The 17^th Door is a haunted house with a Penitentiary theme, notorious for its innovation and boundary pushing. It shocks guests—quite literally—putting them face to face with roaches, locking them in claustrophobic chambers that drop guests into a pit of balls, and even has them kneel in front a truck that barrels towards them, stopping only at the last minute. The scares here are real, genuine, and easily something that a teenager can become obsessed with. Hence, The Outcast Penitentiary is born.

The Outcast Penitentiary is a second-year home haunt, inspired by The 17^th Door and located in Anaheim Hills. While it occupies a modest footprint, the intensity inside more than makes up for it. While not as intense as The 17^th Door—there’s no electrical shocks or cockroaches inside—the effects would make Robbie Luther, creator of The 17^th Door, proud. The Outcast Penitentiary creator, Thomas Cornwell, has circuit boards set up to control the sound and lighting, with some fantastic effects that kept the line wrapped around the block the entire time we were there. There’s even the green light that flashes in one minute intervals, alerting the cue to send the next batch of victims in.

While Cornwell was inside acting in his home haunt, we did speak to his mom who was keeping the line in order. Cornwell is only 16 years old, and he does almost everything by himself—apart from painting a few of the panels. “Right after football practice, he comes home to work on this. Then in the morning he’ll show me some new design—and I wonder if he even sleeps.” It’s clear that Cornwell has passion for his work and the haunted house that inspired him. While there is no narrative currently, the theming is apparent and impressive; Paula from The 17^th Door would fit perfectly in the walls of Cornwell’s home haunt.

The experience consists of three rooms. The first finds audiences barked at by a stern and loud female jailer—who locks your group into a cramped jail cell. The lights dim and fog pours out until the back of the cell opens, revealing a path forward—and a swat-geared assailant. He orders the group into a very narrow, passage, lined with circuits and electrical cables. The buzzer sounds and the ceiling—a metal grate—slowly lowers as expert sound effects trick the mind into believing it is electrified. The walls crackle and pop and just before the ceiling reaches you, the door opens, leading you into the final room: an inflated claustrophobia tunnel that sends you out into the cold night air once more. The design feels innovative and clever—and extremely well done.

The costumes feel straight out The 17^th Door and Perpetuum Penitentiary. The two main actors (one being Cornwell himself) are dressed to perfection in prison riot gear. Cornwell has a gasmask on to cover his face, and he’s not afraid to get in your face as the ceiling of his room descends upon you. The female jailer is also not afraid to bark orders at you, screaming loudly in her commands. They exude energy and command the space effectively. They do a fantastic job of immersing you in this world, even if your time in it is brief.

Cornwell is a name we did not know before this, but it would fit right in with Jacob Larson of Pirate’s Cave, Sam Kellman of Opechee, Mason Legerski of Corona Haunt, or even Nate Collins of Haunt 223. This new blood is the next generation of haunter—and I wouldn’t be surprised if Cornwell finds a home at The 17^th Door in the future, but secretly, I hope he creates the The 17^th Door 2.0 and keeps innovation alive in the haunt community.

For more information about The Outcast Penitentiary, check out their Instagram. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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