Team Hallowoosh reviewed this attraction on October 6, 2017.
Final Score: 8.64
Summary:
I’ve been paying close attention to the haunt industry in New England for the last several years now. Every year there seems to be at least one haunted attraction around here that managed to slip by me. In 2016 that haunt was ‘Creeperum Haunted House’ in Hamden Connecticut. I tried what I could to add it to my schedule but it just wasn’t happening that year. Not knowing what to expect I decided to read some short reviews on Facebook and Yelp, which is always a mistake. I wasn’t seeing many positive reviews so I felt a little better about not being able to check it out last year. Something in the back of my mind was telling me I made a terrible mistake.
In February of 2017 we were able to explore the halls of Creeperum for their Valentine’s Day event. Maybe five seconds into the attraction I knew we had made a huge mistake missing out on this place, and that I should never ever read little three sentence reviews on Facebook and Yelp. We feel pretty safe saying we have visited more haunts in New England than anyone else and I can say that Creeperum Haunted House is the most interactive haunt in the area.
We were very excited to come back for their 2017 and we were not disappointed. Looking forward to returning for 2018.
Cast: 9.53
Wow, where do I begin talking about this amazing ensemble of haunters? Much like the Valentine’s Day event, every room had a talented and devoted actor that turned this haunt into something spectacular. Quickly after getting out tickets we were escorted into an elevator room with a fantastic actress. One of the most animated and fun creepy girls I’ve ever met, in a good way. Not only was she the one who guided us into the haunt and gave a tiny back story, but she also gave us the rules of the haunt while doing it. We loved how she could laugh, yell, move around, high voice, low voice, get serious, brush it all off in a matter of the two to three minutes we were with her. Just an all around crazy girl. Perfect way to start the night.
Everyone had their own scene. Nobody was just ‘the actor that pops out of that corner right there.’ We ran into a psychotic doctor who liked to creep on my other half more than me so I just left her with him for awhile as I explored. They like to get really up close and personal. My partner might have been held up for a good whole minute with him but I was having too much fun on the wooden rope bridge around the corner. We bumped into a witch and her giant son, not exaggerating when I say ‘giant.’ She was asking us how we would like to be served ‘sweet or spicy? Ground or filleted? Medium or well done?’ My other half started tell her what to do to me instead, I think it had something to do with the fact that I left her alone with a crazy creepy doctor.
The morticians in the crematorium were excellent. They welcomed us in like we were customers looking to get cremated by the best professionals in the business. The demon that came after the crematory was very impressive. He rattled a long chain like a whip and crawled up and down this cage that we ended up in. He ever flipped upside down to get on top of the cage, it was rather athletic. Later on in the evening we saw him run off a flight of about eight steps into the parking lot like it was a parkour challenge.
My hat is off to the entire cast of Creeperum. We don’t always get great quality actors and actresses with the amount of passion that they bring.
Costuming: 8.62
Creeperum has a wide variety of costumes for their characters. The girl operating the Hellavator in the beginning loves her character’s black corset style costume paired with her makeup that looks like a few burn wounds on her face and chest. The eye contacts and little fangs really put the finishing touches on her crazy character as well. The demon character was shirtless with black pants but it worked the best for his scene. It made it feel like we were in a torture prison and this guy was just into some dark kinky stuff. The fact that we just came out of an incinerator probably means we were in hell. That would make sense since his face was painted red and he had horns. We also really like the spider girl who wore the full spider webbing bodysuit. You have to be able to move in a certain way to make that costume work and she did it very well.
Customer Service: 8.43
I’ll start off by saying that owners Angelus and Kim are some of the nicest people I have met in the industry. They spoke to us at length after we went through and were very hospitable. The ticket booth has a very friendly and polite cashier who told us exactly where to go and how things will play out all with a smile on her face. The haunt is handicap accessible since it is all on one floor and appropriate measures are taken to give the wheelchair bound a great night as well. Fried Dough is right outside the entrance in the parking lot. They even make special pizza fried dough too!
The only bad thing about Creperum is the location. If you haven’t been before, the most important thing to remember is that they are located on the back side of the building. There is no access from the front of the building. Common sense would tell most people that they are not supposed to be behind this building, and it’s a little sketchy because they are located in the middle so there isn’t someone at either corner being obvious. But there are signs pointing where to go and they have their lighting effects shining against the building at night with fog and everything so it’s pretty hard to miss if you are in eyesight of it.
Atmosphere: 7.63
Being located on the other side of an industrial building with not much they can do to make it more obvious, the atmosphere starts out a little questionable. Luckily once we got inside and heard the music playing, the screams and chains rattling we felt at home. The whole mood changes for the better once we meet the actors.
The first hall we walked through is completely decked out with all kinds of creepy decorations. We were waiting for something to pop out as usual but there was something about all the props themselves that made it feel like they might be the ones moving at any given moment.
A lot of the haunt isn’t covered by a black top so we could look up almost the whole time and see the rafters. This does kill the mood a tiny tiny bit, but it’s all for our safety should anything catch on fire for any reason. I liked the fact that at certain vantage points we could look up and see a grim reaper harboring over us.
Special Effects: 8.91
One of my favorite rooms was the freezer with all of the frozen body parts on the walls and shelves. The thing that made it so great was the cooling system they had in place to give the effect that we actually did step inside a freezer. This was right after the scene where we had to decide how to be chopped up for dinner!
The graveyard before the crematory had a projected ghost through a spooky archway I wasn’t expecting and it looks perfect. They even had a little blood fountain running against some of the caskets. The crematory had multiple holes in the wall with a projected fire burning effect.
We can’t talk about special effects without at least mentioning ‘The Hellavator.’ We have been to plenty of haunts that utilize a malfunctioning elevator gag. Some have worked great and some have malfunctions trying to run a malfunction, go figure. But Creeperum’s Hellavator is the most intense one we have ever been in. You WILL need to hold onto something and you WILL feel like you’ve been on a deep sea fishing trip after you exit. Just remember that if you have trouble walking for a few seconds after, That’s the point.
Theme: 7.78
The Creeperum doesn’t seem to follow a general theme throughout the haunt. Although we do start with the elevator operator taking us to the basement. She exclaims that the creatures and monsters in the basement might try to do all kinds of things to us. I suppose the real theme of the Creeperum is that you enter a crazy psycho basement overflowing with monsters and killers and all kinds of things just so you can be burned alive and sent to a demented version of Hell!
Fright Effect: 9.23
Along with the Hellavator ride, one of the more interactive things they put us through was an actual incinerator. The morticians pull out the slab we are suppose to lay on and they push us into the fire. The whole time we were in there we had to stare at a burnt skeleton still roasting above us. I was a little worried about the real chain the demon character was using but it gave the best sounds and really made me feel like things got real. When my partner had to tell the witch she wanted me ground up the witch took my hand and was about to jam it into an actual meat grinder.
This is one of the most interactive haunts I have ever been to. You won’t find anything like it in New England. If you are use to the scare tactics of some other places and they just aren’t cutting it for you then you won’t be disappointed with the show they put on at The Creeperum.
Value: 8.97
The haunt will cost you $20 to go through. It is $33 for a speed pass ticket. We were treated to 17 minutes of great haunt entertainment giving The Creeperum a minutes of entertainment received per dollar spent value of .85. A bit on the low side but the type of entertainment was more than enough to make up for it. Without a doubt you will find Creeperum to be one of the more unique nights of your life.