Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

Realm of Shadow Invites us to Hamre Manor to Fight the Darkness

Realm of Shadow & Hamre Manor

Realm of Shadow is a community Halloween haunted house experience in Norwalk, CA. Their attraction this year, Hamre Manor, invites guests into a gothic manor to explore the darkness inside. The experience lasts approximately ten to fifteen minutes, with numerous actors, great sets, and strong lighting. While most of the scares are jump-scares, they do have some innovative scares that utilize disembodied voices or scares that come from above. Go in alone or in a group as big as ten. We will say it’s more fun to see your friends get scared.

 

Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

 

Gore-Free and Family Friendly-ish

Realm of Shadow is known for offering gore-free haunted houses that focus on scares, creepiness, and horror. While this is produced by a church group at the Trinity Christian Church, this is not a hell house, and does not strongly push Christian doctrine on its guests; thus, we recommend it to both religious and non-religious Halloween fans.

While this experience is horror-themed and creepy, they do have options for children to walk through. Children may walk the experience by themselves or with their parents. Further, they offer an opportunity for kids to be the scarer—by turning the tables and allowing the children to scare the actors. This both empowers kids to face their fears and showcases that they are stronger than they may think.

 

Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

 

A New Home

Moving to a new home this year at the Trinity Christian School and Church in Norwalk, this location is providing a massive footprint for the haunt to occupy. Thus, as you arrive the church, drive around back and look for the fog and lights beaming through the darkness, inviting you to explore the darkness in the rear parking lot.

 

Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

 

A Haunted Backstory

With an impressive and lengthy backstory, I’ll give you the shortened version. Hamre Manor was constructed in 1867 for Josiah and his fourth bride, Lucinda. Yet, on Halloween night, thirteen people gathered for an All Hallows celebration. But after a shadow descended on the location, only Josiah remained holding the locket of his dear wife. He cursed the Lord of Shadow for taking his wife, closed down the manor and set off to find the Temple of Diabolki—but never returned. Now, 133 years later, Josiah’s descendant, Nathan Hamre has returned to the still closed manor to investigate the darkness inside. Rumor has it he has brought a gift for the dark lord: the head of Diabolki.

 

Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

 

Hamre Manor

We’ve covered a lot of gothic manors this year, from Willoughby’s Resurrected to Mansion of Lost Souls to Hotel Fear to Fear Farm’s Sundown Manor, and this one fits perfectly among their ranks. The walls are perfectly aged, and the décor is coated in dust and cobwebs. While others focused more on exploring kitchens, bedrooms, and parlors, Realm of Shadow’s Hamre Manor feels a bit more like endless hallways, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; this allows them to focus more on the scares, using switchbacks to create long hallways of darkness, or twists and turns that offer surprises hiding around every corner. Also, it’s not to say there are no rooms within this haunt; there is a dining room, in which mannequins and ventriloquist dummies have gathered to enjoy food under a massive chandelier. The manor is a wonderful extension of a maze-like house that has been distorted by darkness and the madness of the mind.

Beyond the sets, the actors provide some excellent scares—and engagement. These scares come from all angles too; there were numerous times where a loud bang from above startled me or the sound of a massive skeletal creature scraping its nails against the wall unnerved me. But beyond the scares that come from above, numerous actors are hidden in crevices or nooks, waiting to scare you as you approach. They have great timing and provided some of the best scares I’ve received this season.

Further, a huge shout out to the costumes in this haunt. The actors in Hamre Manor aren’t just wearing simple masks; instead, they’re wearing full body suits or massive costumes that make them feel larger than life. There are some monsters that look as if they just stepped off the set of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and I found myself absolutely impressed by the costume design in the manor.

 

Realm of Shadow - Hamre Manor - 665 Diabolki Way - Haunted House - Norwalk - CA

 

Final Thoughts

Hamre Manor and Realm of Shadows provide an impressive gothic manor for you step into that offers a great lore and backstory, impressively intricate and massive costumes, and plenty of opportunities for scares that come from every direction. This is a great chance to support the community and bring the family out for an experience that is family friendly, as long as your kids can handle some spooky imagery and don’t mind scaring the actors. We just hope Nathan’s gift of the head of Diabolki isn’t enough to appease the Lord of Shadow so that we can return next year as he tries again.

For more information about Realm of Shadow, checkout their website, Facebook and Instagram pages. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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Realm of Shadow created a walk-through haunt called Hamre Manor in Norwalk, CA for 2021.

About The Author

Taylor Winters
Taylor has loved immersive theater since his first experience at ALONE in 2013. Since then, he has written, produced, & directed immersive theater, consulted for numerous immersive companies, acted in others, and attended even more. He has his PhD in Bioengineering, an MBA in Organization Leadership, and currently works fixing broken hearts.

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