Santa Ana Haunt: 2020 Review
Santa Ana Haunt, Santa Ana, CA
We’ve come to it finally… the last Halloween update of the 2020 season (and maybe the earliest we’ve ever wrapped up our haunt season coverage since we started doing more than just Knott’s, Universal, and Dark Harbor. Despite what was expected to be a less exciting Halloween season on account of most of the big name haunts because closed and many home haunts converting to yard displays instead of walk-throughs, 2020 ended up being the busiest haunt season yet, with a total of 90 haunt “credits” tallied over the course of a month-plus—and the vast majority of those coming in a less-than-three week period after I got back from my early-October vacation.
The 90th and final stop of the season occurred a few Sundays ago, on the evening after Halloween. My last stop of the night was almost a spur-of-the-moment decision… a trip on the way home to check out a haunt that I had seen from to SoCal Haunt List that also happened to be very close to my own house. It was a newcomer to the Southern California home haunt scene, and it was simply entitled: Santa Ana Haunt.
After being buried six feet under and arriving in hell, guests are treated to an introductory spiel outlining the premise of the Santa Ana Haunt storyline and then given a “dusting” of dirt and “maggots” for their trouble.
The brainchild of Jesus “Chewie” Garcia—whose resume includes being a monster at Knott’s Scary Farm on Ghost Town Streets and heading up the Halloween events at Boomers Fountain Valley for several years—this this open-air maze took guests on a surreal trip into hell. Within the realm lay three iterations of fear: the fear of being burned alive, the fear of dolls, and the fear of dying alone. This was capped off by a grand finale scene featuring a scenic graveyard flanked by a lavish mausoleum, signifying an overarching general fear of death.
The maze had a fun mix of immersive theater and traditional walkthrough, with some great sets, vivid lighting, and energetic and fully engaged scareactors! The introduction from the first monster of landing in hell was both entertaining and squeamish, ending with a sample of "maggots" and dirt thrown at guest. This lent a bit of 17th Door flair to the moment, minus the shocks and water effects! From there, it was onto each scene, from a creepy girl seemingly catatonic with her dolls until she lashed out to a horrifying old lady reaching out and pleading not to be left alone. That turned out to be a distraction for the previous actor to hit a drop portrait for another jump scare.
The final scene was shrouded in moody, billowing fog and featured two more monsters--one lunging out from an unseen passageway--and another waiting to ambush from a corner in tag team effort. Their jump scares might distract people from admiring the beautiful graveyard and mausoleum built up along the lawn. But of course, as a haunted attraction veteran, I couldn’t help but admire the pretty scenery and impressive sets that created a surprising amount of ambiance in a very efficient manner.
Pediophobics beware. The second room—flashing with strobes and filled with dolls—certainly amped up the creep factor.
This concept was more cerebral than many haunts I’ve experienced and showcased Chewie’s creativity and unique ideas. I liked that this maze wasn’t lying purely on traditional horror themes but instead drawing off and evolving them into more mental manifestations. The scene-by-scene progression also helped the maze function more like a series of rooms rather than a full-fledged maze, keeping spaces open and safe without being boring.
The roving talent outside the maze was on it too, preying on nervous guests and even passers by. A stilt walker and a slider combined for some great finale scares of guests coming out--or waiting in line! They wasted no opportunities in scutting back and forth, catching attendees off guard. All the while, in a quirky and humorous twist, a gallery of the Santa Ana Haunt team’s family and friends sat in seats just of the driveway nearby, laughing and cheering at the scares.
The most unique room of maybe any home haunt maze I’ve ever seen featured an old woman by herself, succumbing to the clutches of death, with no one to be company.
Major kudos goes out to the excellent attention to COVID safety practices at this first-time haunt. Markers at 6ft, an active management of the line to maintain spacing, temperature checks before entering, a spritz of alcohol sanitizer to the hands before entering, all double-masked scareactors and mask requirements for guests, and even the manner of scaring--quick pass-by's that didn't linger and felt closer than they actually were... all of this showed a professionalism and care to mitigate the Coronavirus risk. That was a big reason for why I was willing up go through this maze in a season where most home haunters pivoted to yard haunts.
Chewie actually lost his grandfather to COVID earlier this year, a tragedy that was fresh on his mind when Halloween season approached. But although the absolute most conservative move for a haunter would have been to produce absolutely nothing, Chewie felt compelled to provide something for his neighborhood and local community after seeing the toll that the pandemic has taken on the people around him—especially children. As much of a right move as it was to have stay at home policies and limit public ventures and exposures, it was still very stressful and emotionally and mentally draining for school-aged folks to be home all day, stuck with an admittedly flawed distance learning set-up, unable to have their usual direct and social engagements with their friends and fellow classmates. The Santa Ana Haunt was Chewie’s way of giving the local kids something to enjoy and relish—but with the commitment to operate as safely and thoughtfully as possible.
In my opinion, the Santa Ana Haunt succeeded very well in that regard, attracting hundreds of guests each night and enjoying a steady stream of visitors during its three night run—all while maintaining the strenuous COVID safety protocols described above. I really appreciated this level of care, especially given that it was even more conservative than some professional haunted attractions I visited. And the guests seemed to love the experience, exiting the maze with smiles and laughs even if they were intermingled with terror! A job well done to Chewie and his team of talent and builders for adding to this year’s very impressive rookie home haunt class!
The maze ends with a climactic tag team scare in the cemetery, as guests are chased out back onto the sidewalk.
Santa Ana Haunt is located at 2309 W Cubbon St, Santa Ana, CA 92704 and was open Friday through Sunday, October 30 - November 1, from dusk until 11:00pm. We can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
