Haunted Hotel 2013 Review

Haunted Hotel: Louisville, KY

Bill
What a great haunt, I loved the fact that the actors touched you and the theme flowed through the entire attraction. I want to go down there again this weekend to enjoy it over again.

Todd
In recent years, the haunts I’ve expected mediocrity from have turned out to be the best around. Louisville’s Haunted Hotel is now my prime example.

This seemingly small haunt dwells in the walls of a former home on an inconspicuous neighborhood corner. The exterior is so plain that if it weren’t for the neon signs illuminating its name you’d drive right past it, oblivious to the gems within.

We arrived to a small line and a queue that that could never accommodate the long lines of the more familiar haunts. Groups were slow to file through the front door and we began to grow a little impatient waiting. That is, until we entered and saw for ourselves why they isolate the visitors with such distance.

The Haunted Hotel is hands-on, meaning the actors can touch you – and believe me, they will. They won’t just touch you; they will shove you, invade your personal space, push you into a corner making it challenging to move on and that’s just when they’re playing nice. If it were not an entertainment venue in which you waive all liability, this hands-on experience could be classified as assault. I experienced hands wrapped around my throat from someone i couldn’t see while others had knives held to their throat. Yes, this is an experience you’ll pay for and I loved every minute.

The Haunted Hotel has a basic theme that the concierge orates for you when you first enter. Simply put, he cannot leave so neither will you. The premise is delivered almost artistically, while he puts you in a line against the wall and takes his time telling his story. He was fantastic in his delivery and very invasive. We were already being touched and we hadn’t moved more than 15 feet.

The decor itself is what you would expect – various rooms with clutter and a balanced mix of props and actors. It’s very dark, dingy and disheveled which works well. There isn’t an over-abundance of actors either. This leaves you in a state of anticipation as you enter each room since you don’t know what’s coming. When an actor IS there, you know pretty quickly.

The actors carry a level of aggression that I have never seen in a haunt before. They are not timid one bit about getting if your face, shoving you, screaming at you or banging metal pipes against whatever objects will resonate the loudest sound. This is all of course when you can SEE the actors. Some are reserved for the moments when you are engulfed in total darkness.

The length was entirely surprising. The Haunted Hotel has 3 floors including the basement and every square inch is strategically utilized to create raw visuals and provide the necessary opportunities to startle you, the visitor. From the outside, it looks as if the haunt wouldn’t last half as long as it does. As if the house itself wasn’t enough, an exterior at the end has been constructed to provide narrow plywood-walled walkways in which you will be chased and disoriented.

Thia haunt is not for everyone. The touching, the confinement, the sense of invasion – all of this brings a very chaotic environment to a space that doesn’t have a whole lot of open area. It creates an atmosphere of claustrophobia and anxiety that visitors of conventional haunts may not handle well. Most haunted house attendees feel secure in knowing it’s all observational and no actor can touch them. Not only does The Haunted Hotel go out of its way to ensure its actors touch you, it’s done so forcefully that you’ll want to take a shower immediately following.

THIS is the kind of haunt that more people should know about and be attending. We saw substantially longer lines at more commercial haunts that didn’t come close leaving the brutal impressions that The Haunted Hotel left behind.

The Haunted Hotel felt like Louisville’s best kept secret haunt. It’s time to let the skeleton out of the closet.

Gayle
I don’t know where to begin. Upon arrival, the house itself was a rather unassuming old building, save for the chainsaw-wielding lunatics approaching guests as they wait in line to enter. The anticipation builds as waiting guests listen to the blood-curdling screams coming from within and one group after the next “checks in”…but seemingly never “checks out”. As soon as guests enter, they are taken to the elevator which carries them to the 13th floor. The elevator experience ALONE was enough to cause the two men entering prior to our group to flee from the front door, leap the fence surrounding the front lawn and run down the street…leaving the third of their group to his own devices. This is a full-on, in-your-face, intense experience from the word “BELLHOP!” You will be touched, you will be grabbed, you will get wet, you will be shocked and you will be chased all the way out the door….in the absolute BEST way possible. In all my years of visiting haunts, I have NEVER been to one so creepy, so scary, so awesome. The owner and actors have out-done themselves and should be proud of what they’ve created here. The length of the haunt was sufficiently long and unexpected and with every twist and turn I was both impressed and freaked way the heck out! I don’t want to spoil anything for those considering a stay at this hotel…but coming from Cincinnati, this haunt alone was well worth the nearly 2 hour drive, however, I assure you, is NOT for the faint of heart.

Daryl
This was the best haunted house I have ever been to in my 52 years of living.

Andy
This was hands down the best haunt I’ve ever been to! From the start you never knew what was around the next turn. I would have to say that the very beginning was my favorite between the bell hop and the elevator. See you next year!!

Gina
When we were headed to the Haunted Hotel in Louisville, KY, the first thing I was told was that it was a “little house in Kentucky”. This made me wrinkle my nose. A little house? How is a little house going to scare me?

Well, it’s true what they say: big things come in small packages.

The place looks small. It’s so small and unassuming that if it weren’t for the sign in front that reads “Haunted Hotel”, you might just drive right by thinking it was a regular house without knowing you had just passed up this gem. As I stood in the short line waiting to get in, we were entertained by a couple of guys with chainsaws, the smell of gasoline hanging heavy in the air. I watched as three young men were ushered into the “hotel”, the door sliding shut behind them.

Less than five minutes later, two of the young men ran out, yelling they were done, as they jumped the line barricade and crossed the street.

This piqued my interest immediately. Either it was fabricated or this place was really that good.

We entered the hotel and were immediately grabbed and thrown against a wall. We were told that the actors can and would touch you, but I wasn’t prepared for this. Sporadically throughout my venture in the hotel, I was grabbed, touched, smelled, shoved, even caressed as I made my way through this place, shocking to almost every sense. The actors were incredible, not too overbearing and not asleep either, as is the case with other haunts. Every room was fun to look at and be in and never short on scare. The length of the haunt also impressed me. The hotel is much deeper than it appears and as we walked outside I thought we were done. But nope, we were only being chased again, only to go right back into the hotel for more fun.

I absolutely loved this haunt and plan on going back again very soon.

Gus
If not for the line out front, you might drive right past this unassuming haunt thinking this is just a residential home. That would be a huge disservice. The Haunted Hotel is not for the feint of heart. We watched one group go in the front door and after about a minute several of the group came running out the front door. From this moment, I knew this was going to be different haunt. This is a full contact, in your face, type of establishment and you know it right away. Our group was pushed up against the wall as we first entered while the actor searched us for his key to escape the hotel. The full contact really ups the fear factor. I do want to stress that even though the actors could touch you, they did so professionally to creep you out, and add to the effect. This haunt really had it all: full contact, length, highly interactive actors, and environment. When our group finished, several were physically tired and covered in sweat, and others were applauding. For me, this was the highlight of the Louisville tour.

Frightmaster
This haunt was beyond a doubt one of the best haunts we have been to so far this year! They do touch you here so be warned if you are squeamish about being touched this is probably not the haunt for you. They really push the envelope for haunts but what they deliver is a knock your socks off and scare the pants off you haunted house! We were also impressed by the creativity of the rooms, the professionalism of the actors and the overall creepiness of the place. The haunted hotel is much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside as well so you get a very long haunt experience so extra value for the $$. This haunt is intense, scary, terrifying and fun. The elevator room experience gave me nightmares! Make a trip to the Haunted Hotel this year and pray you make it out alive!

Overall score: 4.88 Skulls (Frightmaster Award Candidate!)

Check out our photos from this trip!

Visit their web site at hauntedhotelky.com

4 Responses to “Haunted Hotel 2013 Review”

1. Kristen Warf says:

   October 4, 2013 at 8:47 am

   We loved having you guys and are glad you had such a good time 🙂 Come back and see us anytime this season 🙂 -Daphne (black eye’d, mini hat wearing, Hotel Manager)

   Reply
2. Noah Heath says:

   October 4, 2013 at 10:55 am

   So glad you came to see us and had such a great time! We loved scaring you as much as you loved being scared. Come back and see us soon, and this time BRING MY KEY! 😀 – Decay

   Reply
3. Andy says:

   October 8, 2013 at 5:31 pm

   You were both great! Thanks for having us!

   Reply
4. Tammy says:

   November 1, 2013 at 10:45 pm

   What a great haunt!! Thank you for a great night!! You all were fantastic!

   Reply