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2025 Review |
Entertainment
Paul - Thirteenth Hour is a great haunt, and is absolutely a must-visit haunt in the Indianapolis area. There's no other haunt experience that's even similar to theirs, and you should absolutely try it for yourself. Todd - All around, The Thirteenth Hour is the most fun it has been yet. The haunts continue to grow, get darker and evolve year by year. I always find myself in awe of how amazing the execution is. As the haunt's management recently posted, "scary" is subjective. However, it would be hard to contest just how well The Thirteenth Hour projects the illusion of being in a totally different time and place. Teresa - Walking through these scenes just makes my horror-loving heart so happy. This isn't a slasher movie type of horror. This is a haunting, creeping, dread-filled horror, like a chill across your skin, making you shiver. The characters who are interactive are loads of fun. Add a fun story-line, wonderful photo ops, refreshments, a fun waiting area, and souvenirs, and you wind up with a rather memorable fall evening. Emily - A particular highlight is the haunted chapel. The combination of dramatic lighting and perfectly executed animatronics featuring the ghostly souls was breathtakingly effective, leaving me feeling truly jilted by the commitment to horror. Furthermore, there was a segment that felt like a never ending nightmare land, the relentless onslaught of scares made it impossible to find a safe space, yet the total immersion made it incredibly fun at the same time. |
Scare Factor
Paul - Thirteenth Hour is one of the most unique haunt experiences I've encountered. While the individual scares aren't quite as intense as some other haunts, the creepiness and anticipation help the scares build up over time rather than just hitting you right in the face. Todd - There's a trigger for any kind of fear in The Thirteenth Hour. There are plenty of unsuspecting and well-executed jump scares within. There are many narrow paths to navigate and many corners to turn, none of which give you much preparation time for what awaits you. Hate snakes? They've got that covered this year too. The cathedral and orphanage are the traditional "dark, scary haunted house" scenarios that instinctually put you on edge, while the new RIFT/13 brings a new paradigm of fear in a whole different presentation. Teresa - 13th Hour is scary in an unsettling way. The scenes and sets feel real. It's like you've walked into a real abandoned, crumbling crypt, mine, cemetery, or orphanage. It feels real, but with a nightmare quality, like you've woken up in this haunted place and don't know how you got there. The effects are fantastic, providing lots of jump scares. There are even portions you have to blindly make your way through, feeling around you, not knowing what or whom you're touching. And the characters who do the haunting are all kind of horrific. They put you on the spot, make you throw your friends into the fire (so to speak), yell, scream, taunt, threaten, intimidate, and beg for you to help them. There is no helping them, and there will be no helping you if you don't find your way out. Emily - The jump scares were strategically placed and often involved perfectly timed animatronics or live actors, hitting their mark consistently and keeping our entire group on edge. The variety and unpredictable nature of the scares really proved this attraction is engineered for maximum, prolonged terror. Actors Paul - The actors all seem to perform their roles exactly to plan. From the quick-reset jump scare characters to the ones with dialog meant to engage you, they all work their parts very well. On top of that, the costuming and makeup really stood out as some of the best around. Todd - There's a clear divide between the assignment of actors at the haunt this year. As always, there are number of spotlight roles that have extensive, interactive roles that directly feed the story and are part of The Thirteenth Hour's core lore. As with all previous years, these actors did a great job, including those in new or expanded areas. On the other side of the spectrum, there are the actors that have no direct interaction - they're either there for the jump scare or serve as living props (zombies in the cemetery, etc.). This haunt has always utilized such actors, particularly those with the long robes and skeletal masks, creating many is "is that a person or a dummy" moments. Many such actors, this year, were more vocal, delivering guttural "Rawr" noises. Many of them sounded the same which became more and more noticeable. Personally, I'd like to see a little variety in these offerings to cut down on the redundancy. Teresa - The ghosts and creatures who haunt these dilapidated buildings and paths are all unique characters. I really enjoy being put on the spot by them, having to choose someone to be a sacrifice and wondering what will happen to them. Some characters are quite interactive, others are like creeping ghouls in the background. They just make you uneasy knowing they are there, around every corner, behind every crypt, always coming toward you. And you never know when one of the quiet ones is about to jump out like a spider catching you in a trap. Immersion
Paul - The immersiveness is where I think Thirteenth Hour really shines. The set builds are creative, detailed, and massive, with perfect lighting and audio. You're pulled into the theme right as you walk through the front door, and aside from the midway area in the middle (which is great BTW), you're locked in their world the entire time. If you can take your eyes away from looking for the next scare, your jaw will drop when you look around the sets. Todd -The Thirteenth Hour is unquestionably (in my opinion) the most immersive haunt we go to. It has an ingenious setup that you're actually there to experience time travel through a company called Cartocker Expeditions. When you're first walk in, it feels more like Doc Brown's house from 1985 Back to the Future, than anything. It stays pretty sci-fi until your journey is about to begin, when of course, something goes wrong. This is when you're sent back in time and faced with the disturbing story of Heinrich Chapel. Everything is constructed with amazing detail, enhanced with fantastically executed light and sound both inside and out. The new RIFT/13 area brings an adventurous, Aztec-like temple that visually compliments the other structures. While this new area is not as thematically dark, it's still an impressive build full of eye candy. On a side note, a new cave area has been constructed which is also impressive. Remember those caves museums had that you'd visit on fieldtrips? It's kinda like that if Satan designed it. Teresa - It is absolutely jaw-dropping the level of immersion in these sets. You feel like you are really in an old church, or crypt, or mine, or anywhere else you might wind up on your time traveling journey. I cannot appreciate enough, the level of awareness that goes into these designs. It's all about routing you without being obvious, drawing your eyes to the various architecture and props, making it hard to tell if you're inside or outside or both. The effects add light (or dark), realistic sounds, unsettling music. You're walking a path, but it feels like the scene goes on and you're just seeing a little piece of it. It all feels like a terrible dream crossed with dark magic. Emily - Immersion is where The Thirteenth Hour truly sets itself apart. The theming and total sensory experience are utterly unique in the Indianapolis haunt scene. Every chapter, from Cartocker Expeditions to the eerie Cathedral of Souls, is flawlessly executed with beautiful sets, intense lighting, and custom audio. This attention to detail creates an environment where the boundary between reality and the attraction is completely dissolved.. |
What Makes This Haunt Special
Paul - While the entire haunt is really impressive, the way they get you started really stands out. They do such a good job of guiding you into their theme and making you feel like you're really on your way into your journey through time.
Todd - What makes The Thirteenth Hour unique is that the builds' ambiance is just as much of a character as those portrayed as the actors. This haunt is darkly gorgeous and the amount of detail and effect that is demonstrated in sight and sound is amazing. The days of temporary construction on an empty lot are long gone. The midway has been expanded, offering more seating to kick back and relax and it even has a merch shop now.
Teresa - 13th Hour has the most haunting ambiance. I know I'm using that word a lot, but it is the perfect descriptor for these scenes you get to experience. It's just creepy and magical; everything you could want if you were looking for ghosts, or evil, or the living dead or any other denizen of darkness.
Emily - The Thirteenth Hour distinguishes itself through commitment to total sensory immersion, which is what makes it feel so unique. It’s not just about set design; it's the mastery of technical details. Custom audio tracks and strategically deployed intense lighting are flawlessly synchronized with the actors and effects.
Todd - What makes The Thirteenth Hour unique is that the builds' ambiance is just as much of a character as those portrayed as the actors. This haunt is darkly gorgeous and the amount of detail and effect that is demonstrated in sight and sound is amazing. The days of temporary construction on an empty lot are long gone. The midway has been expanded, offering more seating to kick back and relax and it even has a merch shop now.
Teresa - 13th Hour has the most haunting ambiance. I know I'm using that word a lot, but it is the perfect descriptor for these scenes you get to experience. It's just creepy and magical; everything you could want if you were looking for ghosts, or evil, or the living dead or any other denizen of darkness.
Emily - The Thirteenth Hour distinguishes itself through commitment to total sensory immersion, which is what makes it feel so unique. It’s not just about set design; it's the mastery of technical details. Custom audio tracks and strategically deployed intense lighting are flawlessly synchronized with the actors and effects.
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