Perdition Home Haunt presents Death Cult: 2018 Review
Perdition Home, Yorba Linda, CA
(Warning: Though some NSFW images are to be expected with these updates, Perdition is an especially gory, graphic, and violent looking haunt. So note that the photos in this update contain explicit images of blood and simulated violence. Exercise discretion.)
For many years now, an unassuming home in Yorba Linda has been the domain of one of the most visually intense and grisly home haunts around: Perdition Home. It is one of the few home haunts that tries to do a brand new theme each year, rather than modify or tweak an existing layout or story. Over the years, Perdition has conjured stories about secluded backwood ravagers, alien creatures, dark and sinister witches, and more. This year, Brandon Spletter and Trevor Nielsen tackle a bit of real life horror with their 2018 maze: Death Cult, an experience that centers around some of 20th century America’s most infamous serial killers!
Charles Manson is one of several rogue’s gallery of murderers at Perdition Home.
Heinous characters like Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, John Wayne Gacy, and Richard Ramirez (the Night Stalker Killer) and their gruesome deeds are on open display throughout Perdition Home’s murder manor. The first and most prominent aspect of this year’s haunt when guests approach is the fact that Brandon and Trevor have pretty much built an annex house in front of the actual house. With lumber and plywood and siding, plus professional framing standards, Death Cult provides very usable real estate—a hot commodity in the Southern California property market. The construction represents the most extensive building work the team has done, and it even provided a bit of an issue with the local fire marshal, whose comments delayed Perdition’s opening from last weekend to this past Thursday.
They do not play it safe at Perdition Home.
Everything is gory and graphic and not for young children or the innocent minded!
That small hiccup aside, the exterior of the maze looks fantastic, providing a great facade and curb appeal along the street. As guests line up on the sidewalk, they can watch a meme-fied video of Charles Manson behaving in his eccentric and disturbing ways, interspersed with commentary graphics to underscore a dark humor to his horrific actions.
Once guests, enter, they’ll find that the slick and professional maze exterior belies carnage inside. In each room, guests will find slaughtered bodies, bloody with entrails exposed, the canvas of the work of these brutal murderers. There are also plenty of hiding places for the killers themselves to spring out onto unsuspecting guests—hidden corners, “boo holes,” and side entryways to enhance the scares. In typical Perdition fashion, Brandon and Trevor have designed actor access hallways to enable them to scare guests at multiple points, intensifying the overall experience. Although my personal experience was a little repetitive on the startles, the cast was working through opening night kinks and fine tuning what worked and what didn’t. And through the evening, there were definitely plenty of screams throughout the house.
Looking for a next victim…
Perdition Home is an excellent example of a great, “old school,” bloody, disgusting haunt that maintains a relentless pace of scares. The craftsmanship is especially impressive, and the level of carnage on open display is blood-curdling and not for the faint of heart. This is a quality home haunt and continues to display the passion that Brandon and Trevor have for Halloween and creating their own haunted attraction. And as the [short home haunt] season is progressing, they are continuing to add and fine-tune their work.
Will you fare better than this victim?
Perdition is located at 5181 Manor View Dr., Yorba Linda, CA 92886 and runs tonight through Halloween night, 7-10pm. Admission is free, as with any home haunt, but donations are gratefully accepted. The crew also has merchandise on sale for fans who enjoy souvenirs or want to show their support. Go out and step inside the twisted world of mass murderers at Perdition Home. It’s disturbing and visceral, but it’s a memorable haunted attraction spree!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
