Halloween’s Terror Behind the Walls!

This was a spooky Halloween break that several of my classmates and I took. This event is held annually during October at the Eastern State Penitentiary. I wrote a review previously of a daytime visit to the prison turned museum. It is a wonderful place to visit and should certainly be visited if you are in Philadelphia.

Terror Behind the Walls is a series of haunted house experiences woven throughout the prison-museum. Overall it was fun! I was hyping myself for a much more terrifying experience. The way it operates is that after entering you sign a release form, basically saying you won’t sue if you are scared to death. Then the show begins, after each house you immediately enter another line to go into the next haunted house. Along the way those who have opted for a more enhanced experience are approached, touched,
“kidnapped” or diverted to an alternate experience. These people are given red glow in the dark necklaces to stand out to the event staff/actors.

Unfortunately for me all my friends opted in by the end of the event and so I was ultimately divereted into a different experience, isolated from them. However, this last house, the one I went through alone was by far the best haunted house experience out of all of them. It played the most tricks on your mind and held the most surprises.

If you have ever been the Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and been on the Haunted Mansion consider this experience as a more interactive and slightly scarier version. On a regular night it would be too much for young kids but there are several kid friendly nights where they can tell the monsters to be nice and leave them alone.

If you are looking for a little Halloween fun this is defintely something to put on the list next to costume party, trick or treat, and pumpkin carving!

And much to my classmates surprise each year I have secretly put out Halloween cards and candy. I love seeing the surprise, joy, and the mystery lift the spirits of mid semester stress to something more light hearted! Til next year!!