Haunted house review: The Castle of Horrors

For the final days leading up to Halloween, we’ll be
reviewing and rating a couple of the area’s most creative haunted houses.

If a zombie apocalypse hit Rochester, where would you go? I’d
head for the biggest fortified structure. That’s the premise of the haunted
house at the Main Street Armory, the basement of which has been converted into
a hub for the Center for Disease Control, and fully stocked with barrels and
boxes labeled food, guns, and other supplies. Perfect place to wait it out,
right?

Upon entering the safe haven, people are surrounded by
screens broadcasting the panic ruling the streets of Rochester. The organizers
ease the boredom of being in line by building suspense. Each group is briefed
by a doc in a short CDC video about the efforts to combat the Human Zombie
Virus (HZV) with a vaccine, which is administered to all who enter the “castle.”
Said medical professional also casually mentions the rather serious side
effects which may result from taking the medicine, including hallucinations and
madness.

Compound this spooky storyline with the fact that the Armory
is already said to be haunted — it’s been repeatedly investigated by paranormal
enthusiasts and was featured on Syfy channel’s “Ghost
Hunters” — and you’ve got one heck of a build-up.

Duration: 4/4 stars. Just when you think it’s finally
over, it isn’t.

Scariness: 4/4 stars. Even though this one is zombie
and institution themed, other freaky elements like scary clowns make an
appearance.

Jump-scares: 4/4 stars. Tons of twists and turns and
blind spots, and it’s not always easy to differentiate between prop dolls and
actors.

Creativity: 4/4 stars. If you pay attention through
the strobe likes and dimness, the place is loaded with clever details found in props
and painted on the walls.

Family-friendliness: 0/4 stars. Leave the youngsters
at home.

Admission is $20 to receive your anti-virus treatment. Tickets
may be purchased at http://tinyurl.com/pr45o7d,
at all Wegmans locations, Aaron’s Alley, and The House of Guitars.

This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2015.