Haunt Review: The Séance

This past weekend we finally had the opportunity to visit Cross Roads Escape Games located in Anaheim, California. Cross Roads is home to creative and unique escape games such as The Hex Room, Escape Ward, and The Fun House. Now for the Halloween season they’ve put together an intriguing, suspenseful, and outright fun haunt show.

The Séance isn’t a Halloween maze that is loaded with jump scares. Instead, they immerse you in an elaborate setting and jump up your imagination to only then start playing some unnerving tricks with it. It begins in the lobby of Cross Road’s unassuming industrial office park location. Once everyone is signed in and briefed on the rules the group is taken outside to the side of the building. There you enter through a small open door that immediately transports you into the immersive story of The Séance.

The experience begins as you venture upstairs into the superbly decorated apartment of Madam Ruby. Up to eight guests can sit around the séance table with her and take part in what seems to start out as a hokey séance ritual. But things quickly start to intensify when what’s waiting on “the other side” begins to actually materialize. Obviously we won’t spoil the fun but trust us when we say that this experience will have you fully enthralled from the very beginning through the exciting finale.

The talent is incredible. When we went, actor Amy Melendrez was Madam Rudy and she carried the experience with a mixed scripted and impromptu performance. There were moments where our group obviously got off script but she was able to keep the story flowing as if she had already foreshadowed what each person would say and react.

Stepy Kamei is the show’s Puppeteer whose live animated characters also play pivotal roles in the story.

One of the things that really impressed us was how they integrated the effects all over the room, which truly is its own character. All the set designs and effects are high caliber. The pacing is perfect with subtle effects that get things warmed up but by the end it’s a full fledged special effects show.

The Séance, is not an escape room, although it is created by Luke and Madison Rhoades, owners of Cross Roads Escape Games. With a background in theatre, Luke and Madison have gone back to their roots to create a theatrical show where the audience is in the middle of the action. Madison is the writer and director of Séance and we’re already looking forward to other stories and experiences she can conjure up. With the success of The Séance they are considering to extend the season and even possibly taking it on the road.

We hope that they are able to expand it as a multi-destination experience but don’t wait to go see it. It’s a Halloween experience that we truly recommend, especially if you’re looking for something different than the standard monster around the corner type of thrills.

Tickets range from $45-$60 per person. The experience is 60 minutes long and for up to 8 guests over the age of 16. Shows are available October 2^nd– November 3^rd, Wednesday-Sunday until midnight. Limited tickets are available. Please be aware this show involves light touching, strobe lights, fog, and smells. Audience must be able to navigate stairs on their own.

Share on Facebook