Heretic invades your mind before even setting foot inside the show itself.

It starts with Facebook images on the Heretic page. They’re compelling, disturbing and addictive, creating a glimpse into the world you will be exploring. Every show has its own unique visual style and accompanying images that are released slowly, sometimes over months before the show itself. But it’s also the words that accompany the pictures that burrow into your brain. They can be subtle or bluntly violent, and they plant disturbing seeds in your mind.

Something simple such as:
“there is no ventilation down here”

The words send your mind spiraling with the possibilities of what you will experience inside the show.

Then, as the show approaches, you start getting emails with various instructions and descriptions of the place.

“The location of this show ——- (redacted) was used for human trafficking.

LED FLASHLIGHT (Headlamps are preferred) between 50 – 150 lumens, Bottle of water, and a pen.
The air is thick or limited in certain areas some of the individuals died and bodies were left down there to rot. The smell still lingers in the building.

Be aware of your surroundings and potential dangers Gasoline Cement
Running time varies / Prepare for anything”

As the hours, minutes, seconds to the start of their show creep closer, dark thoughts race through your head. What will I be forced to watch? To do? Will they hurt me? How will they hurt me?

THE EXPERIENCE

I cross a bridge, passing the ominous sight of stacked shipping containers lit in orange and green fluorescent light as far as the eye can see. The idea of human trafficking floats back into my mind.

I arrive at the designated meet point and wait. Another patron arrives, we chat for a moment. I start to become less nervous. I know this won’t last.

A member of the Heretic team comes and greets us. He tells us to follow him. We walk across the street past an open doorway leading to a basement. Some mangy cats sit in the doorway staring at us as we walk by, the basement behind the cats is lit in ugly yellow light and there are dirty boxes and items stacked and strewn from floor to ceiling.

We arrive at the door to our location and enter the building. There are people working, it’s a small film set. People are drilling, plugging in lights. We are in the show immediately.

The film crew eyes us suspiciously. We are asked to sign a waiver and leave our valuables. Then they split us up. I do not see the other patron again. My nervousness returns. I’m in this alone again. The producer takes me on a “tour” of the space showing me where everything is. I am a production assistant apparently there to help out on short notice. The space is vast.

There’s a small theater and a cavernous room filled with junk and stacked wood and construction supplies. Lights are placed randomly around the room casting ominous shadows on the walls and ceiling.

The producer gets a call on the radio. It’s time for my medical screening.

I’m taken to an EMT. She checks my vitals and asks me a series of questions. My blood pressure is high, she asks, “Are you nervous?” “Are you claustrophobic?”
She swabs my mouth. Checks my pupils, asks “Are you on drugs?”
“No,” I say.
“Really?” She says looking at me like I’m crazy.

There’s a knock at the door. A producer walks in and asks if I’m ready, she says, “Yes, he’s clear.” The producer walks me back to the top of the stairs to the basement. An actress is missing. She went down to the basement and didn’t return. They tell me I need to go down to the basement. It’s hot, hard to breath and big, don’t get lost.

They leave me with only a glow stick that blinks on and off.I descend the steps. Darkness and fog surround me. I can only see a couple feet in front of me. It’s silent. Noise proof. I begin to explore the basement. Ventilation tubing hangs from the ceiling. Debris is everywhere. I find a small, shirtless person standing in a corner wearing a black leather mask. Their back is to me. They are twitching slightly.

“Hello?” No response.

A loud noise behind me, I turn to investigate. Not wanting to leave my back to the creepy figure.

I venture deeper into the basement, into a new room.

As I progress the door slams behind me. I move back to investigate. Nothing there.

A massive figure comes running toward me. I can’t see its face clearly. But it appears monstrous, wearing some type of mask.

It grabs me moving me easily through the space, pulling and pushing me through the room.
It throws me into a new room and slams the door behind me.

There is a naked blond woman here. The actress?

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She turns and pounces on me. She rips off her wig revealing a short buzz cut and begins to —————(redacted) laughing maniacally. I try to scream out.

The door opens and the monster pulls me backward through it. He easily picks me up and slams me to the ground pressing my face into the cement. He shows me a glove in the flickering light of the glow stick. The fingernails are sharp metal. He clicks them together. Snarling, grabbing and pulling at me.
Easily swinging me around like a rag doll, it drags me deeper. Along, the way another monstrous face lunges from the darkness hissing at me.

I’m in a new room, there’s a table. Except as I get closer I can see it is some type of butcher/autopsy table. It appears bloody in the light of the glow stick and there are troughs all around it for the blood to drain into. I begin to resist, but the monster easily lifts me and throws me down on the table.

A masked woman comes and joins in the fun. They rip my clothes, show me scissors and —————(redacted). The monster begins to wretch. He holds my head. I scream out no. He pushes my head harder into the table and ———————(redacted). Another man, comes in and takes me to another room. I’m placed in a cage just small enough for me to stand in. I can’t move at all. Someone opens the door and—————-(redacted) inside.

Claustrophobia starts to set in. Darkness. How long will I be here? Time passes. Then one of he crew comes and finds me, setting me free. Back upstairs, the producer is pissed. I’ve been gone too long.

I laugh. I want to say, “Look at me! My clothes are demolished I’m soaking wet. Can’t you see?”

They ask me to set lights but everything I do seems not to work. I overhear a conversation with the director, something about a project called “Devotee of Evil”.

The producer becomes angered when the lights don’t work. Calls me stupid.
I’m told to go to the theater. We need to have a meeting.

There is a camera on a tripod, lens pointed toward the stage. A plastic tarp is spread out on the stage with various tools. What kind of film is this? Who are the monsters downstairs?
The producer screams at me to leave. I am rushed outside by one of the crew. I emerge back onto he street clothing destroyed, soaking wet.

I will have to wait until late September for more of the mystery to be revealed.

ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE

This was easily one of the best haunts I’ve been to recently, and, surprisingly, one of the funnest. Something I never thought I would say about heretic. I’ve never laughed in a heretic show, but it was a good feeling. Like the feeling you get while watching a great horror film, you’re terrified, but also close to laughing.

The use of natural sound in this show was flat out terrific. They used sound in the basement to focus your attention just like in a movie. They made me feel like a walking horror movie cliche. I played into all their tricks, but it felt exciting and fresh. There were the loud noises that cause you to whip around, setting you up for a big scare coming from somewhere you don’t expect. It was some of the coolest, simplest sound design I’ve seen in a haunt.

Also, the integration of the waiver and the EMT into the show was something heretic has done a few times in the past. Heretic likes to play with breaking the fourth wall. It worked well here, the EMT making me more, not less nervous. It’s a great way to create a safe environment, but at the same time make it relevant to the show itself.

Finally, speaking of safety. I’ve never felt like heretic was in more control. This show ran like clockwork from beginning to end. I never felt like the cast was reckless or taking unnecessary risks. At the same time, the show was wild enough that I never felt like they were pulling any punches either. It was the perfect mix of everything you want from a heretic show. Edgy, controlled violence. Totally unpredictable.

I can’t wait to see where this rabbit hole leads.

This was a deathpass show with very limited tickets available to the general public. There will be several more “sequence” shows leading up to the main show, Devotee of Evil.

Devotee of Evil runs September 23 and 24. Tickets will be available to the general public. They sell fast as space is extremely limited for their shows.

For tickets and info about the deathpass visit www.heretichorrorhouse.com
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