The Curse of the Treasure: 2019 Review
The Curse of the Treasure, Santa Clarita, CA
For the longest time, the hotbed of home haunts has been The Valley. And by The Valley, we mean places like Burbank, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, and adjacent areas. This kind of makes sense, because there are a lot of people who live in those neighborhoods who work in the entertainment industry or involved with putting together theater shows who have skills that lend themselves to elaborate home haunted houses. Recently, however, a different Valley has making waves in pursuit of claiming the title of home haunt capital: the Santa Clarita Valley. This region has recently seen a rapid growth of residential haunted attractions that has made it a great destination for haunt enthusiasts during the latter half of October. And today, we're covering yet another new home haunt that has manifested in the area.
The Curse of the Treasure is a garage haunt with a young history—literally! 17 year-old Cameron is the brains behind this operation, constructing this haunt within the home of his supportive parents, mostly on his own effort and ingenuity. Although he does isn’t networked to the other “New Blood” haunters like the folks behind Opechee Haunt, Murder House Productions, Rosehill Haunt, and Twisted Minds Productions, Cameron nonetheless represents yet another member of this new generation of haunted house builders who are sharing their passion with their local community and creating haunts of surprising quality that are more typically associated with grown up haunters. And much like other recent Santa Clarita haunt additions—Club Fear, Shiver Haunt, and Stony Pointe Halloween Haunt—this homemade haunted attraction has joined a quickly growing list haunted houses that makes Santa Clarita a can't miss destination anyone who enjoys taking in such spooks.
A talking skulls warns guests of the dangers that may lie ahead—not to mention rules and safety information for guests waiting to enter.
As with a lot of haunts on that we have seen recently, The Curse of the Treasure carries a pirate theme. This one, however, mixes in elements of theatrical performance with a traditional maze layout, adding in a little bit of clever innovation as well.
The first sign of sophistication that lies beyond Cameron's years is the talking animatronic skull safety spiel to guests before actual maze itself. The rules run a little bit long, but the talking skull adds a nice, charming touch (and some Pirates of the Caribbean Disney influence) to the opening presentation of the maze. Once inside, guests are treated to a pre-show of sorts, as the lights go dark, and a raspy, surly voice gives warning to those searching for lost and curse and treasure. The lights flicker back on, and a startle scare reveals a threatening, pistol-wielding buccaneer. He gestures toward an opened secret compartment, revealing the rest of the maze layout.
Guests then navigate switchbacks search of the treasure while evading unsavory characters. Along the way, may encounter a ghillie suit monster, creepy crawly creatures, and dangerous pirates as well. The final roar of a Kraken hurries guests out the maze interior and back onto safety of the driveway of Cameron's home.
Hiding fiends in the light and the dark is a great tactic to manufacturer some jump scares.
The Curse of the Treasure may reside on a small layout, but it packs a lot of features within its condensed footprint. Cameron mixes in walls made out of shipping pallets instead of framed flats, a few pirate themed props, and fun lightning. A laser vortex tunnel provides a fun hiding spot for an actor to suddenly appear in front of guests. A static skeleton in the final corridor teases an uneventful walk, until a prisoner lunges through one of the bars near the end, begging for help.
Likewise, the soundtrack of a creaking ship conveys a good sense of tension. This works especially well at the biggest highlight of the maze, where a series of pallets used as a walking surface and rigged on slight hinges simulates the rocking of the pirate ship. Adding red lights below the palate gives an ominous and dramatic effect through the slats. The uneven footing leaves guests unsettled, and that is exacerbated by Cameron in his pirate costume self, at the end of the path, staring ominously back at the guests making their way through this portion of the maze.
Although The Curse of the Treasure may be brief from a length perspective, for the resources of a typical high schooler, this still represents an impressive endeavor from someone who is clearly passionate about Halloween and haunted houses. One can see the gleam in Cameron’s eye and excitement in his voice when he talks about how he designed this maze, what he has planned for next time, and how he first started on the idea of being a haunter.
Cameron recalls a trip to Halloween Horror Nights when he was younger. The maze scares and storytelling motivated him to try to create something similar of his own. His first attempt at a maze occurred last year, utilizing more rudimentary construction methods, such as traditional tarps and generic props. This year represents a step up in sophistication and detail, with Cameron making several of his own unique pieces of theming, adding animation elements, and mixing in show lighting and audio programming to lend a more unique and original feel to his production. The inclusion of theatrical elements also shows a maturation of designing haunts, which is no surprise when one looks at the works over the years of the other members of the “New Blood Haunt Squad”™.
Cameron, posing in an area of the maze with some uneven footing.
Even though this season has not yet ended, like all Halloween Haunt designers, Cameron is already thinking about next year and what he might do. A black light illuminated candy-shop-gone-wrong is in the works. It will be interesting to see how Cameron manifests this after two years of haunting under his belt next year.
Mazes like The Curse of the Treasure provide great hope to the future of home hunting. Young designers such as Cameron keep producing haunts that are better quality than those of their predecessors at their age, and as they continue to grow and advance their crafts, creative, these passionate individuals will construct more and more great Halloween attractions for the rest of us to enjoy.
We love seeing the proliferation of this art form to more members of a whole new generation Halloween fans. Kudos to Cameron for showcasing a passion project to his local community!
The cast of The Curse of the Treasure from our Friday, October 25th visit.
The Curse of the Treasure is located 20205 Soladera Way, Santa Clarita, CA 91351 and continues its run on Halloween night and Friday, November 1st. There is a no-scare offering from 5pm - 6pm, followed by live scareactors from 6-10pm. Go get out and support these great local home haunts, especially by aspiring young haunters like Cameron!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
