Okay, hold on to your pants because this is going to be a wild ride. If you’ve never been to Creepy Hollow, I suggest getting in your car right now and driving to Rosharon, Texas because you’ve got to see this! Imagine you’re driving down a highway, it’s dark. The only lights out there besides your headlights is the warm glow from the street lamps, illuminating the highway. There’s no stores and nothing really to look at on your drive out. This is only the beginning of this Halloween delight.
I’ve said it many times over the years, CH is by far one of the most fun places to go for a good scare and a great time. These guys really put their whole heart into this place, as most people around Houston know, they go BIG for local charities. Even after Hurricane Harvey, they went out to help all the people they could while having to rebuild their haunts due to the flooding Houston got. They do huge events throughout the year to help local kids in need, and also all of Houston’s local animal shelters. They truly love what they do. Scaring is caring.
Creepy Hollow’s cast is made up of all volunteers. That being said, we were told there were about 98 people there the night we came through!! They really put their everything into their performances. Not once did any one of the actors that I spoke to break character, and I spoke to a LOT of different people.
Everywhere you go inside of Creepy Hollow’s grounds, you will find some creatures ready to play with you. They’ve got more clowns, more monsters, and more ‘freaks’ than any haunt I’ve been to so far. If you get scared easily, these guys will have you crying!
Watch for Rellik, Willie Vodka, and Koko the Clowns as no matter where you go, they’ll always be watching you. They know you are scared, nervous or worried and they will use every bit of your fears against you. It’s like they can smell them! I watched them chase patrons around for a long time, most of them ending up on the ground, screaming for help, as the clowns danced around them and laughed.
If you want to meet my favorite person out at Creepy Hollow, wait around for Molly. She is CH’s weirdest and creepiest creature who jumped around, screeching in our ears among other things.
Variety of Characters – (35% of score)
Complete, Finished Appearance – (30% of score)
Creative, Detailed Costumes – (20% of score)
Creative, Detailed, Realistic Makeup – (15% of score)
CH puts so much into their haunted house, it’s almost like a movie. The costumes are wonderfully put together. The makeup is fitting for each character and their spot, and I didn’t see any street shoes! Actually, Molly doesn’t even wear shoes! She’s got some tough feet!! Everything down to her toes is covered so there’s no feeling of incompleteness there.
When you come to CH you’ll see that they truly spend a lot of time into making themselves one of the best haunts in Texas. Every year, their makeup and costuming continue to get better. Whatever you’re looking for, CH has it!
If Masks, Effective – (25% of score)
Costumes Appropriate for Scenes, Themes – (30% of score)
Easy to Find, Navigate – (25% of score)
Safety – (20% of score)
Our GPS took us directly to Creepy Hollow with no setbacks. There’s plenty of signs to show you where you’re going, even on the highway. Once you pull onto the street, you’ll see so many cars lined up on both sides that you’ll know exactly where to go. When our GPS told us to turn in the next mile we knew we were getting closer and a blue sign that read, ‘CREEPY HOLLOW HAUNTED HOUSE’ with an arrow pointed in the direction guests need to go. At this point, you will turn and then turn again and continue driving down a two-lane road off the side of a highway. Cars continued to be lined up as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road. There were large groups of people of all ages walking down the middle of the street. By this point, our anxiety and excitement were already blowing through the roof’
Upon pulling into CH’s parking lot, the parking lot attendants waved us in. We were lucky and got a really close parking spot, so no long walk for us. When we got out, we were able to easily find their well-lit ticket booth. Getting our tickets was easy and they were cards on lanyards that go around your neck so you don’t lose them that way.
There were signs everywhere and maps along the common walkways so it was very easy to navigate the grounds.
The staff at Creepy Hollow really want you to have a great time. Everyone I spoke with not only stayed in character the entire time, but they were also very friendly and answered all of the questions we had. They’re really into giving back to the community, so it’s not just part of their show. Their love and friendliness is real. Casper gave us a great tour of their Oddities section, with jokes and stories of each of the weird things he showed us.
There were no true safety concerns that I noticed. CH is a true, two-story haunted house, so there are a lot of stairs you’ve got to go up and down so be mindful of that.
When it comes to finding their information before going, everything was easily found on their Facebook and website.
Staff Professional, Helpful, Friendly – (25% of score)
Ease of Finding Info Before Arrival – (20% of score)
Obviously a Haunt Before Entering – (40% of score)
Prepared for Experience Inside – (15% of score)
When you pull up to Creepy Hollow, you know for sure you’re at a haunted house. Besides the sounds of screams and chainsaws filling the air, and the creepy drive out to their location, you’ll almost feel as if you’re about to walk into a horror movie and possibly never come out. The outside of the haunt only makes you think you’re ready for whatever lies inside those houses.
At the ticket booth, we could immediately hear the evil laughs of the creatures, and see all of these different monsters lurking around in the dark corners. Screams were piercing through the air, and people were running away from whatever it was that might have grabbed them in the dark!
Sound Effects Effective – (20% of score)
Creative, Original Scenes, Props – (30% of score)
Detailed Scenes – (30% of score)
Achieve, Maintain Suspension of Disbelief – (20% of score)
Creepy Hollow used every avenue to try and give their guests a good time. Each haunt and scene made it feel as if we were stepping foot inside a real-life horror movie. Even in the dark areas, there were still details most other haunts wouldn’t have tried.
CH is very good at using all of your senses against you, which I think really adds to the scares and most of all, the fun. From bright lights and dark rooms to noises so loud they made my ears ring, tons of fog, and monsters coming from every direction, we never really knew what effect would be next due to the large variety. They really overloaded our brains here.
There weren’t any oddly quiet places. Sounds were placed to where they set off the feeling of apprehensiveness before you walk into the next room. CH does such a good job at using their settings as a way to include you as part of their rooms, instead of you just walking through. When you step foot inside, you become a part of them and they will make sure you know it.
SFX Effective at Scaring, Entertaining – (35% of score)
Could Tell What Theme Was Without Asking – (15% of score)
Theme Well Executed, Believable – (25% of score)
Location Authenticates Theme – (10% of score)
How Scary – (15% of score)
There are three haunts and a virtual bus ride (complete with a zombie apocalypse) at Creepy Hollow. The haunts include 288 Scare Factory (Heyyy! Almost like The Scare Factor!), Dark Woods, and Pitch Black. Each have their own theme, but unlike a lot of other multi-attraction venues, at CH all three stories twist together!
They really pulled their theming off with each attraction. Plus, their location being out in the middle of nowhere also helps pull it all together. It aids in proving you never really know what’s lurking in the dark out at Creepy Hollow.
More information about the theming behind each attraction can be found on their website.
Provide Scares to Entire Group – (50% of score)
How Predictable – (25% of score)
Variety of Scares – (25% of score)
Working in this industry for as long as I have, you kind of lose your ability to get scared. I personally love to get scared, which is why I started spending time in this industry a long time ago. I can tell you, Creepy Hollow WILL scare you!
I can’t even begin to count the times I screamed or pushed my friends too hard to go forward. At one point, one of the queue actors had one of my friends almost in tears, burying her face into my shoulder thanks to a REAL snake!
The monsters here at Creepy Hollow will touch you, so knowing that alone gets you going but when something actually does grab you in the dark, it’s hard to prepare yourself for that. This helped in keeping a lot of the scare unpredictable. No matter how much you talk yourself up and pretend you’re not going to get scared, CH is one of those haunts that will change your attitude.
The haunt that provided the most scares to our group was 288 Scare Factory. There were so many places in there where we couldn’t see the actors but they could always see us.
Pitch Black will really mess with your mind, as you walk in and it is NOT pitch dark as expected’ Until the end. If you want a truly memorable experience, pick ‘WET’ when going through the end of Pitch Black. You’ll thank me later.
When it comes to the finales, 288 Scare Factory had a crazy, mad chainsaw man chasing us down the hallway to the exit, and he is much faster than you might think! Dark Woods had an incredible ending, as I’ve never seen THAT many chainsaws used for a finale. I swear you’ll think its over, then BOOM! More chainsaws. I think there was about five but I was trying to get away so I lost count. I honestly cannot wait to go back and get scared again!
12872 Valley Vista Drive, Rosharon, Texas 77583