When driving down a busy street near downtown Albuquerque, one might see smoke billowing out the door of a boxing studio. Worry not; the building is not on fire; this is The Scariest Place on Earth. This haunt has been bringing frights to the citizens of Albuquerque for many years.
The Scariest Place on Earth has a variety of minions that you can encounter. Some hide within the fog, waiting to pounce, while others are great at hiding in any nook they can find. Most of the actors I encountered had little to no dialogue. It was nice to not hear actors saying get out; most of them had some fairly creative noises they made. The actors that did not speak did a good job of creeping along and staring guests down.
The chainsaw actor was very intense, he was not afraid of personal space. At several points, I was surrounded by actors, which added to their intensity. One standout was an intense Michael Myers, that was intimidating and did a great job of creeping people out.
How complete, unique, detailed were the costumes, accessories? – (35% of score)
Were the masks, makeup creative, detailed, realistic? – (30% of score)
How appropriate were the costumes for the respective scenes, themes? – (20% of score)
How believable-, detailed-looking were the queue actors? (See Note if N/A) – (15% of score)
The costuming throughout the haunt was good. Each actor had a costume that fit with their makeup or masks. Costuming had little wear and tear. Some of the actors also had props that added to their characters.
Makeup was also done with unique details for each character. One unique feature of some of the actors was the use of makeup with a mask. The makeup was well-blended into the mask. When an actor was wearing a mask, it seemed like the actor had makeup around their eye area, adding to the believability of the costume.
How easy was it to locate, park at, navigate the premises? – (25% of score)
Safety (Only dock points for TRULY DANGEROUS hazards!) – (30% of score)
How professional, helpful, friendly were the staff members? – (25% of score)
How easy was it to find pertinent information before arrival? – (20% of score)
Using the haunt’s Facebook page, it is fairly easy to find the address. Using Google Maps or another navigation app makes it easy to locate the haunted house. On the night I visited, there was plenty of street parking in the neighborhood.
In front of the haunted house, there is a ticket counter and a headstone with the rules. The customer service was great and they will happily answer any questions you might have. Once you have purchased your ticket, there is a single queue for the haunt. There are regular posts on their Facebook page for any updates for the attraction.
How well did the pre-haunt areas ("vibe") prepare you for the attraction/s? – (25% of score)
How obvious, creative, believable was the storyline? (See Note if N/A) – (20% of score)
Were you completely, consistently immersed inside the attraction/s? – (40% of score)
How well did the "vibe" flow after, between the attraction/s? – (15% of score)
When walking up to The Scariest Place on Earth, you can see the fog billowing out of the door. Once you enter this old-school actor-driven experience, you navigate through several blood-stained plastic sheets and notice the writing on the walls.
I was not able to notice any theme while walking through. This attraction is focused on actors popping up for a scare while you navigate through the thick fog. I appreciated the music while walking through the indoor portion, it added to the creepiness. Throughout the walkthrough, there are several static props of clowns and creepy dolls. Once you enter the outdoor section of the haunt, there are some very interesting junk yard props, including some that seem to come from a haunted attraction from days past. There are several tents you navigate through with some constricting areas to navigate. These areas were great for some effective scares.
How effective were the sound effects? – (20% of score)
How realistic were the scene designs, details? – (30% of score)
How effective, realistic were the props, animatronics? – (30% of score)
How well did they use creative, special, sensory effects? – (20% of score)
The Scariest Place on Earth is an old-school-style haunt. The use of a combination of thick fog and well-timed strobes are spread throughout the indoor portion of the haunt. There is also creepy music playing throughout. There were also some shadow projections used that were great for a distraction.
In the outdoor portion, several tented areas had several hanging props and a maze of bungee-like material to navigate under.
How scary was it? – (35% of score)
How well did they provide scares to everyone in the group? – (15% of score)
How predictable were the scares? – (25% of score)
How well did they provide a wide variety (types) of scares? – (10% of score)
How strong was the ending / finale? – (15% of score)
The Scariest Place on Earth is a great haunt for families and first-time haunt goers. The scares are not too intense and are more of the startle-type scare. The actors do a great job of distraction scares and I really liked how close the actors can get to you.
When going to haunted attractions, it is rare to be completely surrounded by actors, which is called a monster hug, and the actors definitely were not afraid to get into customers’ personal space without contacting us. The haunt also has a good chainsaw finale.
How satisfied with the entertainment provided by the MAIN attraction/s? – (50% of score)
How satisfied with OTHER entertainment INCLUDED with the ticket price? – (25% of score)
How appropriate is/are the ticket price/s? – (25% of score)
General admission is 15.00 dollars, and the haunt lasted 6 minutes from beginning to end, bringing the MPD, or minutes of entertainment per dollar spent, to 0.4, which is lower than what we see most often (one minute per dollar, on average).
Overall, The Scariest Place on Earth is a good first-time visit or for families that want to introduce their children to a haunted attraction experience.