Fright Haven is billed as the largest indoor attraction in Connecticut with 20,000 square feet. This was its ninth season in its current location, what used to be a fitness center. But what this place has turned into now is probably not good for your health… other than the cardio provided by running away from maniacs. (*Official legal disclaimer: The rules at any haunt include no running.)
Part of the proceeds go to the local police department and the Connecticut Burns Care Foundation. Fright Haven switches up themes from year to year. They presented two attractions this season, starting with Hotel Hex. There, we investigated an inn with insinuations of missing persons and human sacrifices swirling around it. In Witching Hour, dark magic reared its head at a house rumored to have had a coven as its former owners.
We visited on Halloween. It was a treat, and of course they had plenty of tricks in store for us!
The acting troupe was a little understaffed due to trick or treating responsibilities – good on you, haunt parents! We came across some spots that could have used a live creature, but it really didn’t seem too depopulated. More importantly, the ones who were there met us with engagement and energy. We had fun with these funky freaks. They must have been channeling those Halloween vibes!
First up, the pleasant hellevator operator switched things up and confused us a little by saying “going up” – don’t these devices always go down?? Followed by faking us out with a scare lunge disguised as a stumble when the ‘vator was tumbling around. And finally sent us on our way with a cheery “enjoy your stay!” An effective and amusing initial interaction.
Maybe the cast wasn’t feeding off just the holiday vibes but also the former gym vibe, because they put on a potent physical exhibition. Leaping off walls, balancing on bridge beams, jumping and whirling into a knife-brandishing crouch – we got tuckered out just watching them.
A living/possessed doll tottered toward us in robotic fashion, an excellent physical performance. The doll matched that automaton-like style by speaking to us in a halting mechanical voice as if its string had just been pulled. Super creepy! A set of terrible twins moved, and spoke and screamed, in perfect lockstep. It was deliciously freaky how synched up they were.
We enjoyed some other interesting conversations, as well. Our bald team member repeatedly got called ‘egghead’ in a taunting tone. The most bizarre talk we had came out of an encounter with a goat owner. This person introduced us to their goat (carcass), which was strung up from the ceiling. They asked if we liked it and we said sure, do you make your own goat cheese? That got us a puzzled look and an affectless, matter-of-fact statement of, “I can’t, he’s dead. I ate him, but I loved him so much I had him hung here.” All righty, then!
How complete, unique, detailed were the costumes, accessories? – (35% of score)
Were the masks, makeup creative, detailed, realistic? – (30% of score)
How appropriate were the costumes for the respective scenes, themes? – (20% of score)
How believable-, detailed-looking were the queue actors? (See Note if N/A) – (15% of score)
Outfits appeared appropriately grimy, dirty, bloody, and soiled – especially the hotel staff and guests, who certainly seemed like they had not left the hotel for a mighty long time. Artists had done their job well, applying makeup that created a full look with shades and layers. We also saw several grotesque masks of the sewed-up face and dead skin variety.
The hellevator operator looked quite dapper in a jacket and red fez. The ghostly twins wore duplicate old-timey little girl dresses. A phantom in white really stood out in the filthy environs. And the living doll was done up to match life-size and pint-size props in the made-our-skin-crawl doll room. Overall, a very nice job indeed!
How easy was it to locate, park at, navigate the premises? – (25% of score)
Safety (Only dock points for TRULY DANGEROUS hazards!) – (30% of score)
How professional, helpful, friendly were the staff members? – (25% of score)
How easy was it to find pertinent information before arrival? – (20% of score)
Fright Haven is located in Stratford, Connecticut. The site is in the very back of a shopping center, so keep going until you see the colorfully lit up building. We didn’t see a sign on the way in, but the attraction’s name is painted onto the top glass of the building. There’s lots of free parking available.
A small outside queue gives way to the ticketing area, which then leads to the attraction queue. The set-up is sufficiently stupid-proof for even the dimmest of bulbs. There are some steps and inclines, and a tilting floor that gets activated once or twice when you’re on it, but generally you can see these things coming.
Fright Haven operates an attractive, informative website and a responsive Facebook page.
How well did the pre-haunt areas ("vibe") prepare you for the attraction/s? – (25% of score)
How obvious, creative, believable was the storyline? (See Note if N/A) – (20% of score)
Were you completely, consistently immersed inside the attraction/s? – (40% of score)
How well did the "vibe" flow after, between the attraction/s? – (15% of score)
A shopping area surrounded by main roads and businesses is not the scariest place you can imagine, unless it happens to be Black Friday. But once we enjoyed the company of a few queue actors out there and then got past the retail area and parking lot, it’s properly haunt-y inside: filled out with props, lots of fun photo ops, moody lighting, and a garish neon red hotel sign with one of the letters burned out adjacent to the attraction queue.
The queue actors we met with, both before and after the attraction itself, provided lots of entertainment. They shoveled our hoodie pouches full of the candies they were giving away on this Halloween night, and made a game of trying to toss the candy pieces into guests’ mouths. Human cornhole! Well, something doesn’t sound quite right about that phrase, but it was fun times anyway.
Inside, the fun-lovin’ scare actors captured our attention with their physical and spoken performances, alongside excellently distressed walls, nicely integrated set details, and the rapid sequence of scenes with minimal ‘nothing’ hallways.
We could follow the hotel story pretty clearly, if not to the extent of the backstory offered online, but it was a little hard to tell where the two attractions stopped and started. The witchy attraction’s theme did not seem to be reinforced much by the actors, but a good amount of the settings and props suggested witchcraft afoot.
The exit gave out to a merch shop with a coffin simulator and escape room attached. From there, we made our way out the back of the building back to parking.
How effective were the sound effects? – (20% of score)
How realistic were the scene designs, details? – (30% of score)
How effective, realistic were the props, animatronics? – (30% of score)
How well did they use creative, special, sensory effects? – (20% of score)
The lobby check-in desk, where we were held for just a moment before being sent into the hellevator, looked great and set the tone for what was to come. Which is to say: realistic surroundings, distressed furnishings, and a clinging sense of dingy discomfort.
We had to admire the work done on the walls of this place, with its very realistic looking simulated stonework, exposed slats, effective distressing, and the like. Set detailing likewise set a high bar. And speaking of bars, the bar set wowed us. It featured a long wooden counter and what looked a lot like a Dr. Gonzo mannequin (a.k.a. Hunter S. Thompson of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas fame) complete with fedora, garish shirt, and cigarette holder dangling out of his mouth, pouring a bottle of glowing liquor into a severed head. We also observed humorous signs for beers like Miller Low Life and Killa Artois in the bar.
Other great sets included the room full of awful dolls, Bone Daddys BBQ (foreshadowed by a logoed food container in an earlier room) which did not look like an eatery you would want to order takeout from, and a vomit-worthy bathroom with a severed head in the sink and a mannequin sitting on a toilet who looked distressed in a different sense of the word!
We also saw monstrous spiders and their webby handiwork, giant milkshakes with ugly leering faces (!), witch dummies tied to stakes who looked like they were about to go up in flames, a couple of fat blob figures in beds, a bridge that had us rocking and rolling, a bed that glowed ominously from underneath, and a wild assortment of animatronics that bent over backward, swung down from the ceiling, and shook in violent seizures.
A diverse selection of music played during our visit, from perky organ tunes to echoey piano pieces to thumping dance music in the bar. Air cannons, animatronic noises, and deafening screeches were just some of the sound effects employed.
How scary was it? – (35% of score)
How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? – (15% of score)
How predictable were the scares? – (25% of score)
How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? – (10% of score)
How strong was the ending / finale? – (15% of score)
The realistic environment, quick scene refreshes, fruitful hiding spots, and spooktacular mood conjured by music and lighting set up good scare opportunities that were delivered by the physical daring of the performers, sudden noises, wack-a-doo animatronics, and one jarring prop-or-not moment carried out perfectly by the actor.
Fright Haven touched many fear nerves, among them spiders, dolls, disquieting little kids, frightful beasties wanting to tear you limb from limb, hive minds (those twins, though!), death by fire, harmfully horrible hygiene habits, heights and unsafe bridges, and – for those with very specific phobias – (1) evil milkshakes and (2) getting booze decanted into your decapitated melon like it’s a rocks glass.
How satisfied with the entertainment provided by the MAIN attraction/s? – (50% of score)
How satisfied with OTHER entertainment INCLUDED with the ticket price? – (25% of score)
How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s? – (25% of score)
We got through Fright Haven in 14 minutes. With a $25 general admission, the MPD ratio (minutes of in-haunt entertainment per dollar) came out to 0.56, one of the lower ones we’ve seen this season. We got highly entertained, though, especially by the spirited acting crew. We’d also like to note that when we went back to the last review this site did – from 2016 – we discovered the price had not gone up at all after eight seasons. That’s amazing, especially after the inflationary hell of the past couple years!
Bottom line: we had lots of fun here, especially with the queue actors. Thank you, Fright Haven, for helping us celebrate the holiday! We would definitely seek out this attraction if we lived near Connecticut, and will revisit if we find ourselves in the nutmeg state again during haunt season.
411 Barnum Avenue Cutoff, Stratford, Connecticut 06614