With a plethora of haunted houses to choose from, BYU students weighed in on which ones they love to visit. In no particular order, here are BYU’s most-talked-about haunts.
1. The Haunted Forest, American Fork
The Haunted Forest is known for being the area’s largest outdoor haunt. Sans walls and ceilings, with a generally less-controlled environment, this haunt immerses visitors in an authentic outdoor scarefest — allowing the darkness to take control.
“I think it’s a lot different than other haunted houses because being outside allows them to do unique things you wouldn’t normally experience,” Kimberly Layton, a sophomore studying physics, said.
The Haunted Forest does not focus on a single “theme” but instead features dozens of mini-scenes and characters from classic horror stories.
2. Zombie Apocalypse, Lehi
The highly-interactive Zombie Apocalypse tells the story of a post-2012 world, where the few remaining survivors make their way through zombie-infested city remains. To supplement the scares, mastermind and General Manager Mario Hipol created an entire comic book prefacing the events of the apocalypse. With fifty actors and a professional makeup artist, the Zombie Apocalypse is meant to tell a story.
“You really get your money’s worth here, and it’s guaranteed to scare,” Grant Smith, a sophomore and pre-mechanical engineering major, said. “This is the first haunted house I’ve seen with a concept that takes you through a story.”
3. Nightmare on 13th, Salt Lake
Visitors of Nightmare on 13th find themselves in the heart of a technical and highly-sophisticated world that features three different consecutive haunted houses. Filled to the brim with larger-than-life animatronics, this haunt targets your senses as you travel through worlds of “The Netherbeast,” “Cirque du Fear” and another “Zombie Apocalypse.” While exploring your nightmares, you can expect to be sprayed with water and air, walk across furry jungle floors and hear the sounds of creatures of the night.
4. Anguish Asylum, Provo
As the closest haunted house to BYU campus, Anguish Asylum offers students an ideal location and a cheaper price than most local haunts. Evil walking dolls, live animals and a terrifying chainsaw maze turn the parking garage of Provo Towne Center into a veritable scarefest.
“I about peed my pants when the chainsaw guys were chasing me around the maze,” Jayde Shackett, a junior studying psychology, said.
Visitors brave enough to look around will be amazed by the details of this haunt.
5. Insanity Point, Thanksgiving Point
Insanity Point offers customers seven different mini-haunts in addition to its main attraction, “Cornophobia.” The large haunted corn maze can only be accessed by first traveling through “Hayloft Horror” and “Cabin Fever.” The variety found within the attractions leaves few phobias untouched.
“The atmosphere was great because Thanksgiving Point was so family-friendly and decked out for fall, but the haunted houses still scared me out of my pants,” Danielle Hanson, a junior studying communication disorders, said.
