New Orleans Nightmare is a scary good haunted house
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When New Orleans Nightmare offered me a couple of free tickets to check out its haunted house, I knew I needed to bring my 12-year-old goddaughter with me.
Why it matters: If you want an honest opinion, ask a preteen.
The big picture: New Orleans is home to tons of ghost stories and spooky attractions, but only a small handful of haunted houses.
- New Orleans Nightmare is one, as is The Mortuary in Mid-City.
Yes, but: I am a baby.
- While I've gone on a few, well-lubricated ghost tours with friends and visitors, the idea of being scared for fun has never appealed.
- When my college roommate held a watchathon of the "Saw" movies, I avoided my dorm for a week.
Zoom in: That's a big part of why I hadn't visited this particular haunted house since it was still called the House of Shock.
- 13th Floor Entertainment bought the long-time spooky season staple and transitioned its new branding in 2018.
- Today, the full New Orleans Nightmare attraction includes the walk-through haunted house, escape rooms, "secret" bars and a phobia-themed maze you enter in total darkness.
The intrigue: On the early season night I visited with Kara, an absurdly cool budding goth kid, she eyed with dispassion the chainsaw-wielding characters who chase down visitors as they get in line. (During my similar pre-teen experience here, I was freaking out. Cool, cool, cool.)
- As we headed into the haunted house proper after a quick metal detector check, staffers reminded us that the actors would not touch us, promise!
- I was thankful for the reminder for the near half-hour it took us to traverse the entire experience.
And it's definitely an experience. The walking tour winds visitors through swamps, morgues, a creepy clown section with strobe lights and Technicolor walls, and plenty of gory hospital scenes.
- Jump scares are around practically every corner, and there are some truly impressive animatronic dragons, even if the sound effect sounds exactly like the "Jurassic Park" T-rex.
- The actors also take their jobs pretty seriously, and I could see how much fun it would be to be in their shoes, even if the attraction felt a little swampy-hot at times.
- Kara's take? It was OK. (That means she loved it … I think.)
The bottom line: New Orleans Nightmare is scary good fun.
If you go: Dates vary through the Halloween season, so check online for details.
- Ticket prices are dynamic, usually starting at around $29.99.
- Some tickets can help you skip the line, which can get lengthy, especially close to Halloween.