Never Retallack | Entertainment Editor
Haunted houses — a Halloween classic, and a way to be terrified that is safer and more interactive than a horror movie.
I am personally a huge fan of these events and I go to at least two or three different spooks every October. Fear PDX is a particular haunted house that I have been going to for the past few years. Based in Portland, they offer a collection of different themed houses on one site.
We waited approximately 2.5 hours outside before even getting inside the venue. A notable difference this year while waiting in line was the inclusion of a DJ. While that may sound weird or out of place, dancing to the early 2000 bops he was playing, it was a perfect way to kill the time.
There was also a good number of scary actors going around and interacting with the masses — jumping, crawling and revving a chainsaw as they went.
Up until this year, Fear PDX was typically held in the Moda Center and the eager crowds had to wait in a large line for at least an hour before entering the floor where the different themed “houses” were. Then, they’d wait in those individual lines for about 30-40 minutes.
This year, they held their attraction on Glisan Street in an empty building where they combined all of the themed houses into one seamless walk. The four houses set up were: Doll Factory, Dead City, The Mansion and Dark Carnival.
By far, the Doll Factory was the scariest, with actors delivering each line with an eerie voice and looking at us with unblinking eyes — not breaking character at all.
The actual experience of going through the house was full of strobe lights, fog machines, loud sound effects and a lot of screaming, but the amount of time spent walking through each house took a total of 30 minutes.
The general admission ticket cost $28, while the VIP pass that allowed you to skip the lines cost $50. There was a bonus house that cost an additional $8 and was “interactive,” meaning the actors were allowed to grab you. I personally am not a fan of houses such as these so I don’t know how scary this particular portion was.
Overall rating: The spooks provided by Fear PDX were decent enough for the amount paid; the wait time was a little ridiculous — also typical for a successful haunted house. The added touch of a DJ did not go unappreciated, and there was enough happening in the actual haunted houses to keep me jumping in fright and eager to escape back into the night.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
Photos courtesy of fearpdx.com
