The Asylum Review (2024)

The anticipation of walking up to the entrance of Evansville Nightmare Factory made our skin crawl. Soon to be met with our first creature of the night, Larry. We thought our teammate Phill was tall. This creature was so tall that he almost reached the heavens. We decided we wanted to take a picture with Larry, but not knowing that Larry doesn’t like taking photos very much, he started leaning down and getting right in our faces. We were distracted and then zapped, giving this old abandoned factory fuel to feed our fears.

Walking into the pre-waiting room and then the waiting room itself, we were met with a nurse, investor, and a patient or “friend” of their own, giving us a taste of what our fates might be if we were sure to go in. The patient climbed on top of the chairs and squeezed in, separating our group, occasionally letting her dress fall into our hair. Basil, the investor, one of our favorite actors of the night, teased and taunted our group, preparing us for what awaited behind the doors.

Throughout the rest of the haunt, we were met with more doctors threatening to take our body parts. We were met with demented patients all throughout who showed us what we would be if we, too, allowed the doctors to treat us. Some were fueled with fear, some seemed grateful to be taken from the outside world, and some were just happy to not be alone or have a chance to torment someone else.

One character stood apart from the rest of the cast. We don’t really know what you would call him. Maybe security? His part could have been more transparent, and his interaction with us wasn’t on par with the rest of the haunt. We also saw multiple actors we encountered before popping up in the haunt, each time giving us the same prods and taunts as before.

The cast played their part in this nightmare. They behaved differently, from screams, taunting, banging, scratching, crawling, and more. They interacted verbally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

From Larry with his blood-stained teeth, seemingly to have just eaten a fresh meal, wearing a tall, dirtied hat making him look three feet taller, with a deformed face uniquely styled with blacked-out golden eyes, to the Hilly Billie clown dressed in bloodied-up overalls in the back, most of the costumes were well above average.

The patient sitting with us in the waiting room wore a torn white shirt, a ragged skirt, and lace tights. Her hair was tangled and sleek. From the top of her head to her arms, her hands and fingernails, and the bottoms of her feet, she was a complete nightmare herself.

Most of the patients (friends) in this insane hospital were uniquely dressed up in torn-up gowns, shirts, pants, and other pieces of cloth covering their bodies. None of the costumes looked as if they were store-bought; they looked proficient. The pieces of fabric placed in interesting ways made the experience even more disorienting.

GPS took us straight to the haunt’s entrance, where headlights from a car with an Evansville Nightmare Factory sign directed us straight into the gravel parking lot. The parking staff guided us into our parking space. Once out of the car, the green and blue lights led us straight to the entrance.

All the staff, from ticket staff to vendors, were friendly and helpful, guiding us directly to where we needed to be. Finding ticket prices, directions, information on the haunt, and contact information was just a click to the About section on Facebook or a trip to their website.

The ground outside the haunt was gravel. Things were dim but lit up enough to see where you needed to step next. Inside the haunt, it was mainly apparent in the direction to go. The only time we feared that we could potentially get hurt was when one of our team members almost fell from a dip located an inch or two on the edge of an eerie tunnel.

An escape room, axe throwing, and what they call “The Last Ride” were all displayed outside, but none were functional during our visit. They had a DJ providing music when we returned from our trip inside the hospital. A few drink options were available, and a really cool dude selling some unique candles that smelled unusual in all the best ways.

The investor gave us the storyline in the waiting room. The doctor had fixed his face, so he put much money into this place. He explained that the doctor was taking body parts whether people wanted him to or not. He said sometimes we think we need body parts that we really don’t need. The doctor experimented on our senses and played off of phobias. Although the investor thoroughly displayed the storyline, it was lost in a few places inside the haunt. Some of the areas felt like a haunted hospital or insane asylum, while other parts gave us a circus feel.

From hallway to hallway and room to room, we were met with something or someone that kept us immersed and didn’t give us enough time to anticipate what was next. Our eyes constantly moved from one display to the next experience, and interactions from one friend to the next came rather quickly.

At the end, we walked down a long hallway entirely covered in Graffiti. We felt it was the end of the haunt and felt like we were left hanging. There was a surprise waiting, and it was an unexpected one, giving us more of a complete experience.

Spiders, Spiders, Spiders. What is a hospital without a dusty, unoccupied area with a bunch of spiders? It looked like they were crawling on the ground! A massive spider nest stood up in the corner, approaching our shoulders. The walls beside us were covered in webbing, and it felt like webbing was coming off the roof, touching our faces.

In an operating room, we saw a skeleton lying on the operating table that looked like it had been lying there for centuries. A doctor popped out with what we thought was a femur, and all we could think was that we were going to get boned. We would have loved more bones and props like this throughout.

A few animatronics lay throughout the hospital. A few were locked down on a table, slashing back and forth violently. All the while, strobe lights were activated, and we were bombarded with some more friends.

We were splashed with a lot of mystery liquid. We were blinded. Our ears rang, and then, when the noise died down, it was uncanny.

We didn’t know we could be so overwhelmed and uncomfortable, but we are still willing to go back.

Every member of our team experienced fear at one point or another. It was wicked. Before we even walked in the doors, we were already screaming. Larry, looking down upon us, distracted us with a black tongue and then zapped us, showing us that we were in for a lot of screams.

It was as if the walls vexed us as we walked in the doors to the pre-waiting room. Walking into the waiting room, we were injected and given a “pill” to initiate us. We were threatened that our feet, arms, and kidneys were on the list for extraction. Once we were admitted, we were almost separated. We experienced unheard-of screams and growls.

One room was presented as a chapel. The cross on the wall spun upside down, and we heard some clicking from a nearby presence. We couldn’t get out of the door. We were trapped with this possessed friend. It was beautifully created, and we feared we would be the next victims to become possessed.

Walking down a set of cages, which, from previous research, knew that they held real people at one time, we were splashed—A LOT! We walked next to a crematory and were met with a growl like we had never heard.

Some friends yelled at us to “get out” or “move faster,” and some screamed at us very loudly. Some giggled. We were threatened that we would be losing limbs.

At the end of the haunt, we walked down a hallway for 30 seconds, thinking the haunt was over. As we walked out into the daylight and down the ramp, we thought we were finished and made it out with all our body parts. We then were sent running at a final surprise.

Evansville Nightmare Factory was an experience we will never forget. For us, the main attraction didn’t miss a beat. Although “The Last Ride” and Escape Room weren’t functional when we were there, it would make the experience even more thrilling.

Larry tormented teenagers in the portapotty, which was brilliant to experience.

It took our team 16.16 minutes to escape without losing any body parts. The ticket price is $25 for general admission and $45 for a fast pass. This makes the Minutes-Per-Dollar (MPD) .65. This is a little lower than the average of 1, but with this being the first year they officially opened their doors, it is understandable.

Evansville Nightmare Factory will hold a Black Out Night on November 1st and 2nd. Their page will release more details about the event, and from what I have heard, it will be an even scarier experience for them to go out with a bang this Halloween season!

Also… you should wear your tennis shoes because…THEM BITCHES MADE ME RUN!