The wonderful independent haunt, The Empty Grave, is back to make Halloween lovers scream with delight once more. Celebrating their 10th year, they are back with twisted new sets, diabolical scares and, of course, eager monsters waiting for your company. You wouldn’t know it, but the Empty Grave came dangerously close to not happening this year. Their former location wasn’t panning out, and finding a new home was looking unlikely. It wasn’t until August that Laguna Hills Mall stepped in and suggested an inspired location in their old Sears Appliance Center.
The location is seemingly custom made for the new storyline in which a psychotic and rather disgruntled factory worker has set up shop. We enter the patio courtyard where the iconic Empty Grave Hearst is parked and monsters work the line. We are all applicants for a job at this new factory of madness. A twitchy janitor guides us into the front offices of a nightmarish company and we are on our way.
As the walk-through commences, the story becomes far more muddled and the scares become the focus. This is fine for an independent haunt and works especially well since Designer Mike Talorico has the ability to draw exceptional talent in to work his haunted house creations. There is a certain shabby, almost playful, nature to the scares that can either be terrifying or humorous depending on the comfort level of the guests. In fact, it is because of this that The Empty Grave is a wonderful starter haunt for those curious about this type of entertainment during the scare season.
The Empty Grave excels at scaring and having fun. What Talorico and his team need to work on is gelling the storyline. Many houses are just a series of scares and that works fine too. But if you are attempting a story, you really need to think it through and sell it.
Regardless of any minor shortcomings, The Empty Grave succeeds in what it aims to do . . . scare visitors with a playful sense of mayhem and chaos. You will not find another haunt, professional or otherwise, that has this amount of heart and passion for the scare. It might be a little rough around the edges this year, but despite it all, The Empty Grave fills its niche in the Southern California Haunt Community.
On a side note, The Empty Grave is also right next to a rather popular Fall festival that is held in the parking lot of the Laguna Hills Mall. Between this wonderful little carnival and The Empty Grave, we think that they have found a perfect new home.
Tickets to the Empty Grave are relatively inexpensive for a Haunted House of this caliber and are as follows.
General Admission – $13
VIP Quick Death Passes – $20.00
Get your tickets here and have a screaming’ good time!