The Nightmare Factory Wabash Review (2024)

The cast was in full swing at Nightmare Factory! As we pulled into the ominous parking lot, creatures could be seen lurking in all directions. We were entertained by monsters from the moment we stepped up to purchase wristbands to the moment we exited the haunt. Everyone at Nightmare Factory was ready to “entertain” their guests, and we could not be more delighted to experience the intensely fun and scary energy throughout!

Immediately after purchasing wristbands, we were instructed by two masked beings to crawl through a hearse, acting rather questionable. They were characters of few words, but we felt it best to do as they said, for the tone in their voices was threatening. One followed us to the building with a staff he held up as though we were about to be punished. Glad we did as they said!

Actors of the midway immediately surrounded us in stalker form as we walked toward the first haunt. They made it clear they were in no hurry to let us get to the first attraction. There, we met Lizea with her hellhound baby, Hubrick. She asked if we would like to pet him. Fortunately, Hubrick’s hellhound teeth haven’t grown out yet!

Other standout members of the midway crew included a pumpkin-faced actor with a shovel, a masked actor with a hospital gown who took our co-review member for a gurney ride around and around, a horned monster with large glowing eyes and long fingernails holding a gavel the size of a toddler, a patient with a wood gurney, and a slider in flannel with pigtails and realistic makeup. She swung her wire-wrapped baseball bat around, very Harley Quinn-esque!

In the background on stage was a clown stripper, and around the other side of the midway, a stilted and masked creature swinging with skeletons at her sides. The midway actors played well off each other, never breaking character, and followed us whenever we were not inside an attraction. They pretended to guide us, but we believe they ensured we did not escape!

The actress seated at the entrance to the manor rocked back and forth in her chair, blood all down the front of her dress, throwing her legs up in the air each time she rocked back, and informed us that “my young uns are going to love you!” This lady was rather comically crazed!

Within the attractions were actors demanding to know what we were doing there, screaming nuns, and a large-toothed pig with blood down his outfit! One of our team members played rock-paper-scissors with another cast member, then was asked to stay there forever with her, and she pretended to be joyful, jumping up and down with our dear friend. He said he would stay, but we made him go with us. Did she put a spell on him? Gotta be careful in these places; we have been told there are cursed souls within those walls.

The further we went into the attractions, the more mad characters would appear. We were told, “the wolves have eyes, and they’re all on you,” in one section. We saw someone in a skin mask, the favorite teddy bear of a patient, a woman with a collection of her babies’ heads, crawling beings, and other frightening roles being played out. They did need a sacrifice from our group. We will let those of you who dare to wander Nightmare Factory find out what that means when you go!

We were overall impressed with the cast that haunts Nightmare Factory and could not believe this was only year one for them at this haunt! There was a perfect number of actors, and we experienced some interaction. The energy was nothing short of electric, as the characters were eager to entertain us and ready to pounce! Our team was not clear about the storylines of the characters at the attractions. We also preferred less insistent screaming, with more dialogue as we made our way through. With that being said, the performances given as a whole across the haunt left us wanting more, and we cannot wait to see how they evolve during our next visit.

Oh my. It seemed the factory couldn’t quite keep all of its manufactured monstrosities within its walls… some had managed to escape and were waiting right outside when we got there! While we collected our wristbands, a red-faced demon in a black robe watched us a little too closely. Once we entered the factory and were passing between each attraction, we encountered a crazy crew of midway performers. Among them were a large horned beast with glowing red eyes and a huge hammer, a slider in a flannel shirt with metal studs embedded in their face and wearing SFX lenses, two masked hospital patients in stained gowns, and a towering stilt creature with a goat skull for a face. A favorite among our group was Lizea, who wore an elegant dress, had a veil covering her face, and had her hellhound puppet, Hubrick, in her arms. (We don’t recommend attempting to pet the spicy doggo. Some of us did and nearly lost fingers!)

In Macabre Manor, we saw several characters appropriately dressed in overalls, old-fashioned dresses, and other Southern attire. One deranged soul was covered in a crazy amount of blood – that one left us wondering what the heck was really going on in that house! They did seem a little too eager to have us over… hmm.

Moving over to Unit 713, we encountered a tall, ultra-scary doctor stalking about in a lab coat with his face made up to enhance his menacing glare, along with a few touches of gore. Most of the other characters we came across in there also looked appropriate for the hospital setting, wearing bloody, distressed clothes and scrubs. Some looks between the two haunts were a little fancier than others, but it was easy enough to tell what most of the actors were, and we didn’t see many who appeared out of place.

As we drove through the night, at about 5 miles out from our destination our group noticed something – two bright spotlights were sweeping through the air originating from the same point. “Could that be where we’re going?” we wondered, our excitement building. We were delighted to see that those two lights did indeed lead us straight to the haunt. Even without the bright lights, GPS was able to lead us straight to their large gravel lot for parking. We later discovered that if the gravel lot fills up, other lots are available, and a shuttle service is provided.

We had no trouble moving around inside the massive facility. There was room for an otherwordly creature on stilts to swing, plenty of space for actors to chase us all over the midway (tip: if they challenge you to a foot race, decline! They are FAST), and space for an actual morgue freezer! One word of caution to those of you brave enough to be loaded into the morgue freezer – keep your head flat on the gurney! One of us wanted to watch being loaded in, only to hit their head pretty hard while being slid into the freezer.

The staff was extremely helpful in getting us into the haunt and directing us where to go. We were delighted that even the person in the ticket booth was in character. This set the tone for us immediately upon entering. We found the website had plenty of information before arrival to show us open dates, ticket prices, and location information.

When we pulled up to Nightmare Factory, we had no idea what to expect, but our inner child got giddy with excitement! A giant building loomed over us, complete with a massive skull, large signs, skeletons scaling the walls, a hearse, and multiple monsters waiting to greet us. When we went to find the ticket booth, a door slammed shut, and fog spewed out from another. This was the ticket booth! The attendant, fully in character, warned us that the only way in was through the monsters and… the hearse. You read that right! We had to crawl through a hearse to be granted access to the building! And if we hesitated? “Do it, or I’ll have my monsters make you!” she said. Challenge accepted!

Stepping inside, we were immediately drawn into the midway’s atmosphere! Monsters were everywhere- big, small, and towering tall! Though it may be cliché, we became the definition of fresh meat! They sniffed, circled, scared, and stalked us until we entered the first haunt. These midway monsters were relentless and only fueled our eagerness to dive into the haunts themselves!

They kept targeting us even between haunts, never letting us catch a break. The midway wasn’t just packed with monsters – there was spooky decor, creepy songs to groove to, and a stage complete with a dancing pole and bursts of fog! And if you think you can’t be embarrassed… think again – this place will make it their mission!

While we didn’t receive a storyline before entering either haunt, their website does provide small blurbs on what to expect. Once inside, the flow transitioned smoothly, and the exit led us right past the gift shop and eating area (for when concessions are open). Our final stroll was appropriately lined with creepy heads to send us off!

Inside the haunts, a few things pulled us out of the immersion. The most noticeable was the dance tunes seeping in from the midway – a sound bleed that could be heard throughout almost both attractions. We also spotted some water bottles and personal actor belongings that would’ve been better hidden from view.

One of the first things we noticed upon entering was a real Volkswagen New Beetle crashed into one of the attractions. This was an awesome addition to a scene and immediately piqued our curiosity to get into the haunt. Once inside, we were impressed by the scene designs in the exorcism room and electric shock room. We noticed, though, that the sound from the midway overwhelmed a lot of sound effects in the attractions, causing their impact to be lessened. We won’t tell you where, but one scene did feature one of the loudest train horns we’ve ever heard; that definitely was heard over the midway music! We loved making our way through these haunts, but we would’ve liked to see more interactive or sensory elements, such as smell or tactile pieces, to heighten these scenes to their maximum potential.

The scene design overall was very good. A lot of thought from the creative team went into building these designs, and it shows in the final product. Some scenes have an opportunity for more detail, though, such as including some more prop medical equipment in the surgical scenes. We heard the beeping and alarm of some kind of monitor but found ourselves looking around for it to connect it to the scene. We liked the multi-level scares that were created by having to crawl, duck, and shimmy through certain elements. This gave actors multiple vectors from which to approach us, and they took advantage of it. At one point, we were even strapped to a morgue table and spun as fast as they possibly could, which was an awesome use of props to make a scene interactive. We’re also pretty sure that table was real!

We were terrified the moment we pulled into the parking lot. Creatures flooded the place inside and out. Our group was stalked by characters in monstrous costumes, most swinging items such as super-sized gavels, shovels, and bats in our direction. They did not leave our side from the moment we entered the haunt up until the very last step out of the haunt.

Our team was required to make a sacrifice at one point. One member was placed in a casket, and all of us were rolled into a spot at the morgue! You could say we got the chills in more than one way! Creatures stalked us, blocked us, crawled at us, and screamed unearthly sounds. They were sneaky, too! There were moments we never imagined we were among company, and they would appear out of nowhere. Animatronics would pop out or seem threatening and interactive as well.

We even had a moment to pick our own casket, but why would we need that?? The actors were fascinated with one particular team member, making him quiver, scream, and run! Nightmare Factory offered a wide variety of scares for certain! The main scare would come from the eager energy of the monsters at the haunt, who were insistent that we stay… forever!

The haunts themselves were on the shorter side, and we look forward to more time within the attractions and bigger finales for each in the coming years! Another thing we would like to see within the attractions is more focus for every haunt goer inside, as our group received focus toward the front for the majority of the time. However, we had a phenomenal and memorable night, and we look forward to our next frightening adventure with our new friends at Nightmare Factory!

Fleeing from this factory of frights took our group approximately 11 minutes, including only the two main haunt walkthroughs, bringing Nightmare Factory’s MPD (Minutes Per Dollar) score to 0.31. While this is very low compared to the base ticket price of $35, it doesn’t include the additional entertainment the haunt offers, like their massive midway with a freakishly fun roaming cast and the Selfie Station with numerous photo ops. All of that was also included in a General Admission ticket and we were being entertained as soon as we walked in, so we felt it was worth the cost. We were also impressed by how much this first year haunt managed to accomplish in their opening season – they absolutely have the space and potential to grow into a real beast within Indiana’s roster of haunts.

Marauding monsters, medical experiments, zombies, rowdy rednecks – the list of NIGHTMARES spilling from the bowels of this fiendish factory are endless! Think you can survive everything it has created? Head out to Wabash and pass through the doors of the Nightmare Factory to find out…