Two years ago, 17th Door Haunt Experience stormed the SoCal haunt season and became the most talked about attraction of the year. Brilliantly blending a traditional walk-through haunted house with theatrical and extreme elements, it was on a more intense, but still accessible level for haunt fans who had felt they’d “seen it all.” With an elaborate backstory of a high school (then college student) who endures countless abusive scenarios and ends up in a mental institution, the lengthy haunt’s theme was complemented by interactivity and innovative scares.
17th Door has just announced that they will be returning in 2017 with some changes. First is a new location. They’re moving from a suburban shopping center in Tustin to . . . a suburban shopping center in Fullerton. But shopping center locations can work well for haunts, with ample parking and indoor space. This year, the haunt will be even longer (at 35 minutes).
Most important is the new theme: “Locked Up” will be set in a prison, and although we don’t know the details yet about the backstory, this theme has a lot of potential, especially for a haunt like 17th Door, where the actors are in your face and you’re forced to complete some pretty heinous tasks (unless you beg for “mercy,” of course). We look forward to hearing more about how this theme gets “executed.”
17th Door Haunted Experience opens September 22. Tickets are on sale now and start at $24. They’re sold in specific time windows, so be sure to buy early if you have a specific date and time in mind to visit.
