Hauntington Beach Manor presents Sanitarium: 2021 Review
Westminster Mall, Westminster, CA
Three years ago, I visited a little home haunt in Huntington Beach appropriately called Hauntington Beach Manor... and quickly discovered that this residential frightmare was anything but little! Sprawling in front of, behind, and all around the spacious home of owner William "Jay" Horskey, this haunt was impressively action-packed, with a plethora of theming, plenty of excitement, and an energetic intensity that spanned scene after scene after scene. The theme the year I visited was "Quarantine," back when a dangerous, widespread disease infecting and killing millions of people around the world was much more fantastical and far-fetched than today. But even then, I came away impressed with what I saw and even noted that this home haunt--which was one of the very few that started operations at the beginning of October--was all but a step down from professional haunts.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Hauntington Beach Manor ended up going dark the following year in 2019. Last year, of course, saw the Coronavirus pandemic shut down most happenings, and HBM ended up organizing a legitimately modest Halloween weekend offering targeted more for the local neighborhood. But clearly, there was more ambition on the horizon.
Welcome to Hauntington Beach Manor, which is less of a manor this year and more of house for the disturbed.
This year, like some home haunts that have become too expansive to be contained in a residential setting, Hauntington Beach Manor has gone professional, relocating itself to the Westminster Mall. Having outgrown the limits of a home haunt, it's time for HBM to spread its spooky wings and soar out into the world of independent commercial haunts. During its home haunt days, Jay ambitiously crafted a new and different theme every year, so that returning guests would not encounter a repeat experience in any sense. For its inaugural professional endeavor, Hauntington Beach Manor is presenting Sanitarium, an asylum-based haunted house that promises to thrill and terrify.
The premise of this year's maze has guests coming to the Sanitarium to visit a relative, only to become trapped themselves. As they delve deeper into the facility to try to escape, they encounter greater and more shocking horrors. Can they escape before it's too late?
Ready to check in? This receptionist can lend a bloody helping hand.
Consistent with how epic Hauntington Beach Manor was in its last full production, the professional version is impressively sprawling. And given how richly themed and detailed HBM's creation is this year, haunted attraction fans may not want to escape! Guests first wait outside in the mall concourse, entertained at times by passing doctors and stilt-walking researchers who seem at least a little suspect. Once guests enter the premises, they're greeted by a staff member that explains the rules before welcoming them into the madhouse.
This place has more than just 17 doors…
There's an immediate feel of gritty discomfort as visitors make their way through the first portion of the maze, which is messy, bloody, and stained with... well... you don't want to know. Jay owns a successful plumbing company in real life, and the fixtures inside the restroom scenes seem a little too disgustingly real. Fortunately, HBM foregoes the scents that some haunts have been known to liberally employ over the years and keeps the revulsion to just visual. But even here already, the immersive atmosphere and boundless energy of the scareactors are already starting to take hold, as guests meet some of the patients at this facility who are clearly having little success exorcising whatever plagues them.
The patients in this Sanitarium seem to have unending verve, and it’s pretty amazing to behold.
The maze then moves through a series of spaces that seem to parallel a mental trip through nightmares and visions, alternating the scenic cacophony with startling intrusions of the Sanitarium foul-doings. As guests continue, they find more and more violent and egregious atrocities, including children being mutilated, a throng of patients locked up behind bars and presumably used as lab experiments, and a cast of murderous, remorseless medical personnel who seem to thrive on their despicable conduct.
There also seem to be horrid atrocities committed here.
There is a lot to take in at Hauntington Beach Manor, both visually and from a scare design factor. The vibe of the maze feels a lot like Perpetuum Penitentiary at The 17th Door, minus the shocking or grossly copious use of water. This actually makes sense, as several 17th Door alumni are part of the team at Hauntington Beach Manor, and there are 17th Door references and Easter eggs hidden throughout the maze (including a literal 17th door).
The theming is far from slick and dramatic, but there is a density of props and furnishings that make each space feel enveloping and convincing. I noted three years ago that Hauntington Beach Manor would have fit in very wel at Knott's Scary Farm ten years ago, and the same remains true this year. There is truly an amazing quantity of detail and content packed into this maze, and it never seems to end!
The spinning tunnel simulates the spiral into madness.
The thoughtful attention to detail also extends to the scares, which come from all angles and reflect a clear passion and study of the articulation of haunting. There are plenty of jump scares of different varieties, of course, from scareactors hiding behind corners to drop portraits and concealed openings that allow the talent to pop out in surprising locations. The scareactors have also been well coached to be selective about their timing and to be relentless with their scaring, mixing up the directions and angles from which they emerge. The scares aren't always from right in front. Some come low, while others come high (one highlight scare puts a variation on bungees that we've never quite seen executed before, and it works brilliantly). In other scenes, the actors are camouflaged into the room theming itself, thus encouraging guests to drop their guard entirely before being hit with a scare.
Did I mention the passion that the scareactors all display?
Hauntington Beach Manor's Sanitarium is also one of the most populated mazes we've ever seen. I joked that the maze probably has more scareactors than all of Six Flags Magic Mountain's Fright Fest's scare zones put together this year, but when Jay showed me the roster for the evening, that statement might actually be pretty close to the truth! It's pretty amazing that HBM has been able to find such an exhaustive number of passionate and committed performers to staff its attraction. Such a luxury is surely the envy of many other haunts!
Although there are frights a'plenty, Hauntington Beach Manor isn't all serious vigor. The maze definitely isn't afraid to be a little edgy or tongue-in-cheek. For starters, the fact that it is pursuing an asylum theme after the controversy over using mental institutions as a haunted house theme a few years ago is itself a bold move. But some of the references within the maze--like an unknown "happy gas" that is repeatedly touted and the appearance of a literal COVID Baby--showcase a willingness to go into the absurd.
What’s a haunted house without really disturbing babies?
The other great part of Hauntington Beach Manor is its philanthropical side. A huge practioneer of the "scare because we care" mantra, Hauntington Beach Manor has traditionally collected donations to give to a local charity. During my 2018 visit, it was Patriots and Paws and Children's Hospital of Orange County. This year, Jay will be donating at least 50% of all profits to select local charities that support the Westminster community. Half of the remaining will also go into profit-sharing and spot bonuses for the performers, incentivizing their work and adding greater financial support. And make no mistake about it, this year's Hauntington Beach Manor is a significant undertaking and investment. In past years, Horskey has easily spent in the five-digit range for his home haunt. The Sanitarium ups that ante by going well into the six-digits--a reflection of Jay's absolute passion and love for Halloween and the delirious joy of scares. But ultimately, the goal is to be able to use the success of the maze to give back to the community and finance impactful differences to less fortunate individuals in the area.
This Sanitarium ain’t pretty, that’s for sure!
As it stands, Hauntington Beach Manor's Sanitarium is a superb and gripping maze that will leave guests shaken, enthralled, and looking for more. Those who find the experience too intense can even yell out a safe word--"Mercy!"--another 17th Door nod (though Hauntington Beach Manor has been trying to get its visitors to say "mercy" for years. I pointed out how the haunt kept a tally in 2018 of those who opted out after entering.
The resulting mix of old school and new school haunts places Hauntington Beach Manor among the upper echelons of independent haunts despite its freshman status. HBM has made quite a splash in the haunt environment, and its riveting ordeal has solidified it as a haunt to keep an eye on and target every year. Add to that the fact that this haunt is focused on providing for a great cause, and Hauntington Beach Manor--despite its graphic horrors--shores up the best of Halloween and the charitable spirit of the Halloween community. This is one Sanitarium that really does help!
Hauntington Beach Manor is located on the first floor of the Westminster Mall, between the Target and Macy’s, across from Hollister Co. The attraction runs select nights now through October 31, with tickets starting at $25, through general admission for remaining dates are $30 - $40 per person, with VIP $6 more. I think the price point is a bit steep compared to most other single attraction haunted mazes, but the quality and intensity of Hauntington Beach Manor cannot be denied, and the profits do benefit a good community cause. Guests do need to sign a waiver, but this is not an extreme haunt (though sharp-eyed visitors may notice some similarities in language to The 17th Door). The monsters will not touch anyone (intentionally). Though this attraction is indoors, there are no mask or proof of vaccination requirements at this time, since the venue is in Orange County, not L.A.
Update:
Since our review was posted, Hauntington Beach Manor has lowered their ticket prices to $22 - $28 plus fees for remaining nights, depending on the night. This is definitely a fair price for an attraction of this length and caliber. Give them your support!
Architect. Photographer. Disney nerd. Haunt enthusiast. Travel bugged. Concert fiend. Asian.
