The Haunted Hotel, located on 3000 S 4th St, is rated as one of the scariest haunted houses in Louisville. With many 5-star reviews and one reviewer saying, “One of the most amazing experiences EVER!” my interest was piqued, so me and a few of my friends went to the Haunted Hotel to see if the fame it was getting was deserved.
The first things we were met with when we arrived were the screams of people leaving the haunted house and a creepy dimly lit building. The line, which took about 25 minutes, was much shorter than other haunted houses, which have lasted up to 2-3 hours. The line also felt shorter than others because there were actors outside scaring people which took your mind off the wait. The great experience continued once we got into the haunted house. You could tell that they spent a lot of time on decorations and the actors cared a lot about what they were doing. One thing we kept getting warnings about was being touched in the haunted house. There were disclaimers when buying tickets and signs posted all around the building. These disclaimers were well warranted because I was touched, grabbed, and shoved multiple times as I went through. This wasn’t a bad thing, though, because the touching added to the Haunted house making some parts scarier.
Although it was a great time, this experience wasn’t without its flaws. There were some situations that made the experience less immersive and scary. In some parts of the haunted house, there was too much lighting, and you could see the person who was about to jump out and scare you. In another part there was a staff member who was not an actor walking through the haunted house and talking to some of the actors as we were going through. We were also very close to another group that was in front of us as we were nearing the end, so the actors weren’t reset and ready when we got to them.
Overall, I would Give the Haunted Hotel a 4 out of 10 on scariness because of the flaws I mentioned before. On a fun scale, however, it gets an 8 out of 10 because it’s a great bonding experience to have with friends, the actors were very into it, and the ambiance was creepy and unique. I would recommend this haunted house to anyone who is unsure about scary things as it is a good way to get into them. If you do decide to go, make sure you are in a group of six or less or else you will have to split up. You can buy tickets for $25-30 at hauntedhotelky.com.
