The Edge of Hell continues to prove why it’s a Kansas City staple, delivering an experience that is equal parts terrifying, theatrical, and unforgettable. The 2025 season is jam-packed with relentless scares, stunning effects, an excellent cast, and an intense experience that continues to bring us back to the area every year.
Visiting during the Queen of Haunt’s birthday weekend made the night even more special, and only elevated the energy throughout our visit! It truly felt like a celebration of her, the spooky season, and everything that makes haunted attractions wonderful!
With larger-than-life monsters, flawless set design, and performers who live and breathe their scenes, the experience never once lets you breathe easy. Edge of Hell doesn’t just deliver scares, it delivers a spectacle you don’t want to miss. Keep reading if you want to go through our journey this year at The Edge of Hell.
The cast here did not and cannot let you down! Scares and interaction galore, they are not afraid to actually have back-and-forth dialogue with you in their scenes. Never once did I feel rushed out of a room because they were unprepared. Each actor was on top of their game!
Even from the start of the attraction, before you enter, the queue actors know the perfect time to strike and interact with the line. We love Rat Lady, and her adorable rats: Biscuit, Gravy, and Smores. She is a key part of this attraction, and we look forward every year to getting to see her. We also enjoyed the fire dancer and the other rotten gentleman who was with Rat Lady. He was funny and we enjoyed bantering with him.
We enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera near the beginning. That cape flourish was top-notch, and we appreciated how he used it to guide you through his room. We especially loved it each time he would cover us with his cape, threatening to whisk us away! Don’t underestimate him, though. This is not the Phantom from the movies. This is a much more monstrous version, growling and breathing down our necks while not moving as any ordinary man would!
The snake tamer was also a very fun interaction we had this year. Watching us and jumping along the set around us. She was fully in control of the scene and gave you a sense of unease.
The cast is spooky, but they are also just so fun to chat with! Especially with recurring characters like Grandmama and the Father, Son, Holy Spirit himself. And wow, the actor at the end with the terrifying dragon doing a back bend completing to the floor! She KNOWS the power that jumpscare holds, and she was the right actress to put in there!
We look forward to interacting and seeing the cast every year at Edge of Hell, and this year certainly did not let us down!
The costumes were a great piece in this haunted attraction. Every costume had a story; the actor just brought it to life. No costume looked out of place or cheap in each section. You could tell that personalization went a long way with costuming here. The polka dot man in the 3D polka dot room blended so perfectly with his environment that we didn’t see him until he was screaming in our faces. One of our teammates almost fell over! Good work.
The costuming also felt very appropriate and fitting to each area, not only in theme, but also the costumes looked lived-in. They lived and breathed their environment through their clothes, and that only elevated the immersion!
Each visit we’ve had to these haunted attractions has been met with top-notch customer service. The staff is consistently approachable, attentive, and clearly prioritizes safety. During our most recent trip, a couple of our team members decided they couldn’t finish the haunts, partly from being overwhelmed by the intensity of the houses, and the way the staff handled it really stuck with us. The crew was gentle, encouraging, and quick to help them exit comfortably. One teammate even mentioned how genuinely compassionate and supportive the staff felt during the process.
Go in refreshed and ready because it’s physically intense, and they mean it when it comes to the terrain and things you’ll encounter. If you get claustrophobic or experience sensory overload, this one could be challenging, but very worth it if you are prepared. As mentioned, it is very dark, and you are moving through narrow passages, climbing stairs, and walking on unstable floors. While we found that the attraction itself was very safe, we just ask you to keep these things in mind before you visit.
Information is always readily available on social media or on their website before you arrive at the attraction. Just keep in mind that parking in downtown KC is… Just about the kind of chaos you can expect. You may need to walk a bit between attractions, but we never felt unsafe traversing between haunts and to our cars, especially with the police presence!
We adore the lobby and outside of the EoH. It has truly decrepit hotel vibes with guests to match. It is exquisite, and perfectly spooky. Never once did any scene feel out of place inside, even when you take a brief trip to ‘Heaven.’
Right from the start, the Phantom of the Opera greets you in a grand, dramatic opening that instantly whisks you into this dreamy nightmare world.
The bridge sequence feels like a cinematic set piece, plunging you deeper into this hellish realm, while scenes of torture chambers and ritualistic offerings keep you constantly uneasy. You twist and turn through this world that demands your attention as you crawl your way through fireplaces and caves. Just when you think you’ve reached the bottom, you’re taken through Hell itself before being unexpectedly lifted into a divine Heaven scene: bright, ethereal, and haunting in contrast to the darkness before it. The finale carries you through purgatory, closing the loop on this spiritual descent.
Each section flowed super well, and with the top-tier set design, special effects, and cast, you were truly put into a movie with every area you enter. You must navigate through this hellish nightmare world where each scene flawlessly blends into the next. No detail is spared, even with the transition areas! We were locked in from start to finish, which is a quality the Edge of Hell EXCEEDS in every year.
Do note: if you visit in the early season, the buildings can get hot with the crowds, but the atmosphere is worth every second.
To go into more detail… We love the scenes in Edge of Hell. The rooms are glorious and excellently decorated. The set work in the Edge of Hell is truly incredible. From the caves, the bridge, the UV-painted area, and then the cloudy, whimsical gates of Heaven before spiraling down into the fiery pits of Hades! The Egyptian Tomb was great, and we adored the Giant Snake animatronic. The UV paint on the monsters is a good touch and really makes their scenes pop. The murals were spectacular, and we wish we could take more time to absorb the work that the artist/s put into the walls towards the end. We could just stay in the last area with the starry sky, where the artwork is hidden in the shadows forever. Beautifully done.
Their animatronics are also legendary! They command their spaces well and are only enhanced by the set dressing. The way the animatronics here are used is how they should be used by all haunted attractions that have them. The entrances/exits for each area are so creative. Hidden behind bookshelves, fireplaces, or anything but a standard door, which makes it more fun.
The lights and sounds used for Edge of Hell aid in bringing their twisted world alive. We cannot express enough how much it feels like you are put into a horror movie when you visit, and that wouldn’t be possible without their top-of-the-art special effects!
21. How scary was it? (35% of score): 9.43
22. How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? (15% of score): 7.83
23. How predictable were the scares? (25% of score): 7
24. How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? (10% of score): 8.67
25. How strong was the ending / finale? (15% of score): 8.8
Even as returning guests, this haunt still manages to get the best of us every time. With fresh talent, inventive ideas, and clever use of the space year after year, Edge of Hell never feels stagnant. It constantly reinvents itself while staying true to its roots. The experience is intense, aggressive, and wildly creative, ensuring that even the bravest souls will find something that shakes them.
What impresses us most is that, as seasoned haunt-goers, we rarely get caught off guard by a jump scare we are familiar with… and yet, here, the execution still gets us. That’s the magic of Edge of Hell: no matter how prepared you think you are, it finds a way to pull the rug out from under you.
The walkthrough time of Edge of Hell is roughly 30 minutes. A ticket for just Edge of Hell is $37 regular and $57 for VIP, and can be combined with the other two attractions, The Beast or Macabre Cinema, for additional costs. You can buy tickets online or in person at their ticket booth, which is separate from the attractions and GREATLY reduces crowds and wait time!
They advise that you arrive 1 hour early before your scheduled entry time.
This attraction truly delivers value for the ticket price. The pacing was spot on, we never felt rushed, yet the scares kept coming throughout. We like to take our time soaking in the atmosphere and set design, and it’s always a treat when an actor really owns their space. That pride shines through and elevates the whole experience.
Considering the scale of the production, the cost feels more than justified. The detailed sets, the animatronics, the attention to safety and upkeep, and the sheer number of dedicated performers all combine to create an immersive world that is hard to find anywhere else. Edge of Hell has become a staple in our spooky season, and there is a reason we make it a point to revisit every year and usher friends to Kansas City. Check out Edge of Hell for yourself this year!
1300 West 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64101
