ScareScape : Fear, Drinks, and Mazes

ScareScape is a new haunted house attraction produced by Creative Minds Productions bringing quality scares to Murietta, CA. Consisting of four distinct mazes (three standard and one VIP), multiple bars, food vendors, and a lively DJ, this first-year experience sits atop Heritage Hill, providing a gorgeous 360 degree viewpoint of the surrounding towns. Two mazes offer your standard jump-scare and horror themed haunted houses, while the latter two offer more innovation, including a full maze that leaves audiences lost within the confines of a circus tent trying multiple exits that lead deeper into delirial terror. Depending on lines, the entirety of ScareScape can be accomplished in an hour or two, allowing for plenty of time to enjoy the DJ and the many bars that accompany each and every maze.

Ultimately, ScareScape is perfect for haunted house fans in the Inland Empire, horror enthusiasts looking for true horror mazes, and parents who want to enjoy a drink while their kids are terrified.

Horror on Heritage Hill

Eternal Echoes is the first haunted house that guests will experience atop Heritage Hill. The theming focuses on outdoor cemeteries, dark decrepit crypts and catacombs, and a demonic church, providing evocative scenes that were some of the most memorable of the night. Tight corridors covered in netting, rope, and foliage provide passageway between scenes. The highlight here was a massive church, lined with winged skeletal remains and demonic priests.

The actors in Eternal Echoes were an absolute highlight. From the first room, a fish-like monster welcomed us and provided some playful banter allowing for us to feel more engaged from the start. As we entered a laser-lit fog-filled room, actors distracted us from across the swamp, only for a second scare-actor to provide a perfectly timed fright through the fog. These actors were definitely having fun—and knew their craft well.

Wayward Souls welcomes guests into a home resting in between the land of the living and the dead. While the theming felt a bit more of an outpost than a home — with its bunk beds, radio equipment, showers, and restroom scenes — the sets felt fully furnished and realized. Here, ScareScape showed that they knew how to utilize effects to create scares: a fog-filled white-out room hid an actor ready to scare, fart scents filled the bathroom scene as pre-recorded gags could be heard, and a chainsaw wielding maniac chased us from the end of this maze. Wayward Souls increased the scares from Eternal Echoes, allowing for a logical progression as guests explore ScareScape.

The Void is easy to spot with its massive black-lit lettering welcoming guests from across Heritage Hill. This maze has black walls, dark floors, and a modest roof that prevents most light from entering its insides. Large groups will progress slowly, using their hands to feel their way through the darkness—and ScareScape has even utilized the sounds of electricity to amplify the fear of using your hands to navigate. There’s some great air-cannon scares in here that will make even the hardened horror veteran scream. The only negative to The Void is the complete lack of actors in this maze—but the effects inside still elicited the loudest yelps and highest jumps of any maze at ScareScape. We heard they will have some claustrophobic inflatable tunnels in this maze, but they weren’t up and running during our visit.

VIP Access

While those three mazes are offered for a standard ticket price (25+ dollars), there is a VIP ticket (50+ dollars) that provides access to a final maze (Delirium) and their own bar: the Sideshow Spirit Lounge, which has some of the best drinks and seating at ScareScape. VIP also offers front-of-the-line access to all mazes, allowing for reduced wait times. This is a must-have for parents looking to enjoy a beverage or two—but may not be needed for others.

Delirium is a massive circus tent that is comprised of a series of identical rooms. All small and square, they have four walls with the same circus pattern covering each. However, some of the walls you can walk through—and others are completely solid. This would be fine and dandy if Delirium was linear—but it isn’t. There are often multiple paths through the circus tent walls, and only one is one step closer to the way out. As you explore this maze, you will face dead ends, you will end up going forward, and you will end up going backwards. You’ll run into other families completely lost, going the opposite direction as you. And you’ll run into many of the circus denizens waiting in the next room ready to scare you as you pray that the next room offers an exit. It’s a fantastic haunted house and such exceptional use of the maze concept. I love how each room is maddeningly identical, and the space feels massive as you move up, down, left, and right through this nightmare.

Sideshow Spirit Lounge is the VIP-only bar just outside of Delirium. Decorated generously with demented clowns, the location also has some of the most comfortable vintage chairs and couches for guests to sit back and relax as they enjoy the views of the surrounding city—as well as the people running out of Delirium. ScareScape patrons can find seven unique drinks here, ranging from the Jolly Chimp with its espresso, whisky, banana, peanut butter, caramel, Frangelico, and a graham cracker rim; the Tattooed Lady: a glittery purple drink with vodka, raspberry liquor, sprite, and lime juice; Pogo the Clown: Malibu rum, white rum, pineapple juice, cranberry juice, and grenadine; and the Firebreather, their version of an old fashioned with a smoking cinnamon stick. Each drink is $12.

Other Libations

While the Sideshow Spirit Lounge provides an oasis for VIP guests, there are numerous bars surrounding the rest of ScareScape—and each maze has its own unique drink at these stations. Eternal Echoes yields the Ectoplasm Elixir, a smokey cocktail with raspberry vodka, peach schnapps, sweet and sour mix, and sprite. Wayward Souls offers Beyond the Grave, with Malibu rum, white rum, blue curacao, sour apple liquor, sweet and sour mix, and pineapple juice. The Void hides Blackout: an all-black margarita with a black salted rim garnished with a lime. All these drinks are $8.

Other Vendors

While the mazes and bars will definitely be the highlight of ScareScape, there are vendors offering food, snacks, coffee, and entertainment. Snapshot Coffee Bar, an award-winning coffee company based in San Diego has brought their handmade small batch coffees—their toffee green apple elixir is an absolute must-try; it’s so good! Tacos Albor is a locally owned taco shop offering authentic Mexican street food. Poppin’ Duo provides hand-popped kettle corn and their signature, hand-squeezed lemonade. URBN Marker Fusion will offer more substantial dinner options with their Asian fusion mobile restaurant combining regional Asian flavors with other regional fare. Their seafood is amazing and would be my choice! And finally, Dellinger Entertainment is your mobile DJ for the night, bringing the party to the next level.

Conclusions

Overall, ScareScape is a much-needed addition to the Inland Empire, providing some great scares, mazes that you will get lost in, and a plethora of drink options. This is the perfect opportunity to provide something for parents and teens alike—or haunt fans just looking for something spooky to do in the IE. The actors are passionate, the mazes are unique, and the location has a better view than from the escalator of Halloween Horror Nights. If you’re in the IE, this is a no-brainer—go! If you’re in LA or OC, it’s a bit longer drive, but pair this with Coffin Creek, Hallow’s Eve Inc. at Tom’s Farm, or Castle Dark and a make a night of it. You won’t be disappointed.

Tickets for ScareScape start at $25 with VIP starting at $50. A limited number of “Witching Hour” tickets can be found at a discounted price of $20—but are limited to certain entry times. ScareScape Haunted Attraction runs Thursdays through Sundays until Oct 29, 2023. For more information about ScareScape, check out their Facebook, Instagram and website. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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