What the F**k is The Basement?
Elijah Wood called it “an invasive experience” when asked about it by Seth Meyers.
In their recent review, The Haunted Housewives called it an “absorbing piece of theater.”
And CBS News called it “an extreme haunted house experience!”
If you’re reading this post you’ve probably already read or heard some of the specifics: you have to be 18 or older to enter, must sign a waiver, and must be ready to be touched by our performers. Certain scenes involve profanity, frank subject matter, physical challenges, and exposure to electricity. No more than two guests may enter at once and tickets are very limited per evening.
Ok, but what is The Basement exactly?
Let’s start by saying what it is not. It is not anything like the so-called “extreme” or “torture” haunted houses that often gain a lot of media exposure (but not a lot of fact-checking into their wild claims.) The goal of The Basement is never to bully, intimidate, injure, or harm our guests or place them in any real danger. Guests are free to stop and exit the experience at any time they like (the safe word is “bunny”) and we never make anyone feel weird about asking to leave before it’s over. Our cast of trained and adult actors will do everything they can to entertain and interact with you while pushing you out of your comfort zone, but ultimately we want you to finish this experience and have a good time. (We should also mention that all interactions are closely monitored by security staff and cameras.)
It is a full-contact experience; which means you will be touched, guided, hooded, and/or lightly restrained. You will not be shoved, pulled, or assaulted. Our staff contains paid adult employees, all of whom have undergone specific training and many of whom are veteran cast members from previous productions of ScareHouse and/or The Basement.
The Basement is also not quite like a traditional haunted attraction. Visitors to ScareHouse (which is unfortunately on hiatus this year) know that our headline attraction is highly regarded for our commitment to elaborate and cinematic sets and scenarios, Every year, tens of thousands of fright fans would walk in a linear path through a highly vivid and detailed experience full of special effects, animatronics, and sophisticated sets.
The Basement is very dark and very minimalist, focusing entirely on your interactions with our actors and/or the very authentic rooms and environments that already exist in the bowels of this 100 year-old (and hella haunted) building. In most haunted attractions you might find yourself walking through a manufactured set that looks like an decrepit and industrial bathroom and are then startled when an actor jumps out and yells at you to keep moving. In the Basement, you enter a very real and very decrepit basement and engage in an extended scene with that character for several minutes.
The Basement offers a series of intense and intimate vignettes designed for no more than two guests at once, and the experience usually lasts 35 minutes or more. You will be touched and challenged and marked and encouraged to do, say, or even eat some things well out of your normal comfort zone but ultimately you are in control and consenting to all that happens.
The Basement is also more about psychology, vibes, and interaction that traditional high-startle scares of a traditional haunted attraction. Our Creative Director Scott Simmons often uses movie references to explain the atmosphere saying that “ScareHouse feels like Evil Dead 2 but The Basement feels like Hereditary. It’s not like a Blumhouse movie, it’s like an A24 film.”
There’s nothing out there quite like The Basement, which takes just as much inspiration from immersive experiences such as Sleep No More and Delusion as it does traditional haunted attractions, which is why it often receives so much attention from media and fright fans. Frankly, the very reasons why so many guests love the experience and re-visit us multiple times is also the reason why some guests absolutely hate it. The Basement receives lots of five star and one star reviews, but honestly not a lot of mid reviews. It seems to be very much a “love it or hate it” kind of experience.
Since 2013 there have been over 16 different productions of this experience, with each show offering different characters and challenges and themes. No two productions of The Basement are ever quite the same but what does remain consistent is that tickets for each night are very limited, so we strongly advise you to purchase tickets in advance as certain timeslots (and even entire evenings) have been known to sell out in advance.
Ultimately the only way to really find out what’s waiting in The Basement in 2024 is to buy two tickets and opt-in, provided you’re at least 18 years old and willing to sign the waiver. This will likely be your last chance ever to experience it.