great starter haunted house that offers two haunted mazes for the price of one. Located in the high traffic area of garden walk, they will attract numerous people attending just their location—but is worth a trip if you’re attending other haunted houses in the area. This isn’t a haunt that’s innovating heavily or creating any of the best scares, but the actors inside are definitely enjoying their time and bringing passion and energy to their roles. It’s a fun experience and even better if you pair it with Hauntington Beach Manor and Dark Harvest, which are also in the Orange County area.

For more information on OC Nightmare, check out their Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and website. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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