An Electronic Dance Music and Halloween festival, Escape: Psycho Circus, featured what was probably one of the most impressive haunted house experiences we have had this year. Weird right? When graciously invited to the event, presented by Insomniac Events, we were honestly unsure of what we were getting into. Thankfully, Escape: Psycho Circus knew exactly what they were doing in including us and we were treated to a dazzling immersive walkthrough that ranks in our top ten of the season.
The two day festival has come to a massive close. It’s done. Held at the National Orange Show fairgrounds in San Bernardino, CA, Escape: Psycho Circus brought together a record-breaking 125,000 costumed fans. Not the normal haunt venue, by any stretch of the imagination. Running October 27 and 28, the highly anticipated event transported Headliners into an immersive world of twisted attractions, creepy characters, and unforgettable sets from over 75 dance music tastemakers across four monstrous stages. Amidst the sinister Psycho Circus, fans enjoyed the revolving carousel, contortionists, fortunetellers, and burlesque shows all weekend long.
The Festival
To be clear, this was a full-on dance music festival. The iconic Slaughterhouse stage spanned 200 feet wide inside a 450-foot long tent, featuring a reimagined clown’s mouth smiling eerily from ear to ear. The devilish design housed over 700 video tiles, 375 lights, and 24 lasers, bringing performances to life from DJ Snake, Marshmello, Tiësto and REZZ. The Ghouls’ Graveyard dedicated Friday night to the brand-favorite Bassrush Massive, with killer sets from Datsik, Flosstradamus and Nero, followed by big hitters on Saturday like NGHTMRE, Zedd, and Eric Prydz.
The Chopping Block sat at the center of the festival, drawing fans into its massive circus tent with hardstyle aficionados curated by Basscon, and genre-crossover acts hosted by Audiotistic. Mike WiLL Made-It surprised fans with a special guest performance by Rae Sreummund during their set, and Boys Noize closed out the show with an unprecedented live performance. Factory 93 took over the Cannibals’ Tea Party stage in true underground fashion with minimal vibes, a black disco diamond, and the best in house music from Green Velvet, Jamie Jones, and Nicole Moudaber.
The Haunted House, ASYLUM
We were simply unprepared for Escape: Psycho Circus’ sprawling 32,000 square-foot Asylum, Escape’s largest and most intricate haunted maze. The enourmous theatrical experience recreated 30 distinct rooms from seven years of Escape storylines, featuring 120 costumed actors and 25 sound systems. Who expects an unprecedented haunt experience at a dance festival?
I knew I was in for something big when we were escorted to the imposing, two-story facade. Guard stations flanked the entrance to a darkened gateway. A wrought iron arch spelled out Wonderland Asylum. Surely they spent all the money on the facade. Nope. The real thrills were waiting inside.
Before entering we were asked to sign the usual waiver acknowledging that we would be touched, yelled at, put into a straightjacket, etc. Wait. A straightjacket? Yes. Oh, and also given a sort of hockey mask to wear while in the maze.
Our small group of seven entered the asylum and were in a two-story foyer. Gaunt nurses slinked in the distance as the administrative staff behind the check-in counter took our forms and grouped us in a single file line. A free-range patient wheeled around on a wheelchair, inspecting the goings on. Escorted to a small holding room, staff fitted each of us with straightjackets.
Staff barked at us to move on and we were guided to a nurses station where a shrill nurse administered our medication. Each of us received one pill, (Smartee Candy) and then were fitted with the requisite mask. Inmates screamed at us from behind bars as we waited to be led to our cell. A guard slid a gate open and led us down a hallway and into a padded room. Our experience was about to begin.
A clown was nestled in the corner. Apparently the Mad Hatter (of course), who held reign over the festival, had gotten into this poor clown’s mind. A wall rose and opened a portal into the psychotic dreamworld beyond.
We were honestly not prepared for the scope of this stunning haunted walkthrough. Transported into a nightmarish dreamworld inspired, partially by Alice in Wonderland, we were let loose into a seemingly endless array of set pieces, passageways, and horrifying scenes that came as close to a surreal nightmare as we have seen in a while.
The scenes were all somehow related to either Alice in Wonderland, a treacherous asylum rife with medical experiments, or an unhinged circus. No pictures were allowed inside aside from what was supplied, so we are sharing what we were given. This was honestly a highlight for us this haunt season. It is a rare thing to happen upon a walkthrough experience that is so fully realized and beautifully produced.
The real shame here is that this is a haunted house with a painfully short run that is part of a dance festival that many haunters would not give a second look to. Understandably so, with ticket prices in the $60-$70 dollar range for general admission, and VIP Passes in the $200 range (worth it) there is only any value if you are also insane for EDM festivals. This one is a good one too. Very well run, organized, and on point. Still, if that isn’t your scene you are missing out on a damn good haunted house.
As part of the festival there was also a Psycho Circus. A collection of tents featuring freaks, entertainers, psychics, tarot card readers, and more. There was even a darling little merry-go-round.
If Insomniac really wanted to knock it out of the park, they would find a way to offer admission to the Haunted House and Circus ONLY. I can only imagine this would be a logistical nightmare but MAN if only the market this would really appeal to could see it.
We hope to return to the festival next year to give a more comprehensive review of what is offered. Until then we can simply rave about the haunted attraction, laud the creativity, and go from there.
