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A good haunt for a great cause. |
Todd - (Review not found)
Google Docs betrayed me. Lost in cyberspace. Will try to re-write.
Google Docs betrayed me. Lost in cyberspace. Will try to re-write.
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While we visit Indianapolis haunts almost every year, this was our first visit to Haunted Angelus House. It won't be our last! |
Paul - Pulling up to Haunted Angelus wasn't quite what I expected. The building itself is just an old commercial building just Northeast of downtown Indianapolis. The space is shared with a fireworks store that apparently is also a Halloween store for part of the year. For some reason it reminds me of a roadside tourist trap that I might see on some old desolate highway in the middle of nowhere.
You buy your tickets at a window in the front of the building, but the queue line is inside. It's actually a fairly nice place to wait, with spooky lights and music, and the occasional roaming actor who will wander through and startle people who aren't paying attention.
You enter into the haunt and have a picture taken, but right after that is when the chaos begins. And I mean chaos!
Individually, the things we look for as reviewers are all good at Haunted Angelus. The sets are good, the lighting is good, the atmosphere is good, and the actors are more than good. But the combination of all of them all works extremely well! There's enough set detail to make you feel immersed in the haunt, but not so much that you're constantly staring at the props. There's enough lighting that you can see the scene, but not so much that it distracts you. The parts that do end up seeming distracting are usually distracting for a reason, and everything is pulled together by a cast of actors that are excellent at what they do! The actors really what make Haunted Angelus special. They have very good engagement, unique dialogue, and they do a great job at pacing. They slow down groups that go too quickly, speed up the slow ones, and do a great job being haunters at the same time.
One of the few actors struggles I noticed was in a few instances where we could tell they wanted to push/shove/drag one of us, but because 2020, social distancing doesn't allow that. Because Haunted Angelus is ordinarily a touch haunt, I think some of the actors have to constantly remind themselves they can't this year. I believe a lot of the "Hell Town" outdoor portion at the end of the haunt was changed or added due to covid restrictions, and that was also the reason the 3D area was closed this year.
I had an absolute blast at Haunted Angelus. The haunt was fun, scary, startling, and memorable, and I can't wait to experience it in a year without restrictions!
You buy your tickets at a window in the front of the building, but the queue line is inside. It's actually a fairly nice place to wait, with spooky lights and music, and the occasional roaming actor who will wander through and startle people who aren't paying attention.
You enter into the haunt and have a picture taken, but right after that is when the chaos begins. And I mean chaos!
Individually, the things we look for as reviewers are all good at Haunted Angelus. The sets are good, the lighting is good, the atmosphere is good, and the actors are more than good. But the combination of all of them all works extremely well! There's enough set detail to make you feel immersed in the haunt, but not so much that you're constantly staring at the props. There's enough lighting that you can see the scene, but not so much that it distracts you. The parts that do end up seeming distracting are usually distracting for a reason, and everything is pulled together by a cast of actors that are excellent at what they do! The actors really what make Haunted Angelus special. They have very good engagement, unique dialogue, and they do a great job at pacing. They slow down groups that go too quickly, speed up the slow ones, and do a great job being haunters at the same time.
One of the few actors struggles I noticed was in a few instances where we could tell they wanted to push/shove/drag one of us, but because 2020, social distancing doesn't allow that. Because Haunted Angelus is ordinarily a touch haunt, I think some of the actors have to constantly remind themselves they can't this year. I believe a lot of the "Hell Town" outdoor portion at the end of the haunt was changed or added due to covid restrictions, and that was also the reason the 3D area was closed this year.
I had an absolute blast at Haunted Angelus. The haunt was fun, scary, startling, and memorable, and I can't wait to experience it in a year without restrictions!
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Each section is sort of a scene unto itself, with the actors playing you like a cat toying with a mouse. |
Teresa - Haunted Angelus is a charity haunt, benefiting special needs children and adults, located in the Indianapolis area for 9 years now. This was our first year going. They were offering discount tickets for canned food donations. Tickets may be purchased online or at the door. There are a couple different options, including skip-the-line passes and unlimited passes for those who want to make a night of it. And let's be honest, do you have somewhere better to be? Plus, there's a Halloween supply store next door. We got there pretty early and decided to wait a little bit for it to get dark. The second portion, Hell Town, is an outdoor haunt, and we wanted to wait until full dark before we experienced it. Ticket prices include the first part (The Haunted House) and Hell Town. The waiting area is indoors and covered in spiderwebs and dark lighting. The queue actors are very stealthy and were having a blast sneaking up on unsuspecting patrons, eliciting screams before disappearing again. Keep an eye out for Crash the Clown!
Now, for the fun part of the review! Don't think because this is a charity haunt that it isn't "professional" and scary. I was quite impressed with the decor, props, and especially the actors! Each section is sort of a scene unto itself, with the actors playing you like a cat toying with a mouse. They were very interactive, asking us questions, and making the experience personal. The dialogues were very intimidating and sometimes humorous. Scenes range from being an intruder in an angry man's house to getting a tarot reading, and from a clown circus to a doctor's office; there are even areas that appear to be outdoors with dark woods and waterfalls. You have no idea what to expect in here! They don't want to rush you through either. They want to have time to interact and they were really on us at the beginning to slow down and of course "stay awhile". Plus, I'm sure they were trying to keep groups separated for COVID purposes. Speaking of COVID, we were told this is normally a touch haunt, but the decision was made to open without the touch aspect this year. I'm glad they did! Some haunts rely on touch for their scares, but this place was scary enough without it. There are lots of jump scares of all kinds, from unexpected props, to loud noises, air blasts, drop panels, and sneaky actors. The actors were definitely my favorite part. I got the feeling they were tailoring the experience to our group. This is a family friendly haunt, but I would say it is probably a little scary for younger kids. We saw a couple very young ones that didn't even make it through the queue. For our group, being three adults, there was a little more adult humor and more intimidating characters. As good as the actors did at giving us the experience we were looking for, I'm excited to come back next year when they hopefully have a touch option again and check out how they (and we) handle that!
After leaving the Haunted House portion, we found ourselves entering Hell Town. This part is the newest addition, and had a country/Old West vibe with wooden buildings. There was a giant skeleton walking around and menacing us the entire time. We tried checking into a hotel, got locked in a freezer, got thrown in jail, you know...a typical Saturday night. This part was much shorter than the indoor portion, so you won't have to be out in the weather too long if it decides not to cooperate. On your way out, assuming you make it, you can get a souvenir photo of your experience for $5.00. Remember it's for a good cause!
Now, for the fun part of the review! Don't think because this is a charity haunt that it isn't "professional" and scary. I was quite impressed with the decor, props, and especially the actors! Each section is sort of a scene unto itself, with the actors playing you like a cat toying with a mouse. They were very interactive, asking us questions, and making the experience personal. The dialogues were very intimidating and sometimes humorous. Scenes range from being an intruder in an angry man's house to getting a tarot reading, and from a clown circus to a doctor's office; there are even areas that appear to be outdoors with dark woods and waterfalls. You have no idea what to expect in here! They don't want to rush you through either. They want to have time to interact and they were really on us at the beginning to slow down and of course "stay awhile". Plus, I'm sure they were trying to keep groups separated for COVID purposes. Speaking of COVID, we were told this is normally a touch haunt, but the decision was made to open without the touch aspect this year. I'm glad they did! Some haunts rely on touch for their scares, but this place was scary enough without it. There are lots of jump scares of all kinds, from unexpected props, to loud noises, air blasts, drop panels, and sneaky actors. The actors were definitely my favorite part. I got the feeling they were tailoring the experience to our group. This is a family friendly haunt, but I would say it is probably a little scary for younger kids. We saw a couple very young ones that didn't even make it through the queue. For our group, being three adults, there was a little more adult humor and more intimidating characters. As good as the actors did at giving us the experience we were looking for, I'm excited to come back next year when they hopefully have a touch option again and check out how they (and we) handle that!
After leaving the Haunted House portion, we found ourselves entering Hell Town. This part is the newest addition, and had a country/Old West vibe with wooden buildings. There was a giant skeleton walking around and menacing us the entire time. We tried checking into a hotel, got locked in a freezer, got thrown in jail, you know...a typical Saturday night. This part was much shorter than the indoor portion, so you won't have to be out in the weather too long if it decides not to cooperate. On your way out, assuming you make it, you can get a souvenir photo of your experience for $5.00. Remember it's for a good cause!
Questions? Have a story to share? Leave it in the comments!