Unreal Nightmares Review (2020)

The number of actors that you’ll experience at Unreal Nightmares is actually pretty low, but because there’s a tour guide with you the entire time, it’s a little tougher to measure if they have ‘enough actors.’ Considering the guide, and how many times the rest of the actors made themselves visible to us (do shadow figures count?), we felt they were spaced out pretty evenly throughout the haunt. We did notice several missed opportunities, though, but we presume this was at least partially due to social distancing precautions.

While creating meaningful dialogue with customers wasn’t their strongest suit, we aren’t really sure if we’d have the cajones to stick around long enough to engage with them if it was. While most of their presences were enhanced by the scenes and effects around them (see Special Effects below), we mostly witnessed creepy stares, translucent appearances, strange DISappearances, knocking on the walls, and desperate pleas for help or to play’ except for a couple of stand-outs…

The butcher / cook guy, ‘Isaiah,’ was clearly pissed from the get-go when we entered his scene. Deep breathing, a puffed-up chest, clenched fists, and flying cookware made that one a no-brainer. The scary part is, he was stationed in a room that didn’t have a clear exit path! That’s right’ this was one of the rooms that needed some interaction. Needless to say, trying to find a secret door with this guy threatening to rip us apart limb from limb was quite a challenge, and we’re thankful that one of us remembered which way to go from last year’s visit.

Better still was the actress in the medical scene towards the end. After escaping the clutches of the open heart surgery patient, we saw her ecstatically talking to us from within a (plexiglass-covered) receptionist cubicle. After initially dismissing her as a crazy nurse lady (or maybe she was a patient), we soon realized that the door to exit the room was locked and needed a special code to get through.

(After a quick clue by the tour guide) and some clever back-and-forth deciphering with this nurse, we were able to find the code and escape’ or so we thought. She then escaped her cubicle at the same time and started to belly-crawl, dragging herself behind us for the next 50 feet or so down the hallway, demanding that we return and stay with her forever! Now if that’s not some DEAD-ication, we don’t know what is.

We’ve also gotta give some props to the tour guide, who kept us from dying by giving us clues when we needed them. These guys are able to do so without ruining the interactions, or the scenes as we entered them, by following behind the groups instead of leading them. While we can see the possibility of this allowing customers to run out of their sight, the scene designs keep them from getting too far ahead.

We’d love to see more interactions like these from the rest of the cast in future seasons, if they’re able to implement them as craftily. The only monsters that seemed especially odd this year were the clowns, but we suspect they were in place simply due to being a common phobia.

There’s a reason this is the highest-scored category in this review. These guys are pros at making their costumes! No, really’ They make costumes and sell them professionally at high-end trade shows in the haunt industry. But that’s not the only reason. Nearly every ‘thing’ that we saw was dressed very well for their scenes, often wearing well-detailed and multi-layered outfits that can instill terror into those who dare to look upon them. Even the rule-giver had makeup on (who is also their makeup artist)!

In addition to the not-so-standard doll and cook / butcher outfits, we also noticed an apron made from human skin and faces, some medical outfits, a HAZMAT suit and gas mask (worn by our guide), a full silicone clown mask, and a fully-exposed rib cage on a live actor!

A mix of theatrical and PPE masks are utilized, with the latter being noticed fewer times, but still customized and appropriate when used (such as in the medical area). The most noticeable stand-outs, however, were the stilt creatures that looked like some kind of 4-legged, horrific’ SOMEthing straight out of our worst nightmares, and the monstrous guy at the end with the large, gaping mouth and claw-like tentacles coming out of it that seemed to be just ‘itching’ to get a bite of us! You can get an idea of what these guys looked like in the ‘Promo Pics’ section of our directory listing.

The most obvious detriment that we noticed was the clown guy who appeared to be wearing a more plain t-shirt with his mask, which we caught a glimpse of when he was in his drop panel, and really didn’t think seemed to fit anything when he was out in the open with us. Other than that, we can’t wait to see what else they’re able to come up with by building on their existing creativity and originality!

Google Maps succeeded at getting us to our destination. Free parking is available in a small lot next to the haunt, and some may need to park along the streets on a busy night. This year, a banner and lighting was added above the entrance so it was more clear that we had arrived at a haunted house.

Once inside, very friendly staff got us situated with tickets and made sure we were aware of the rules. They are following COVID precautions and masks need to be worn at all times. All staff members were wearing PPE masks and anyone we interacted with stayed at a safe distance from us. They had some hand sanitizer out for guest use by the ticket window.

This haunt does utilize a tour guide so someone is with your group to help guide and watch you at all times if any emergencies arise. They will also assist you with any questions you have or, if you start to get lost, they may give you subtle hints to keep you going. Most of the flooring was smooth, but the haunt does have sections where you will need to bend, stoop, and crawl to get through.

Unreal Nightmares doesn’t seem to have a website, but the most important information for them can be found with some brief scrolling on their Facebook page, and they’re usually very responsive to messages.

The haunt’s home is a 100-year-old brick building that does put off an eerie vibe when approached at night. Additional decor was added to the exterior this year including lighting, a sign, and two large skulls guarding each side of the main entryway. The building can be very creepy looking at night but the bright, inside lights made everything noticeable in the more office area of the building so it did take away from the creepy vibe.

Inside, there were additional decor pieces and walls, a spider, and a colored strobe light illuminating the indoor waiting area. As we waited our turn, we could hear awful sounds seeping over the walls to the waiting area. The screams of guests that entered just before us had us questions our decisions as we were given the rules. We noticed that they reiterated multiple times that we needed to stick very close together. The rule giver also told us that when she ventured through the haunt, she didn’t pay attention and got left by her group. Oh boy, you mean we have to pay attention? For real though, if you don’t, you may be stuck in there for a long time.

Once our tour guide made an appearance decked out in full costume donning a red illuminated lantern, we were excited to enter.

Unreal Nightmares is more of an old-school, unique haunted attraction. It seems that nearly everything they’ve implemented has been created or modified in-house, including their sounds. We definitely discovered some items here that we haven’t seen before.

As we will hit on more in Scare Factor, this is a very suspenseful haunt and they utilize lighting and sounds as key factors in constructing this. For one, the sounds are loud (they informed us that they use a 10k-watt system) They’re extremely unsettling, surreal, and also made in-house! They will send shivers down your spine; heck, they’ll even talk and whisper to you! They certainly made us question if the sounds were coming from speakers, or cast members, or malicious spirits at times… and we still really don’t know.

Last season, it seemed that there was still a lot of building going on inside the haunt when we toured, but it felt more complete this season. Many more walls have been built and a lot of detail and overall ‘grunge’ was added. Some of the scenes were very large in size, so although everything wasn’t very close to us, there were some surprises and effects that made the scenes feel smaller than they actually were.

Some other effects we found inside include a sudden blast of fog, hidden doors, vending machines, large objects that suddenly went flying across the room, plenty of body parts, medical equipment, malfunctioning lights, and a ton of toys. One effect that stood out to us was a shadow figure in a hallway; we hadn’t seen one quite like that before.

Some of the rooms required interaction, and not just by hidden doors, but by making guests uncomfortable as they make their way through them. An example of this was having to crawl through ductwork. Aside from the interaction, we found ourselves staring at a ceiling lined with meat hooks, rooms inside each other, and a detailed diner, medical room, kitchen, and toy room.

Our aforementioned interaction with the lady in the medical area involved a unique usage of blacklights, but saying much else might give away some essential clues’ so you’ll have to figure that one out on your own. The finale, however, and the hallway / ‘throat’ leading to it were also uniquely decorated, but we don’t want to give too much away. We’re pretty sure you’d be hard pressed to ‘digest’ something like this anywhere else.

The haunt was set up totally different this season and, by design, it was very suspenseful. If you visit, be sure to pay attention to everything. They have subtle scares that could be easily missed for those closing their eyes or talking and not paying attention. Those that don’t pay attention will likely get lost and separated from their group! Just ask your tour guide’

Because the element of suspense was utilized so much (and so well), it definitely affected everyone in our group. There were also some quick startles and intimidating encounters, but most of these scares targeted everyone as well. Some came at us from the front while others were from behind and, every now and then, something targeted the middle.

So we’re going to talk more about this suspensefulness, as it was downright disturbing at times! As we mentioned, it’s not a normal walk-through haunted house. You must do some things at various points to progress. As we were attempting to complete some of these things, actors were beating on the walls around us and intimidatingly standing behind us, throwing things and teasing us as we quickly attempted to get away from them. Due to COVID, these creatures did keep a safe distance, but look out in the future if they decide to bring their interactive scenes into later seasons!

They succeeded at keeping us on our toes most of the time. After every door we opened (it felt like a lot), we never knew what we were going to face on the other side. Beyond one door was a hallway so creepy that our leading group member turned back around to get the other as she didn’t want to walk it alone! Sounds and lighting can go a long way and, beyond the intense noises and single flickering bulb in the center of this hallway, was total darkness. We were certain something was waiting to prey on us in those shadows… but we’ll never tell!

In addition, we would see creatures sinisterly staring at us from the opposite end of the hallway, and then they’d take off, forcing us to follow them as we had no idea if, or where, they’d reappear. Just when the puzzles had added enough anxiety for getting away from the scariness, they decided to ante things up by taking away our sense of sight. Just when we’d let our guard down for a bit because we didn’t notice anything near us, the next things we’d find would disappear as it was suddenly pitch black!

Now this is harder to describe, but just imagine feeling like you just won and you’re celebrating victory thinking you’re getting closer to the end. You can see where you’re going’ and then suddenly you can’t! This happened more than once and, let us tell you, it was very creepy when combined with the sounds and everything else going on! We’re sure the tour guide was laughing at us and our comments many times.

We were blown away when we hit the finale this year. It literally was UNREAL. We don’t want to ruin it, but yes it was scary, yes we felt uncomfortable, yes it was climatic, and.. We’re pretty sure the damn haunt swallowed us whole, okay!? That’s all we can say about it. You have to see it! Be careful, this one may actually give you nightmares.

Unreal Nightmares is the cheapest (ticket price-wise) haunt that we’ve visited this year at only $10.00 per adult! Although group times may vary greatly depending on how long it takes you to find your way out, it took us a total of 20 minutes. This brings the adult ticket price to 2.0 minutes of entertainment received per dollar spent, which is quite a bit higher than the average we’ve been seeing most often!

They do offer other ticketing options as well. For those 11 years and under, tickets are $8.00 per person and 3 years and under get in for free. So you can visit with the whole family for a relatively low price, we’re just not sure how far the youngins would make it through…

We didn’t notice any characters interacting with customers as we waited to go in, or any other entertainment other than the decorated interior waiting room. Regardless, this is such a low ticket price for an entertaining show that a wait in line would be worth it. However, due to several design elements, the haunt can only allow so many customers in the show at a time. On busy nights, their waiting line could get backed up quite a bit. We recommend showing up very early or very late to offset this.

This is such a unique experience that, if we had time, we’d go visit them over and over again! They successfully added a whole new level of suspense (which we don’t experience often), created more realistic-looking monsters, and kept us on our toes nearly the entire way through. If you find yourself in the Jasonville area or anywhere near West-Central Indiana, please stop in and pay them to see if you ‘can escape the depths of pure evil!’