Scariness: 5/5
With people jumping out at you at every turn, you never know what to expect. Every time you turn down a new path, the scenery changes. From a haunted gingerbread house meant to resemble Santa’s Workshop to a spinning hallway that left some a little queasy, the scenes were all unique and unexpected. The actors knew when to jump out and left you screaming the whole time you were inside the maze.
Aesthetic: 5/5
This event is held at the East Lyme Public Library. The fantastic team that works on the Walk of Horror does an absolutely amazing job transforming the outdoor space behind the building. It truly feels like you’ve been transported somewhere else once you are on the walk. It is clear that a lot of time, effort, and talent is put into the Walk of Horror – the walk is built like a structured path with wood fixtures and themed rooms along the way. The rooms are very unique as well- this year, there was a cemetery, a room dedicated to spooky witches, a scary Christmas themed room, and more. The event looks professional. The actors were dressed to the nines in their costumes, with extravagant SFX makeup and perfectly constructed costumes. With some actors having head-to-toe masks and suits, making them unrecognizable and some with scary makeup and costumes, everyone looked impressively terrifying.
Wait times and technicalities: 4/5
The wait times for The Walk of Horror range based on the time you get there; it can range from 45 minutes to two hours. Since only one group can go at a time, the line often goes out the door. We recommend either arriving 30 minutes before the walk starts or near the very end of the event to avoid wait times. There is a briefing before you go into the event about the rules and regulations regarding the actors and the set. After the briefing there is another line you wait in to get into the actual maze. Because of this the wait time can feel long. They spread scare actors, animatronics, and even a small petting zoo throughout the waiting areas to make the wait less tedious. Although it depends on your walking speed, the time spent in the maze is about eight minutes which is above average for a haunted maze. Overall, the wait was long but worth it!
