On Friday, September 10th, Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction opened their doors to their first unsuspecting victims for the 2021 Haunt Season. This will be the attraction’s 10th year in operation, a feat not easily obtained by some haunts.
Our Terror Talks crew was able to attend last year’s event, and were pleasantly surprised with our experience. This haunted house ran with the claim of being South Carolina’s Scariest Haunted Attraction…. This is a title that is WELL DESERVED.
Since our first adventure through Nightmare Dungeon during 2020, we have returned to this haunt time and time again to experience this amazing haunt. This is the only haunt that we can boast that we have visited 31 times in one season, 25 times in a Christmas season, and have attended a host of other times, bringing our grand total to 61 times as of our most recent visit.
This is the only haunted attraction that we have ever visited this many times!!
But what is it that keeps us coming back each year? Why do we return so frequently to the same location? Keep reading below to find out!!
For this year’s haunt review, we have broken down each haunt that we are visiting into
6 Categories: Sets, Costumes, Makeup/SFX, Scares, Pacing, and Actors.
Each category is rated on a scale of 1-5 Screams and then averaged out to give an Overall Rating. This new system is to ensure that we are not in any way biased and are giving each attraction that we visit the same fair and equal treatment that they each deserve.
With this new system in mind, let’s break down each of our 6 Categories for Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction’s 2021 Haunt!!
Initial Thoughts – Anytime you arrive at Nightmare Dungeon, you are instantly in for a treat. Whether it be the beauty of this old, decrepit, 120-year-old farmhouse, or if it’s the amazing technical design that has been done to create an ambiance of pure terror, these guys make it AMAZING. Each time we visit, we always get a nervous feeling in the pit of our stomach. Even though we’ve been through this haunt as many times as we have been, we still get NERVOUS, because we don’t know what to expect. That’s how much of an impact this group has left on us. They are very good at what they do as you will read in the category breakdown. Everything about this haunt has pure film quality to it. I give 100% props to the owner and director of Nightmare Dungeon, as he puts in an immense amount of work each season to make sure that there is a stellar show taking place not just inside but outside the walls of this creepy place. He really does a great job to create an environment that is creepy inside and out, and lets you have fun too!! He has done a remarkable job and his team have done an EQUALLY remarkable job. It definitely feels like you have stepped out of reality, and into your very own horror film.
Sets – 4/5 Screams – The sets that can be found in Nightmare Dungeon can only be described in one word – DETAILED. Maybe two words: REALISTIC. Every time I have gone inside, nothing seems like it was just manufactured or made up. You feel as though you have entered the scene of some twisted horror film. The sets are very much real and convey very real environments that stay true to the house that you are in. Each time I’ve gone through this house I have always been enamored by the film level quality of the sets. My only critique for this particular season is the upstairs portion of the house. Before entering, the owner had mentioned that he had changed the upstairs portion. Before it was just two rooms – a bedroom scene with an exorcism of sorts & a fallout-type scene with hazardous waste bins and a man in a fallout mask. Both rooms were amazing to see so I was very excited when I learned that things would be different in this section of the house, as much of the rest of the house had already changed on our previous visits – They mean what they say…. They are constantly changing and that is GREAT. However, one of the things that changed on this previous visit was slightly disappointing.
While the upstairs was completely different from the past, it was unfortunately different in that there wasn’t much story to it. Now perhaps we overlooked something on this trip, but I was very attentive to the details. The upstairs basically became a maze of hallways with no real theming or decorations that I could see, which left me confused. Now, while this did not have any effect on the scares upstairs, nor the experience overall, it still had to be mentioned. If there are any decorations or details upstairs, we could not see them as the halls were very dark up there.
Overall though, the set work was still remarkable in this haunt.
Costumes – 5/5 Screams – Up next, we looked at the costumes. The only thing that can be said about the costumes is that everybody was unique. The whole time that we were there, I never saw the same two costumes. This statement is also true for all the previous times we have visited as well. Everybody seems to have their own unique and original costumes to prevent from any two people looking exactly the same and that is remarkable to me. On top of that, the costumes were very creative and some were very simple. All of them, though, deserved top marks from me.
Makeup/SFX – 5/5 Screams – Much like the costumes, the makeup was another point of uniqueness. Throughout the entirety of Nightmare Dungeon, I never saw the same two people wearing the same type of makeup. Every actor/actress has makeup that was unique to them and VERY detailed. I am not sure if the director/owner told everybody to just wing it in regard to the makeup, or if he gave specific instructions about what to do, but either way, the makeup was top notch, original, and non-repeated. TOP MARKS!!
Scares – 5/5 Screams – The scares are the most important part of a house because that’s why you are there. This is something that Nightmare Dungeon had down to a science. Now, at first, we had rated the scares at a 4/5 Screams, but then as I did some thinking about it, there was one scare that stood out to me, which raised the overall to a 5/5. The scares throughout the attraction come at you from all sides. You never know when you’re going to get them, and you never know how you are going to get them either. For example, of the 61 times I’ve been through this house, I don’t think I have ever once had the same experience. The group is very good about making sure that each scare is unique and different each time, not just for the repeat customers, but also for any customers. Unfortunately, there were a couple actors who did not necessarily change it up much, but because of one particular scare, we were able to rank scares at 5/5. There is one room in the haunt where a guy is literally a part of the wall. I won’t say where, but the costume and way they created this concept is SO GENIOUS that I don’t care who you are, you will NEVER see it coming. I went through twice in one night, and while I knew exactly where this guy was, he still made me jump. I don’t know whose idea it was to manufacture this scare, but it was a great idea!! Mad props to y’all for this!!
Pacing – 4/5 Screams – Now we take a look at the pacing of this house. In any haunted house, you want to make sure that you have a unique experience. You don’t want to run into the group in front of you and watch them get scared while you get nothing. Nightmare Dungeon ENSURES that this is your experience. They on average only ever have 2 groups in the house at one time, which equals to probably about 20 people on average in the house. This ensures that the two groups never overlap and everybody is guaranteed the same scares. Unfortunately, this creates the problem of line backups out front. Now, on the evening that we went, there wasn’t anyone there by the time we got there, but we still waited out in front for a little longer than expected. This is because they make sure that other group is not going to be bumped into. I think it is also to ensure that the actors can focus on your group 100% when you are coming through. While this is a great concept to ensure maximum scares, it leads to that line issue, which is what ultimately led to the 4/5 Screams.
Actors – 5/5 Screams – Finally, we reach the actors. These are the bread and butter of any good Haunted House. Good actors are the FOUNDATION. If you don’t have your actors you have NOTHING. Nightmare Dungeon has some amazing actors in their group. Each time I visit, the group is incredibly nice and having a great time. None of the actors have ever broken character. None of them have ever been rude. They are all engaging with the audience 100% and making sure that everybody is either getting scared or having a great time, or BOTH. These are some of the most down to earth and devoted people I have personally ever met, and I am so pleased to have met them!! These guys deserve the success that they earn each year!! They’ve worked hard for it!!
Overall Rating: 5.0 Scream Rating
At the end of the day, Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction received a 5.0 Scream Rating on the Scream Meter. This is our FIRST 5.0 for the 2021 Haunt Season, and we are hoping to award several more. We really had a blast at this attraction as they really are amazing people. They know how to have fun and how to scare the crap out of you!! I have personally never left disappointed, and I highly encourage everyone else to go because YOU will not be disappointed either. Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction is one of THE BEST haunts we have ever visited, and we will be sure to visit it many more times in the coming years!!
Nightmare Dungeon Ticket Info:
You can purchase tickets when you arrive at Nightmare Dungeon, or you can purchase tickets online. All tickets are date sensitive if you purchase online.
· $30 – Adult Ticket This gets on adult into Nightmare Dungeon
· $20 – Child 10 & Under Ticket This gets children 10 & Under into the haunt – AGE WILL BE VERIFIED UPON ENTRY
Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction will be open
EVERY NIGHT from September 10th – November 6th
Sunday – Thursday: Open Till 11pm
Friday & Saturday: Open Till Midnight (12am)
Follow Their Social Media For More Information & To Keep Up With Them:
Twitter: @nightmardungeon
Facebook: Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction (@nightmaredungeon)
Instagram: @nightmaredungeon13
Website: https://nightmaredungeon.com/
YouTube: Nightmare Dungeon Haunted Attraction
Location: 645 Old Anderson Rd., Greenville, SC
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