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Well, boils and ghouls the wife and I hit the ‘burgh again this past weekend to review another pro haunt for all you fine creeps. Demon House in Monogahela, PA drew us into its demented grounds, and let me just start off this review with a what caused me a bit of real terror dealing with this event.
When most folks go to a haunted house they expect chills and startles and the feeling of fear, but rarely – OK never – should anyone visiting your haunt be in any real jeopardy. When we first arrived at Demon House we entered their parking lot only to find it completely full. The person parking us sent us driving into a dead end which we had to back out. This was at best difficult due to the fact all the other cars were crammed in at strange angles. We were then directed back up the road to their overflow parking which was fine except for the walk back to the haunt. The road we walked had no sidewalk, no reflective markers or safety flares, and no one to guide us back. Traffic would literally be only a couple of feet from us on a blind curve, and we had to more than once jump into the weeds in order to keep from getting run over. This is a huge problem, and this haunt wasn’t even busy yet. If you can’t park everyone coming to your event and have them safely make it to your gates then you SHOULD NOT BE OPEN – PERIOD. This, unfortunately, set the tone for the rest of our haunt experience.
When we finally got onto the grounds of Demon House the cemetery and hanging skeletons that greeted us were quite good. Demon House loomed ominously on the top of the hill, and all in all the walk up the driveway was very creepy. Of course when we made it to the folks who were ready to take care of us I announced who I was and mentioned the names of the folks in charge I was told to ask for and got little response from anyone. They all seemed wrapped up in the usual frenzy that can accompany opening night, and eventually I got frustrated trying to find anyone in charge so I could give a little more background on this haunt. I just paid my money and hoped for the best. I was told I my group wouldn’t be going in for 35 minutes, and then I asked about the VIP admission in order to escape the line. No one knew exactly how to do a VIP, but this was finally ironed out and we made our way to the cue area. It was funny how I actually saw no line which made me wonder why it was going to take 35 minutes to enter in the first place.
I really liked the multimedia presentation of the Demon House back story. It really set the mood with a tale of Indian burial grounds, tortured Spanish prisoners, and a witch woman named Carla. Then I had to wonder why when we finally got into the haunt we suddenly found ourselves in Area 51 with aliens on the loose. Hey, I’m all for aliens in a haunted house as well as killer clowns, but if you spend so much time on a really good back story then stick to it. Keep me in your world as much as you can, and chances are I’ll come back to it if I liked it.
Demon House had a lot of good things that seemed a bit disjointed. Of course it was opening weekend, and actors sometimes don’t have the feel of what to do just yet this early in the season. There was plenty of maze action and lots of scenery to look at. I really loved the actual house that Demon House was in, and I still can’t believe this gorgeous real mansion is turned into a haunt. It may have been the initial snafus at the start of our Demon House experience but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in a lengthy home haunt and not a pro haunt.
Without belaboring the point, I did like that Demon House had an outdoor theater of sorts showing free horror movies and customers could gather around campfires and play games and hit the concession stand. I must admit that everyone visiting Demon House seemed to be having a good time, but this haunt really was not geared for the serious haunt goer who looks for higher end scares and props and trained actors. This is not a bad thing, but at $15 for regular admission and $20 for VIP I’m not too sure I got my money’s worth.
So would I go again? Not unless there’s a drastic drop in the price – like 30-40%. Of course I had to drive over two hours to get there. If I were local the price may not have been to so salty to the palate.
When you go:
Box Office opens 7PM till Midnight Fridays and Saturdays and 7PM till 11PM Thursdays, Sundays, and Halloween.
Tickets: Take cash. I saw no way to pay with a credit or debit card.
General Admission:
$15.00 per person.
Season Pass:
$35.00 per person. (Season Pass allows YOU to visit as many times as you like this season. Plus – YOU receive the official “Demon House” Tee Shirt)
V.I.P. Pass:
$20.00 per person.
Check their schedule for all the dates.
As for the review of Demon House, I totally disagree with your findings. I Have been a patron to Demon House for the past three years and this year is by far the best. I dont understand how you didnt have safety while you were trying to park. I was there the opening night and the roadway was full of flares and there was parking attendents to ensure your SAFETY. I COMMEND DEMON HOUSE ON THERE PROFESSIONAL HAUNT!!!
I completely respect your opinion on this. Saturday night there were no flares and the roadway was treacherous from the overflow parking down the road. While their haunt was good and I liked many things about it, if I were to compare it to other similar haunts the price was high. I also still stand by my assessment of sticking to a theme throughout a haunt. I loved the backstory and was looking forward to seeing more of it.
Thanks for your opinion though. As I said, everyone who was there was having a good time. I just tend to be more critical than the average haunt goer.
Beastly Wishes and horrid Hauntings,
Patrick
i disagree with a few things.
1st: demonhouse was the #1 haunted attraction in ‘06, and everyone i spoke to after just the first weekend agrees this is the best year so far
2nd: i’m sorry but i think the whole story about parking and dodging cars is made up, or at least exaggerated. i was directed where to go, saw plenty of flares and road markers, and i didn’t have a single incident, nor find out about anyone else having one on the way to the house
3rd: the wait depends on what time you show up. i know the gates open @ 7 but the actual tours don’t start until dark (almost an hour later)
4th: i don’t know what you mean by “proffessional”
i never went to a haunted house and saw Johnny Depp dressed up as a pirate or Anthony Hopkins as a cannibal. I know these are just regular people, sometimes just kids trying to have fun by scaring people in a spooky decorated house wearing make-up
5th: i don’t know how you didn’t hear about a VIP pass. the people in front of me all purchased one and almost immediately someone was contacted and escorted them to the start of the haunt
6th: i got scared at demon house… MORE than once, and i’ve been to other haunts so far, like one that opened a week before demon house (i won’t mention names) but i wasn’t scared not even a little bit. i was just annoyed by all those chainsaws at my feet
FINALLY: i think i’d rather pay $15 to hang out, eat, watch a movie, enjoy an open fire, NOT wait in line for 2 HOURS, but only 40 minutes, and anticipate the toll of the bell when i know my groups next.
I’m sorry I plainly disagree, and some parts of your review I DO agree with. I can’t help but wonder if reviews like this one were done on purpose.
As I’ve said before I totally respect your opinion on this. I am not an expert, however I pretty much live this industry: IE, I have run haunted houses (albeit amateur home haunts), I have given and attended seminars at haunters gatherings and conventions, I read all the trade magazines, I travel to haunted houses, and I know many people in the industry. Still, there are many opinions on how to run haunted houses – many of which are very successful, and mine is just one of them. I must preface my response to you with this. I write this blog geared toward the Halloween and Haunted House enthusiast both professional and amateur. Therefore I use terms that are common in the industry and may not be familiar to the average haunt goer. My mistake. I probably should set up a definitions page so that people can catch up. A professional haunted house is any that charges an admission fee or actively seeks a donation from each person entering. It may have paid or volunteer actors. According to the PA Department of Agriculture, who inspect haunted houses and amusement parks, this would put them in a whole other class than someone who does a yard haunt (display in front of their house), garage or amateur home haunt, or even a home haunter who puts out a donation box. Charity haunts also are considered pro-haunts by definition.
I will also say, as I did in the initial review, that Demon House has many good things going for it. If I lived locally I might attend again. I do not and will not because at the price, when compared to other haunted houses in similar markets, the value for me isn’t there.
Now, let me respond to your individual points:
#1 I’m sure that this is the best year so far from folks that have gone in the past. I have no reference because I have never been before. I can only base my review on what I saw Saturday September 29th at about 9:30 PM. Also, rated #1 by who? Are they industry professionals like Haunt World Magazine or Haunted Attraction Magazine?
2# I am a bit chagrined that you imply I am lying about this. When I arrived there were no flares, and at least twice my wife and I had to jump into the weeds to avoid being hit. This is the kiss of death to any business, and indeed all you need is one person to twist an ankle and sue you. Then it’s all over for not only your business, but possibly your family’s financial future if you haven’t incorporated legally to insulate your private finances from your business finances.
3# I never complained about the wait because I knew, in advance, there was a VIP ticket available. However, I seemed to stump those who were organizing the cue and taking my money when I asked about skipping the line with the VIP ticket. It wasn’t that I didn’t know about the VIP. It was that people who were vying for my haunt dollar did not initially know what it meant or how to do it. Then, when I was escorted to the area where you sit and watch the presentation there seemed to be no line waiting. So I had to question why there would have been a 35 minute wait when no one was there and I was ushered right in. I must have missed something.
4# I defined “professional” previously. I understand the actors are indeed normal folks. Many of them did a fine job. I have had both great and mediocre people in my own haunts. I never criticized the actors at all. Just the dangerous road walk, the lack of staying with the very excellent Demon theme, and the price compared to other haunted houses in similar markets.
#5 Once again – I heard about the VIP through the website. I just seemed to befuddle those who asked about paying for it in order to skip the line. In my opinion. If I had a line and no one in the VIP ticket line, I would be asking people if they wanted to upgrade and skip the wait.
6# I didn’t get scared or startled, but I did laugh quite often at the rather good acting. Much of it was fun. Whether a person gets scared or not in a haunted house is pretty much an individual thing. I did however get startled several times in the “one that opened a week before Demon House”. By that I mean Hundred Acres Manor.
And finally – of course I did this review “on purpose”. It didn’t just accidentally fall out of my head and onto the screen. I did not get paid by anyone to say good or bad things about Demon House, though I occasionally do get paid. Those posts are always clearly marked as an advertisement. A review is an opinion – nothing more, nothing less. It should always, whether I wrote it or your favorite movie critic did, be taken with a grain of salt. Now since this is my blog and I pay for the bandwidth I will continue to give my opinions on it. Any one else can choose to read it, or not. I will always try to give my honest opinion when writing a review unless I absolutely hate something – then I will say nothing. The fact that I did a review of Demon House means I liked something – in fact many things. I just don’t want to hang out and watch movies and enjoy a fire when I have these things at home. I want haunt action.
Thanks for your opinion on this.
Beastly Wishes and Horrid Hauntings
Patrick
THIS WEBSITE FUCKING SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve approved your comment as a way of letting every one of my reader know what intelligent representatives of Demon House you must be.
I think the demon house was pretty cool. The fact that you dont have to stand in a goddamned like for over an hour (like stupid rich’s fright farm) is well worth $15. it didnt last long enough though – it should be at least 30 mins long. but i will definately go back again. the actors outside in the maze part were freakin scary!
I agree with that. Many of the actors were good, and I hate lines too so it was nice to be able to purchase the VIP upgrade in order to enter immediately.
I have to disagree with you.
Demon House is actually a really incredible haunted house.
I think the price is completely fair since you’re in an actual haunted house and there is no line to get in. You can watch movies, play games, eat, and sit around a camp fire.
The reason there are aliens is because the owner is obsessed and thought it would be cool; trust me, I know him personally.
The back story is the actual history of the house so that makes it just that much cooler. Paranormal investigaters are always coming from all over the country just to walk through the house. You’d be amazed at what they discover.
I respect your opinion, but I simply disagree.
I actually loved it so much that I decided to volunteer there this year as an actress.
Demon House is amazing and I think that everyone should get a chance to visit it.
I went to demon house yesterday expecting its goin to be good because it was ranked number 1 in 2006. It was not worth 15$ there were about 10 cars in the parking lot and it was like a 10-15 min walk thru. It wasnt scary at all. The movies they were playin were from like the 50’s. Overall is wasnt very good, it should have been like 7 bucks tho. I suggest hundred acr manor in South Park its about a 50 min walk thru. Even tho there is about a 30 min line its worth it. Its very scary and full of surprises.
Thank you Mike for a voice of reason.
Patrick
ok so let me start off by saying that i do not intend on attacking anyone in what im about to say. i want to say that this is my first year of working at the demon house and it is a lot of fun to be an actress here at this attraction. the demon house maybe more than other places to get into but it is not over priced.we offer games, movies, food, and warmth while you wait to hear the bells ring and your group to go threw the haunt, and to be honest with you for an extra couple of dollars its worth not standing in a line freezing my butt off. next i would like to comment on the whole issue of it not having a set theme. there is a reason for it. we do not do scenes from movies nor do we mimic haunted broadcasts. you can go to any haunted house and see millions of scences from movies being thrown at you and i believe if you’ve already seen the parts of movies that frighten you its just silly to see them all again like bad reruns. oh yeah and going off of the kiss of death traffic incident i dont know where you parked but never have i witnessed anybody almost getting killed walking up to the demon house unless you parked at the red light and walked threw highway traffic. its common sense that when you are walking anywhere in a parking lot to watch for cars coming into parking spaces im sure one would not write a letter to walmart telling them of their “near death experience” in their parking lot. ok on to my opinions… i have been to many haunted houses in the past and non are like the demon house. we have friendly people working here with us and we try to accomodate your needs by learning how to make the haunt “scary”. i must say that i myself get a little freaked out even walking through the house when its not running just listening to the legend of the demon house. i will say that this house is the works of a person who dedicates his time to making it enjoyable for you and i personally think that this year is amazing and recomend tours of the house when time is avaliable to you.
Last night the three of us we went to The Demon House in Monongahela. We were in group 9 and had to wait for about 30 minutes until we went in. 17 dollars per ticket was a bit pricey though. And it was raining all night. The guy running the place said there a few mud puddles in the backyard and told us we could skip the back section if we didn’t want to get muddy. We all braved the storm and decided to make our way through the swampy back section. We began by meeting a civil war era soldier who screamed in our face and led us through the front yard. There we met two hillbillies and were chased by a chainsaw. We made our way into the house and were greeted by several actors who briefly told us about the background of the property. The story about the place is quite interesting, and I personally hoped to hear more about it during the journey. Scratch that. Next thing we know, we are in a room with an electric chair and a kitchen of body bags. Then we were led up a spiral staircase and entered several rooms. Upstairs was a vampire esque room, a nursery, and a few other indescribable rooms? We had to literally crawl on the ground through one section where the ceiling was about three feet high. Back down the staircase we went, and we were led into a room where we met an eccentric doctor. Finally, we made our way into the clown house which had about a foot of mud. So much for sticking to the original background story. Admittedly, I was scared once when someone jumped out in the final long hallway. The entire ‘tour’ only lasted about 15 minutes. We made our way to the movie theater but there was nothing playing. After grabbing some coffee at the concession stand and talking to the young guy running things, we huddled around a campfire for a few minutes and tried to dry off. Overall, it was a decent time for the average fan, but a bit disappointing for us enthusiasts. We left The Demon House around 9:00 and headed to our next destination, Hundred Acres Manor in South Park.
Thanks Greg for your very accurate summary of Demon House. When I saw I had yet another comment on this post I figured it was going to be yet another abusive rant from one of the Demon House folks. I appreciate your candor and hope you have a great haunt season.
Patrick Nottingham
http://www.RavensBarrow.com
Ok, yet another comment on this topic. I have worked at this facility for one year and 2 years at a different haunt (Hundred Acres Manor). Now I will say that Demon House is very unique in some aspects. They do have an impressive intro, but they barely follow it through the house. The actors are great to work with and they will give there all. That is for their core actors I should say…The not so regular actors don’t do that well acting because lets face it, they are new. I was once new and I’ll admit it, I was horrible. But working consistantly through the season and talking with the core actors you learn the tricks of the trade. Now regarding the traffic ordeal, When the haunt is in full swing they would have flairs lit on the roadway, however, if you get there early there is nothing there to warn people. As an actor you are required to park in the overflow lot, which is the electric company down the street, and either brave the road or cut through the woods and cross the field and sneak in a gate that is let down when the attraction is closed. I too have dodged cars, but thats because people don’t follow the spead limit on the darn road and plus people are just ignorant to the season and the surroundings and the season. Now, to the jerk who posted how they don’t copy movies….If they don’t, then why is there a hell raiser room and an exorcist room (the upstairs bathroom and the room after that?) I also am curious too, patrick, as to why they don’t follow their introduction…They do in some aspects but some things just don’t add up. Like the clown area(s), Area 51, and The mad scientist. I’m sure there is more, but not much to this small haunt. There is so much potential for this place.
Very disappointing. We live in Pittsburgh and I wanted to drive down to visit this haunted house. The primary attraction was the back story to the house. I was really expecting to learn more and see more. Nope, sorry.
On their website, they promise this isn’t just your typical haunted house with a guy chasing you with a chainsaw.(Sorry, hate the chainsaw guy, not scary. Obviously you’re not going to cut me) Guess what, before we even got into the house, chainsaw guy was there. Hate him, so much.
Again, the back story means nothing but a draw to get you there. The rest of the house has nothing to do with it. As for the movie area, never saw it, was never told about it. Actually, we were told about anything else to do there except the campfire. There was no one else there though and for some reason several workers were also gathered around the campfire discussing vagina?
The whole haunt felt rushed even. Once you got to each section, there was immediately someone right behind you basically pushing you on. It was also a very short walk through. Took about 15 minutes. About 1/4 the time spent to get there from Pittsburgh. We paid $15/person. So about $1 a minute. I could call Miss Cleo for that much and it’d probably be more entertaining.
The house is supposed to be a mansion, but honestly it’s size did not impress me much. Really felt more like a haunted apartment. I don’t know if that’s just my impression, or fact. But it seemed rather small to be considered a mansion.
In hindsight, it was fun, but that’s because of the people I was with, not because of the event. Take someone who scares very very easily(possibly a 7 yo) and You’re sure to have a good time laughing at them at least(BTW, Don’t take a 7 y/o, but someone who acts like one will work) I will not be going back again, and will be reading more reviews before I spend another $15 at a haunted house. My fault.