‘The Scarehouse’ Promises a Frightful Experience, but Does it Deliver?

Fall is here and Halloween is right around the corner and that means it’s time for haunted houses! I can already hear the groans.

If you’re like me, you’ve been extremely disappointed year after year in the shoddy performances of haunted houses in the area. They mean well, but they’re strictly a teenage boy's dream with an easily scared girl—not anything even mildly amusing for an adult.

For years, I’ve heard the Scarehouse in Etna was a must-see attraction but I brushed it off. I’ve been to so many haunted houses in my life and in the last five years, I can count on one hand (with five fingers left over) how many have actually entertained me, until now.

The other weekend, I trekked up to Etna, PA to check out “Pittsburgh’s Ultimate Halloween Haunted Houses” expecting the trip to be either a huge disappointment or a new found hope that there are still good haunted houses in existence. I was not disappointed.

Coming from Washington, Etna is about a 40- to 60-minute commute into the city of Pittsburgh. It’s very easy to find with signs right off 28 as you enter into the city. Housed in an old Elk’s lodge with a bank in the basement—the building itself is very sinister when lit up in the darkness.

As someone who typically isn’t easily scared, my amusement comes from sending the easily scared and extremely jumpy ones in first (enter my mother and best friend) followed by myself and my husband. This would ensure a great trip through the house.

As we walked up the hill to the entrance, we were greeted by several costume characters amusing those who waited in line. I was instantly taken back by the costumes, which were quite extensive and nicely done. The actors were also very interesting, drawing you in as they interacted with the people.

Now comes the moment of truth, into the house we went as a foursome in a single file line. Our first stop was the Foresaken, which was very much like every classic horror film that was shot at a creepy, old carnival.

“Foresaken is more of a classical, old-school horror type haunt,” said Scott Simmons, creative director for the Scarehouse. “It’s a lot of creepy dolls at an abandoned carnival with run down mysterious figures in the dark and all the things that scared you. The whole experience is dark and creepy.”

To be honest, Simmons described the haunt to be perfect. Filled with carnival rooms and extremely great actors—haunt number one was an enormous success for me. My mother and best friend easily grew 6-feet tall several times.

What really astounded me was the skill of the actors because so many were motionless until just the right moment as people walked past. In fact, several got me a few times, as well. There were hidden surprises around every corner and just when you think you’re in the clear, someone jumped from behind a wall or door.

In one room, we walked past a table with what looked like the perfect creepy porcelain doll mannequin, only to discover it’s a living person who had me jumping. Oh and might I add, if you think sending the weakling in first will have you escape from frights, be warned … it’s not always the first one they get. This cast is skilled in perfect timing to ensure all parts of the group (from front to back) get jumped at least once or twice a night.

The best part of the haunt, though, was the astounding make-up executed to perfection. Every character was realistic and the scenery followed suit. While you know it’s fake, the realism screams at you from every bit of the trip. 

Once you regain composure from laughter and fright, the middle haunt is Creepo’s Christmas in 3-D, which is exactly what it sounds like—a very creepy Christmas complete with 3-D glasses. Likely one of my favorite haunts, this weird and trippy experience through what an evil clown’s Christmas might look like was nothing short of pure enjoyment. The Scarehouse really outdid itself with this set and characters depicting their annoyance with Christmas always popping up a little too soon each year. Of course, the real joy is the 3-D effects that leave you completely lost and loopy.

“It’s hard to know where the set ends and the actors are and it’s all kinds of trippy,” said Simmons. “We’re not really attacking Christmas, we’re just annoyed at all the commercialism of Christmas and every year the Christmas stuff shows up earlier and earlier. We felt Halloween was under attack by the Christmas business and we’re going to take a stand and have fun with it. We have a character—Creepo—and he’s one of our most popular characters ever," he said. "We wanted to show what his Christmas would be like. It’s a twisted version of things you’d expect to see at Christmas. It’s wrong and scary in different ways, but also very funny.”

So if you’ve been keeping track, the Scarehouse is two for two with me in terms of good haunted attractions. Now onto the third—Pittsburgh Zombies—which intrigued me from the moment I saw it on the website. As a huge fan of “Walking Dead” and many other zombie movies, I had really high expectations for this attraction and it wasn’t a disappointment.

Sure there were zombies creeping around every corner, which were excellently executed with extremely realistic make-up, but the really amazing part was all the Pittsburgh references from the mini-Primanti Bros. restaurant to the black-and-gold store. Pittsburgh was everywhere and if you looked closely, you’d find yourself laughing around every corner—especially at the one zombie who sounded just like “Pittsburgh Dad.” I swear if he said “Hey Deb” I would have lost it!

“It’s our second year for Pittsburgh Zombies and we’ve expanded the set, increased the zombies and changed things around,” said Simmons. “It’s a tribute to Pittsburgh and to our legacy as zombie capital of the world. The place is packed with references to Pittsburgh so watch for all the inside jokes.”

There you have it—this haunted house is actually legit for entertainment this Halloween season. So let’s learn a little more about it.

Ranked as one of “America’s Scariest Halloween Attractions” by the Travel Channel and one of America’s best haunted houses by USA Today, Forbes, Fangoria and Haunted Attraction Magazine, the Scarehouse features a creative team unlike any other, complete with a “Scare Specialist” on staff.

“We try to make it as real as possible,” said Simmons. “Some haunted houses remind you that it’s not real because they’re messing around. Once you enter our doors, it should feel as real as possible. We put a lot of serious thought into what scares people. We do research. We have a “Scare Specialist” who has a Ph.D. in sociology and researches what scares people and why, top phobias in sight and sounds, etc. The things our actors can do to get under people’s skin. There’s a lot of research that goes into the execution of freaking you out.”

It’s easy to see that so much love and devotion goes into the creation of the Scarehouse from the selection of costumes and props to the story. The creative team should be applauded for doing such an amazing and realistic job, you truly are part of the show.

“We have a creative team that works all year on the houses,” said Simmons. “We’ll have a design meeting in January and build it in February. If we’re going to do something, we need it to be exciting to us and different. There’s nothing wrong with what you see at other haunted houses with hockey masks, but if we’re going to spend a whole year working on something it needs to be interesting.”

Of course, with all great things comes a price and the Scarehouse certainly isn’t a cheap night out with admission prices ranging from $14.99 (Thursdays), $16.99 (Sundays) and $19.99 (Saturdays). For those who hate waiting, the Scarehouse also offers a R.I.P. pass that allows you to skip the line and head right in for $34.99.

If you really love the horror, you might also want to check out the “Behind the Screams” tour on Oct. 14 that sells for $59.99 and grants you admission plus a behind-the scenes tour of the haunt, Q&A with members of the design team and a chance to view the cast as they go through make-up and wardrobe. Guests will then enter under the R.I.P. pass to be first in line for the attraction.

“If we’ve done the job right, you’ll come out exhilarated,” said Simmons. “You’ll be laughing, sweating and having a great time. We want it to be fun. We want you to scream and jump and be freaked out, but we’re not trying to terrorize you.”

This haunted attraction is truly worth the trip to Etna. However, I will caution you this is not for the weak or the small. No one younger than 7 will be admitted into the house and it’s strongly discouraged for children younger than 13. While there isn’t anything R-rated of sorts, there’s certainly a lot of blood, guts, and not-so-kid friendly depictions (especially in the Christmas haunt). It’s more of a mom-and-dad’s night out kind of attraction for adults and older teens.

“You’d be surprised how much of our audience is older,” said Simmons. “People still think haunted houses are just for kids, but at the Scarehouse it’s mainly an older audience. We have people that come in their 30s and 40s. It’s not just walking through with a kid in a rubber mask jumping out, it’s like a real life scary movie and you get to be the star.”

Don’t miss your chance to see the 2012 Scarehouse because next year, it won’t be the same!

“We have a great team here,” said Simmons. “We change the entire attraction each year from the sets to the characters. It’s never the same two years in a row. We try to give you something you’ve never seen before. You’re going to see things at the Scarehouse you won’t see anywhere else.”