Gorgas Street Horror Review (2023)

We bumped into a decent amount of actors and quite a variety of characters for a shorter attraction. The monster menagerie included crazed miners, demons, chainsaw attackers, scarecrows, nuns, and nurses, plus a couple of their victims.

In the opening scene, a shell-shocked and injured miner told of the soul-shattering sights and experiences awaiting us. We also got our first glimpse of the evil undead(?) miners who popped up throughout the trail.

Actors threw out insults by questioning our lack of brains and abundance of foul odors and swung weapons with bloodlust. We enjoyed the cast’s effective, fun, and scary performances. The nun shrieked and groaned at high decibels, the crossroads demon gleefully separated us into groups headed to heaven or hell, and the nurse pursued us with a syringe before turning it on an actor victim. Those characters especially stood out, but everyone did a good job in their role.

Costuming efforts yielded solid and pleasing results. Faces got done up with airbrushing, some latex applications, and masks. Full and character-appropriate apparel covered most of the cast from head to toe, other than a couple pairs of sneaks.

The evil miners wore full jumpsuits and boots with job-suitable implements (like a pickaxe) and sported face coverings like a gas mask with goggles; one of them watched us with eerily red-glowing eyes. The nurse’s dingy outfit looked like it received a lot of natural distressing, and they had a gross tube coming out of their mouth.

The scarecrow looked just as a scarecrow should, and a tentacle-faced and bloody-aproned chainsaw miscreant made for a memorable appearance. An old guy with a scraggly beard, bloody teeth, and a wicked club that looked an awful lot like Lucille made quite a visual impression.

Gorgas Street Horror is located in Louisville, Ohio, on the eastern edge of Canton. GPS took us right there. To avoid confusion, please note that it sits in Metzger Park, a city park on South Nickelplate Street, not Gorgas Street! We believe that name is a legacy/carryover of the home haunt location out of which this haunt grew.

A police car with flashing lights out front and crowds of people converging told us we were in the right place, but we don’t think there was any signage on the street. Free parking is available on the asphalt lot at the park. You might need to use your phone flashlight, as the city-controlled overhead lighting may not come on until after the haunt’s opening. Adjacent to the lot, you will find everyone’s favorite creature comfort: permanent restrooms.

Following lights, noise, and other people led us to the ticketing/merch kiosk, past some food booths. GA and VIP lines were clearly marked from the ticket tent. Everyone we talked to, from ticket sellers to ticket takers to concession workers, was helpful and talkative and seemed pleased to be there.

The trail felt smooth, even, and relatively free of roots and the like. That benefit may come from being in a city park rather than a wilder area. Whatever the reason, we gladly welcomed the relative ease of the walkthrough.

Gorgas Street Horror is on Facebook –- where visitors can find most of what’s needed for their trip –- and YouTube.

Roaming actors, a costumed door person, and an entryway framed by skull-topped pillars prepared us adequately for haunt goodness on the way. We were also invited (via a QR code) to listen to an explanation of the backstory, which was delivered well by a deep-voiced speaker.

The beginning set, a realistic and cleverly constructed cave/mine shaft with props, convincing actors, and a couple of quick scares, helped move us into an immersed mind frame immediately. We encountered only a couple of relatively short spots that didn’t have much going on.

Winning effects, on-point actors, and frequent scare opportunities carried into an overall immersive walkthrough. The exit let us out in a rather dark, bare spot halfway between the parking lot and the entrance area.

Gorgas Street Horror brought a strong effects game to the evening’s festivities. As would be expected of an attraction that grew out of a home haunt, most of the effects and sets are handcrafted. They impressed us by showcasing a high level of skill and ingenuity. The many skeletons lying around looked especially skanky and gross. There are no shiny white medical specimens here.

Some of our favorite effects were the initial mineshaft scene that was quite evocative of an actual cave, the sinister yet darkly festive pumpkin grove, an unholy church concealing several nasty surprises, a tall bat-winged demon prop in the Hell set, and a figure with its skin pulled over the top of the head and the tongue dangling out of the lower skull. Gnarly!

We did not hear a ton of sound effects. Some soundtrack samples included guitar-forward heavy metal and your typical eerie haunt music, all quite apt for this place.

This attraction delivered a good amount of scares, mostly from distraction and jump scares, along with a short bout of group separation.

We got spooked by a smoothly concealed and timed drop window; an actor displayed total commitment by laying flat on the ground until it was time to get the drop on us. The nurse slowly stalked us with a syringe at the ready, then rushed us while screaming and groaning again and again, right in our faces. Repeat appearers and steady pursuers include the evil miners, pumpkin-head person, and a skull-faced, red-robed apparition that appeared out of nowhere with striking looks and a malevolent air.

General admission costs $10. Yes, $10! That is the second time we entered an attraction for a measly ten-spot this season and came away well satisfied. We walked the trail in 13 minutes for a respectable MPD (minutes of actual attraction time per dollar spent) of 1.3. Quite a good number when considering the high level of entertainment.

Some dates feature daytime activities for families. Otherwise, the outside-the-attraction entertainment includes wandering actors, photo ops, and food/candy stands. The food trailer when we were there, called DJ’s Snack Shack, is named after the owners’ child who passed away from cancer, and part of the proceeds get donated to research to combat that scourge. They sell yummy and extremely affordable refreshments.

This was a first-timer trip for us on the weekend before Halloween. We are glad to say we enjoyed it a lot! The actors were fun, and the effects were creatively built.

Gorgas Street Horror checked off our two most important questions for any attraction: did we have fun and get some scares? Done and done, and now we have another well-done haunt to revisit.

It is a real joy to uncover places like this that are clearly a real labor of love. Thank you to Gorgas Street Horror for showing us some real Halloween spirit right before the holiday.