Get your fright on: Hall of Horrors
WHAT: Hall of Horrors haunted attraction
WHERE: 1153 Walter Price Road, Cayce
WHEN: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 2-31 and 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 8-29, “blackout nights.” “Blackout nights” means standard show lighting will be disabled. Guests will only have a glow-stick to find their way through the haunted attraction.
INFO: Tickets, $10; details at www.hallofhorrors.com
For the past 35 years, the Cayce-West Columbia Jaycees have terrified local patrons with their annual Hall of Horrors Halloween attraction, and this year will be no grisly exception.
Piggybacking off last year’s “Experiment 13 at the Brentwood Hospital” theme, this year features a more sinister look into the mind of “Dr. Darling,” whose dreams you’re sucked into once you dare to enter this year’s hospital. And even before.
Doctor Darling has different dreams and they range from nightmares about Walter Price Street, clowns, him being a kid – just him having delusions of various dreams.
Latasha Taste
director of communications for Cayce-West Columbia Jaycees“We try to create a great experience for those waiting in line,” said Latasha Taste, director of communications for Cayce-West Columbia Jaycees. “There’s also a maze outside.”
The maze is where Dr. Darling originated last year, played again by Jimmy Wall, who is also the chairman for this event.
“I came up with this character on the spot last year and just developed him,” said Wall. “The makeup was so iconic and so striking that my face as the doctor ended up being used on social media. So they said they wanted to do the same thing this year but develop it further.”
I was born on Oct. 28 so I think it was fated for me to be obsessed with Halloween.
Jimmy Wall
chairperson for Hall of Horrors and “Dr. Darling”And by “develop it further,” he means further terrorize visitors of Brentwood Behavioral Hospital.
“We have done things that we’ve never done before,” said Wall. “I can’t give out too many secrets, but the creative team had a vision that’s been very strong from the beginning. I’m really excited for it.”
Wall went on to say they’ve even partnered with the NiA Company, a self-described “gypsy” acting troop drawn to the event not just because of the theme, but also because of the creative license the Jaycees have given their actors and volunteers.
“They thought partnering with us was a perfect fit because it’s improv,” he said. “We have little bullet points that we’d like to hit, but it’s really about tailoring your performance and your character to any person in front of you.”
This pulse-racing experience is not only thrilling, but philanthropic, with much of the proceeds going towards various charities, the biggest of which is Jaycee Camp Hope in the Upstate, a camp for children and adults with special needs.
“There’s a lot of heart that goes into what we do,” said Wall. “And as someone who’s always felt like an outsider for one reason or another, that really struck a chord with me.
“I’m just glad people are interested in it,” he said. “I think we do great work, and I’m excited that other people are excited. It’s hard to put into words.”
THE VIBE: Hard to put into words as well, but “creepy” and “demented” come to mind. From the staging to the actors to the theme, come prepared to scream, run and even hide. In other words, if hearing your heartbeat thump in your ears is your idea of a good time, then get ready to have the time of your life.
THE VERDICT: What a great way to get yourself in the mood for Halloween. Dr. Darling has been quoted as saying, “You can’t get away from evil.” In other words: Dr. Darling is not so darling. So when they say the doctor is in, run!
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 8:01 PM.