If there’s one haunted house in the Los Angeles scene that you’ve heard about (other than the main staples, such as Knotts Scary or Universal Horror Nights), it’s probably Creep, which is considered an immersive walk-through experience. The haunt, which has seen a yearly recurrence as well as off-season productions, has garnered quite a reputation among the community. Either your hipster friend has begged you to go, or you’ve found yourself reading into it online from websites such as our own. Today, we’re here to be that hipster friend, because you need it.

  Unlike their past incarnations, which have seen original stories, this year, Creep has teamed up with Amazon to bring to life one of their original series Lore for the experience. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking this is some sort of cheap promotional piece. If anything, it seems like the production company could have approached Amazon themselves requesting to use the material, because the story integrates itself so well into the obvious pursuits of Creep. The haunt is also titled Lore.

  I will not put this lightly – Lore is unlike anything else in Los Angeles. I am not exaggerating when I say this. This is an interactive theatre knob turned up all the way past the max. From the second you enter, you are thrust into a dark, relentlessly engaging storybook that leads you through dark woods, cemeteries, and much, much, much more. For a relatively small amount of square footage, it feels unimaginably vast. The show runs about an hour long, which feels like it flies by in fifteen minutes, due to constant engagement by the show’s actors.

  Which leads me what is the strongest point in the show, which is the acting. This is not a traditional haunted house in the way of actors just jumping out at you. The scares are much deeper, with a focus put on atmosphere and the surrounding world, which never feels safe. At any point. This is partly because the acting is so unbelievably vivid, that when you are thrust into the middle of the action (which does not stop until you suddenly burst out into the lounge at the end), you truly feel like you are going along with the ride. Hats off to an amazing performance from everyone in the show, and I mean everyone. Every single character feels like a perfectly necessary gear in a large, thunderous, whirring machine, and everyone does a spectacular job at keeping the machine very well oiled.

The most important piece of advice I can give you is do not expect this to feel like a regular haunted house. It is much, much more than that. The best way I can describe what the experience is like, is to compare to an actual play. You are making your way through the story, interacting with the characters, lost in a jaw-dropping, elaborate, perfectly executed set. The second most important piece of advice I can give you is to go. Run, if possible. 

  I can’t fully tell you what happens behind the doors of Lore, because if I did, I would spoil the show for you. What I can say, is that it is worth every cent they are charging.

For more information on the best haunted houses in the area, you can check out our guide here.