Twisted Dreams Haunt’s The Land Closest to Hell is a grindhouse, Ed Gein-inspired haunted walkthrough that doesn’t shy away from the grittiness and intensity of a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film. Nestled across an unassuming home in Buena Park—just miles away from Knott’s Scary Farm—brave haunt goers can find Twisted Dreams and their gory, dismembered victims hidden inside this ten-minute walk-through experience. Creator Leif Swenson’s Twisted Dreams Haunt is fantastic, with visuals that will scare—as well as a dozen actors to further push your senses and instill you with a sense of dread that will haunt your dreams once you leave.

While there’s only minor hints of a narrative within, Twisted Dreams Haunt ’s The Land Closest to Hell focuses on The Great Sierra Western, a train operated by a murderous cult that glorifies the dismemberment, skinning, and utter mutilation of anyone it comes across. Lamps are covered in skin and viscera, entire skinned bodies are nailed to the wall, and blood-drained corpses are hung upside-down as evidence of the cult’s brutality. The scenes are impressively designed and feel gritty and gross—in the best way possible.

The walkthrough is linear with actors focusing on scares over narrative—this is not a haunt that you’ll pause and talk to actors, engaging in their story. But regardless, there are a few moments of deviation from the linear pathway. A chainsaw-wielding, hog-masked beast of a man barrels out of a shed right after you pass—leading you to a shut door that often has guests unable to figure out how to open it. A western-themed card table has an actor spring to life as he offers you a hand, leading you deeper into the cult. And a miner with a skull may offer to have the skull tell you a joke—providing the only moment of levity among an onslaught of carnage.

The actors do an incredible job at engaging with you. A zipper masked cultist bends his back, until he’s almost upside down, contorted in an uncanny position, just to create a scare as I walk by. A slider expertly navigates a fog-filled room, appearing and disappearing with ease. They know how to create fear and it’s only aided by the impressive sets.

Every scene is brimming with a lived-in vibe. I’d compare it to High Desert Haunted House or even a more impressive version of some of the rooms in Feast at Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor. It’s easy to tell that Leif Swenson has handpicked his collection of items over the years, expanding his haunt as his collection grows. We instantly fell in love with a bone chandelier hung over a candlelit crypt scene, in which skulls and bones all come together to create a gorgeous light fixture.

This isn’t a haunt where actors scream at you and loud noises barrage you. It’s quiet in its carnage, with the slow clang of metal on metal acting as a harbinger of what’s to come. The sermon of the cult leader himself echoing down from his chapel of severed hands, as he wears the face of an unlucky guest. The creation of this cult cries out from the fog, as he lumbers across tables of severed heads and chopped up hands. It’s a slow burn, but a burn that crawls into the back of your mind and waits—to make sure it is ready when you fall asleep.

Twisted Dreams Haunt is an absolute love letter to the grindhouse films and horror movies of the 1970’s and the old school carnage-heavy haunts. It’s perfect in its recreation of gritty horror, with no lack of ultra-realistic body parts, nailed to walls, hung from ceilings, or worn as masks. This could easily be a professional haunted house—as I forgot I was walking through the back yard and surrounding areas of a home in mere seconds after stepping past the threshold. Do yourself a favor and make sure you check out this haunted house if you’re a fan of slaughterhouse aesthetics done right.

For more information about Twisted Dreams Haunt, check out their Facebook and Instagram pages. For information about similar events, check out our Event Calendar.

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