I step toward the door, but a disheveled man blocks my exits. He’s a patient of the insane asylum I’m visiting – and does not want me to leave. He picks up a phone hanging on a nearby wall and licks the receiver, spittle dripping down his ratty beard. He adjusts his Santa hat with one hand while shoving the phone down the back of his pants with the other. He laughs as we squirm away when he offers the phone to us, mischievously laughing, “It’s for you!” Happy holidays indeed. ho-ho-horror

For the first time, Reign of Terror in Thousand Oaks opens their impressive 25,000 sq foot haunted house for one weekend in December to show off a twistedly dark and scary version of the holiday season. This brand-new, 45-minute event, Ho-Ho-Horror, maintains Reign of Terror’s nine distinctly themed walk-throughs, but adds some holiday flare with the addition of new characters, smells, costumes, lightning, sound design, and a themed photo-op at the epic haunt’s conclusion – making for a haunter’s paradise in December. Groups of around six people traverse this sprawling 115-room traditional haunt packed with detailed theming and adrenaline-pumping jump-scares – without any touching or extreme elements. What IS included is a hell of a lot of fun.

While the basic layout for Ho-Ho-Horror is the same as Reign of Terror’s Halloween event, guests will find that both humor and horror await them in Ho-Ho-Horror. Holiday characters like festively dressed Mrs. Claus, Jack Frost, and various evil elves can be found lurking within – some even interacting with guests as a clever means to eliminate any conga lines that might be forming – and a twisted version of Santa awaits those that make it through for a photo-op. These actors provide some interactivity with guests in between each of the nine sections of the haunt – a genuine and warm Mrs. Claus encourages participants to have more Christmas spirit before they enter a house of horrors; the aforementioned asylum patient stops visitors in their tracks with a rare raunchy moment; and military personnel make sure guests haven’t been contaminated before they face infected monsters. One of my favorite darkly comedic moments was a prop deer carcass with a glowing red nose; Rudolph had a bad night. While most known Christmas characters are accounted for, I do think it was a missed opportunity to not include popular Christmas baddie Krampus in, for example, the Haunted House or Casa Blood sections.

Reign of Terror also adds holiday ambiance to help guests get in the Christmas spirit – even among the monsters and gore inside. String Christmas lights add an eerie light show to the stunningly-designed gruesome scenes; the cheerful carols played throughout juxtapose the nightmares guests witness; and Santa hats and bows on hanging corpses are appropriately off-putting. Ho-Ho-Horror delights in having decorations associated with the happy holidays directly clash with the morbid visuals, which keeps guests on their toes as they oscillate between laughs and screams.

The expansive Ho-Ho-Horror has a little something for everyone – a spinning tunnel, intricate sets and props, fog, laser effects, transportive smells, and a compression tunnel – but it excels in its larger-than-life animatronics and distraction techniques. With animatronics rivaling the best haunted houses in theme parks like Knott’s Scary Farm and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, Ho-Ho-Horror pushes the boundaries of guest comfort (in a good way, and without any touching) with each surprise that lunges just a little closer than expected. Reign of Terror also uses their scare-actors to great effect. While guests are busy taking in the décor and animatronics, scare-actors use that distraction to full advantage, silently slinking up behind someone for a shock when they turn around, or making a loud noise in a relatively quiet moment.

Ho-Ho-Horror is the best Christmas-themed haunt I’ve seen; it’s absolutely perfect for those haunt-goers who are disappointed that the Halloween season has concluded – myself among them. For one weekend in December, guests can relive the frights and delights of October, but with a festive Christmas twist. I hope Reign of Terror brings back Ho-Ho-Horror next year, and that other haunts take advantage of a blossoming Christmas-horror genre – there’s definitely a market for it. Reign of Terror’s new Ho-Ho-Horror is to die for and adds a jolt of spooky excitement to the holidays.

Ho-Ho-Horror has ended it’s one-weekend run. Follow Reign of Terror on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and keep checking their website for more special events. Check out our Event Guide for more immersive and horror events throughout the year.

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