Nile Nightmares Review (2022)

With the cast, it was a hit or miss rather there were enough actors in a particular scene. Sometimes scenes would be teeming with actors while others could have afforded a few more. With how the haunt was set up, it wouldn’t be easy to shuffle around actors between scenes once the haunt opened. But, we would have liked to see the actors spread out a bit more.

Actors were often stationary within the various scenes which added to our impression that there was a lack of actors. There were a few more chatty actors, particularly in the slaughterhouse and the pirate ship. At both locations, there was someone posted out front to engage with customers entering that section. There was a particularly good Jack and Jill scare outside the slaughterhouse that got a couple of our teammates.

The costumes fit the characters well and there weren’t any wandering characters – those that didn’t belong to their scene. There even were a couple of creature costumes. However, there were opportunities to have a couple of larger-than-life creatures to add variety.

With the broad variety in scenes, there, too, was a large variety in the costuming. Two of the standouts were the pirates and the clowns. Each pirate had details that made them unique, from the captain out front that hurried us onto his ship to the barmaid who carried a tray of drinks. The pirates were made up to look ghostlike like they were echoing a time before their ship was under siege. The clown costumes were wonderfully complex with a lot of tattered, colorful layers that played with the blacklight. There was one clown in a mask but the rest of the clowns we encountered had detailed makeup created for each character. One of our teammates was even caught off guard by Anubis when he went in to inspect if the creature was a prop or alive.

From clear signage to friendly staff, Nile Nightmares did a fantastic job taking care of its customers. Within the haunt, there weren’t any issues this year with mud and a slippery path. The most significant safety issue was a powerful light directed up toward the parking lot – making it difficult to see where we were going. The light was definitely needed, but changing the location of the light would have helped.

It is easy to navigate the haunt with these huge spotlights and the location is right off the I-5 Montlake Terrace exit. We were able to find all the information we need on their website. One thing that is important to note is that the website format is a bit off depending on the screen size used to view the site.

A point of excellence for the Nile Nightmares has been their midway area. It is difficult not to be drawn into the party atmosphere of the midway. We will speak more on the midway a bit later. The midway prepared us for the haunted house experience and allowed us to hang out after going through the haunt itself.

Inside the haunt itself, there was a better flow between the scenes than there was last year. Instead of dead zones between sections, there were solid walls and fence barriers decorated as extensions of each section. It made the entire attraction more cohesive.

An excellent example of this expanded transition is the path leading to the pirates. There was a graveyard scene with animatronic skeletons digging graves and the sound of cannonballs firing ahead of us. There was a dock that led up to a ship structure with vegetation jetting out from beyond the wooden planks.

There are notable instances where sound effects were well implemented within the haunt. The transitions from one theme to another had excellent use of music that related to the scene ahead. One example of this effect was on the way to the slaughterhouse. There was a small shack off to the side with a lone rocking chair that was lit up by flood lights. We were able to hear a lone banjo playing slowly. All this was a distraction from the actors that were scaring along the path.

The 3D clown section was more polished than it was the previous year. The setup also allowed patrons to move more easily without bottlenecks. The contrast between the 3D airbrush artwork and the set pieces blended better this year, instead of having a jarring difference.

New this year was the pirate section, Dead Man’s Cove. This section had the immersive path leading up to a broken and worn ship. The facade of the ship was realistic – looking like it was wrecked right there with no water in sight. Actors were standing on deck overhead hurrying us to get in as new mates trying to earn our sea legs. Our team agreed that this was the most impressive scene in Nile Nightmares.

To be honest, our team didn’t find this attraction too intimidating, but mileage will vary. There were a few moments when one of us would jump at an actor coming out of the wall or a scarecrow sprinting to life. Most of this was dampened by the fact that the majority of the cast were not active or engaging.

There was some animatronic use, but it didn’t line up with the areas where actors were sparse. However, if you are the type of person who is creeped out by things leering from the shadows, the creatures that live in Nile Nightmares will find you.

It took us 17 minutes to get through Nile Nightmares. At the cost of $25 for regular tickets, the minutes per dollar ratio comes out to .68. The national average is 1 minute per dollar, but it is around the same pricing as other attractions we visited in the area this year.

We mentioned this earlier but included with your ticket is access to the midway. Nile Nightmares often has guest artists – bands, DJs, and fire eaters that make appearances throughout the season. We spent some time watching the troupe of sliders (Northwest Possessed) doing the thing that they do – making people jump. On our way out, we were able to catch fire eaters performing in the middle of the midway. They definitely drew a crowd.

Something that was new to us this year was a pair of close-up magicians. Nile Nightmares have had tarot card readers for a few years now, but these magicians offered something different. The magician’s tent was located right at the exit of the haunt. There was a magician, wearing a turban, who sat outside talking to those waiting to enter. When we got to the front of the line, he asked us if we wanted to sit in silence for several minutes or listen to his terrible spiel – his description, not ours. We can confirm that his spiel was not terrible and it was better than standing in silence. The magician explained that they didn’t want to do anything but provide a bit of a vacation from reality – which was a great way to describe our experience.

If you feel like spending some extra money, there are also escape rooms and axe throwing. We spent a few hours at Nile Nightmares while taking in the midway and the haunt itself. It was exciting to see how they grew over the last year, and we are waiting with anticipation about what else they have in store for the future.