Those of us who live in the Los Angeles area are quite spoiled come this time of year. Despite the controversy of last week that stirred the horror community, there is plenty new and old experiences out there for all to enjoy. This past weekend We Are Indie Horror had a so-cal Halloween adventure to kick off this amazing month of ours. First on our stop was Long Beach, California where we boarded the haunted and legendary cruise ship, The Queen Mary for their annual Dark Harbor event.
This year showed updated and new mazes while introducing a new character. Per usual, the undead captain of the Queen Mary welcomes the patrons onboard and into the event as he tries to rise his ship from the grave As always his wit and performance are top notch. Introduced next was the return of The Ringmaster, a playful master of dread who runs one of the darkest circuses in town always looking for the lost spirits to join them. And this year we had a new face to meet. He is the mastermind, the creator, and now the protector of the Queen Mary, the Iron Master. He has returned to reclaim his vessel by guarding it from the antics of the freaks and ghouls.
With a new character comes a new maze. Unfortunately with the new maze came to lost of one our favorites, the Voodoo maze. No need to worry the new maze, Intrepid, which can be found under the big top is a unique experience allowing for two different paths amongst guests and plenty of scares to go around. The other mazes are familiar to those who have attended before, Deadrise, Lullaby, Soulmate, B340, and Circus
The quite fascinating part of Dark Harbor is the constant evolution of the mazes. Even if you have gone before, the familiar mazes have changed and updated to keep it interesting. One stand out was the change to Soulmate. Graceful Gale returns with some added twists and turns involved as you walk through the engine room and heart of the ship for quite the creepy experience.
Another standout maze is of course Circus. Step into a world of twisted clowns, ball pits, and an actual mirror maze that had us lost for quite a few minutes. Deadrise updates to be a bit longer than in the past with similar scares but a phenomenal cast to boot. Scary Mary returns for Lullaby as all she wants to do is play with you. The length of the maze through the ship adds to the eeriness and having to walk through the most haunted room on the ship is a nice touch. And all the maniacs return in B340 where if you listen carefully the cast tells you a wonderful and scary story.
Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor returns for the 2016 season and as premiere haunts go, Dark Harbor should be on your must do. You won’t find your intense scares here but the atmosphere is what shines. Lines can get pretty long and tedious so you may want to shell out the extra bucks for the Fear Fright pass. For more information be sure to follow the links below.
