The Chamber of Darkness is different from any other haunt we have been to. They are partially indoor and partially outdoor, and they change at least one scene every week. So, you could visit them every weekend and it would be a different show each time!
This was our first year attending, and we had a blast! This attraction is a light-touch haunt, but you have the option to opt out if you choose. They also cater to all ages. When the actors see a small child coming through, they will decrease the scares presented to that specific group. However, once they see an all-adult group, it’s game over for them!
Do you dare to try and enter this light-touch haunt and face the evil that lurks within?
The indoor portion of this haunted house was generously filled with actors. However, the outdoor portion, in the corn, was lacking in certain areas that could have used more actors to increase the fear. Most of the time, while in the corn, we could hear noises from actors that were at a distance, so they did a good job of raising the terror, but it was still too quiet in some places.
Almost every actor did a phenomenal job of creating a realistic atmosphere. Freddy Krueger and the hotel manager were the most entertaining and interactive actors we have seen! We only came across a handful of actors who would use generic phrases like “Where are you going?” The majority said some really outlandish things like, “That’s alright, we’ll simmer it off!” (when the actor screamed “Dinner time!” and I said I was too fatty). The hotel manager kept popping up throughout the entire haunt to tell us a story, or just to freak us out. Toward the beginning of the haunt, he kept mentioning that I reminded him of his sister and that he hated his sister. Eventually, we met her, and it was terrifying!
A couple of times, when we were going through the indoor portion, the actors kept getting us lost. We were even stuck in a room with many scare actors with what seemed like no way out. Eventually, an actor opened a secret door for us. The majority of the haunt was like this, with the actors being interactive.
Each actor’s behavior differed from the next. There were actors there just for the jump scare, actors that were goofy and made it fun to be there, and there were actors that were crazy/funny and would chase us. There were even actors like Jason and Michael, who would stand in places when you would least expect to see them.
We enjoyed many of the costumes worn by actors. They had a good amount of detail on them, and most of them seemed to fit the actors well. There were a handful that weren’t very detailed, though. We would have liked to see more detail/grunge within the costumes to create a realistic vibe. For example, one actor wore generic clothing, but had on a cool mask.
As with the overall costumes, many of the masks and makeup were detailed and fit the actors very well, but some didn’t quite work. For example, there was a clown that we encountered throughout most of the haunt, but his mask seemed too big. The makeup was stunning on the actors who wore it! We had a chance to interview the owner and were told that they had a professional makeup artist doing their makeup. Very cool!
The costumes and scenes did not work well together for the majority of this haunt. It was fun to see the same actors multiple times, but more often than not, they would come out during a scene that didn’t make sense for them to be in. As mentioned previously, we saw a clown multiple times, but there were only one or two areas where a clown may be found. It seemed like most of the actors were just scattered in different locations. But, some areas worked well, like Jason in the pond area, or the scarecrow in the cornfield, or Michael Myers… everywhere, because that is what you would expect from Michael.
We typed “Chamber of Darkness” into our GPS, and it directed us to their old location. If you’ve never been here before, be sure to type the exact address into your GPS to locate it. The parking lot is easily visible since it is located right outside the main building. There are no clear signs showing where to buy tickets, but they have friendly staff members waiting outside directing you where to go.
During our interview with the owner, we were told they have off-duty police officers, paramedics, and even a couple of actors who are nurses. Overall, this attraction seemed very safe. There were only a few areas that seemed too dark with a possible trip hazard, but nothing terribly concerning.
When we arrived, we were greeted by the staff members, who told us where to buy tickets. Everyone we spoke to, including the guy at the queue, was incredibly helpful. It seemed like a big family there, and they all really enjoyed what they were doing.
The Chamber of Darkness has a website where you can buy tickets online and find important information about the haunt. Here, you can see the address, ticket pricing, dates/times, and rules & regulations. The actors will touch you, but the policy on that was difficult to locate. I had to scroll their Facebook page for a bit before seeing it. They also have policies on ADA accessibility and weather-related closures, but you’ll have to read through their rules & regulations before seeing them.
When we pulled into the parking lot, it was not easily noticeable that we were at a haunted house, except for the sign on the building. However, once we got inside, where the ticket booth was, it immediately gave us spooky vibes. The queue is located outside next to the building, and they had a Halloween movie playing on a TV, as well as music playing on the overhead speakers.
Several areas didn’t keep us immersed in the attraction. For example, we saw and heard a radio go off. We saw houses in the vicinity that you wouldn’t normally see if you were in a haunted cornfield. The cornfield was very quiet and didn’t have much going on. With all that said, however, most of the inside part of the attraction was done well and kept us immersed in the haunt.
Upon exiting the haunt, we came into a gift shop and walked back through the ticketing area. We really enjoyed this because it didn’t make us feel like we had to leave immediately.
The sound effects inside the attraction were decent. There was an overall spooky sound used throughout most of it. That seemed to work well in parts of the attraction, but in others, it didn’t work quite so well. The cornfield was too quiet, and most of the sounds were simply music playing on the overhead speaker. We would have preferred some type of spooky sounds or something to fit the scenes of the haunt.
We found some of the scenes to be a bit bare. There wasn’t a lot of detail within them, and some only had black plastic as their walls. The cornfield was a bit bare. We were told in our interview with the owner that they had trouble growing the corn this year, so that is understandably out of their control. The little town scene was really cool! It appeared as if we were in a small old western village or a small camp.
This haunt did not have any animatronics. The owner prefers to use live actors, and we would agree on this! Sometimes, animatronics don’t work the way you want them to, or they are jerky and look & sound fake. The Chamber of Darkness only used props. Most of the props we encountered were realistic and seemed to fit the scene they were in.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the special effects within this haunt. There were a few areas with some cool lighting, but overall, the special effects weren’t very exciting. We were hoping for cool laser/fog effects, or the use of water (maybe splashing someone), or even a different scent in an area. We did enjoy the train area, though. Be careful once you hear the sound of a train!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 7.75
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 9.5
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 8.38
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.13
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 4.88
The actors did a great job of scaring us! At one point, Freddy asked me, “I scared the f**k out of you, didn’t I?” and truthfully, he did! We were chased with a chainsaw, bombarded by multiple actors, and made uncomfortable with questions we didn’t want to answer. Overall, it was a scary good time!
The great part about this haunt is that the actors don’t seem to single out any particular person in your group. We both received equal amounts of scares. Each actor had a great area within the haunt to scare us. Most of the time, we never saw them coming. Some areas were so dark that they didn’t even need to hide.
There was a decent variety of scares as well. The actors would guide us in areas that we would get lost in, jump out when we least expected it, and follow us EVERYWHERE! This attraction used phobias, jump scares, disorientation, and more!
The ending of the haunt left something to be desired. It wasn’t quite as entertaining as the rest of the haunt, and we were hoping for a more dramatic end.
We were highly entertained at The Chamber of Darkness! The night we went, they had a special discount of $20 per person, but the price is normally $25 per person. We were in the haunt for about 19 minutes and felt like we had plenty of entertainment during that time.
Not including the main attraction, the other entertainment that was included in the ticket price was the movie in the queue, the music, and the decorations. This felt a little boring, but it was still decent.
Overall, we highly recommend The Chamber of Darkness, and we can’t wait to come back next year to see what they have in store for us! Go on and check them out for yourselves!
551 Broadway Drive, Bean Station, Tennessee 37708