Sunday, September 18, 2016

House 7A: A Haunted Encounter (Review)

via House 7a Facebook page
I'll admit, it's a bit odd going to a haunted house in September. It's a a bit too warm to get into the Halloween spirit but when a Twitter follower told me about House 7a at Governor's Island I figured I should check it out. It's never to early to get your haunt on.

Funded on Kickstarter House 7A, is a free "daymare" haunt (as it runs form 12pm-5pm) on the island. Groups of 8 enter the very cramped little house 7a complete it's own created mythology. Following a candy path and reading clues dictated by a green light, we find out what has happened to the Crowe family, as it seems the family has a mysterious entity living with them.

Running about 20 min or so House 7a is very atmospheric instead of actors looking to jump scare you. The rooms are carefully staged and each room is crafted with Halloween props to evoke the mystery. From darkened rooms with Satanic writing to daylight rooms with a sense of creepiness it clearly has a Shining like vibe with letters, tape recordings evolving the story.

House 7a has the spirit of an indie DIY haunt. I like it's atmosphere and they describe themselves as a "slow burn" haunt which is 100% accurate. You also get some surprises which is what the people seem to expect these days. But as a free haunt and the fact you'll get walk ons just wanting to go in, 8 people per tour was a but crowded and it seems they wanted to get as many people in so they did tours every half hour. I think if I experienced more of a non rushed walk through and they used some well timed music or simple special effects, it might have been more effective. I was expecting little "dead" kids actors scaring me and other adults and kids in the haunt. Now that would have been crazy scary.

House 7a is an appetizer haunt before we go to the Halloween season. You can sense it's artists doing an artistic haunted house. For what it is, a free immersive art haunt, it works. However if you're looking for a haunted houses that pushes boundaries, you should probably look elsewhere.

In conclusion, House 7a brought me to Governors Island, a place I've never been to oddly enough. So I enjoyed most of my day taking in the Island, eating some food truck vendy food and enjoyed my Saturday afternoon. Going to an early haunted house in Sept was just the proverbial gravy.

The Vitals