Utah has enjoyed a rich history of successful and scary haunted houses. From back in the days of the best haunt in Utah, the Rocky Point Haunted House, to the strong showing from both Nightmare on 13th and Castle of Chaos this year, Utahn's have been spoiled. So, where does a brand new haunt fit and how can it compete with haunts that have had years of experience behind them?
That was the question on my mind last night as I drove all the way out to Herriman to visit the Diablo's Dome. What struck me, at first, was the fact that Diablo's Dome is located in the middle of a strip-mall. Honestly, it was a little bit of a turn off. However, as we talked to one of the haunt's organizers, he acknowledged that he recognized that some may take issue with that but offered quite a backstory to quell any trepidation about the haunt's legitimacy... at least for me. The backstory is rich and has many pieces to it, but the portion that struck a chord with me claimed that last year's Herriman fires that started at Camp Williams and moved through Herriman wasn't caused by lightning or a soldier's training round, but that it was actually caused by something more nefarious... even supernatural. However, the main theme of the haunt is that there are a set of mines where terrible things have happened and has become subsequently haunted.
As we filed in to the haunt, we were directed to a waiting room where we were treated to a video which coupled clips from popular horror movies with small clips produced by Diablo's Dome itself. As we sat on our folding chairs in that room awatiting our turn to enter the haunt, an actress who played the part of a mine worker entertained us by telling us about the backstory. She also pointed out some of the pictures framed around the room whose captions explained some backstory as well.
We entered the haunt as a party (I was joined by three other people) and went through the spook alley without running into any other people at all. I was actually very impressed with this since it is rare, when perusing one of these haunted houses, that you don't run into some other group of people and end up followng them for the duration. As for the haunt itself, it started out with the haunted mine theme as we were taken down in an elevator(a room which basically shook and did what it could to simulate movement) to the very bottom level. A level that hasn't been proven safe. We were dropped off and we set out alone to hopefully find our way out of the mine.
I have to mention that for these initial stages we were treated to some acting and interaction from the cast. They did a good job of making it a fun and unique. However, once we had descended in to the mine, not only was the mine theme promptly dropped, but that was the last of the actor interaction.
From this point on, it became what you would expect from a first year haunt. That was not meant as some kind of insult. However, there was really nothing that I hadn't seen before from seemingly more experienced haunts. I had a fun time making my way through the strobe lights, lazers, rubber and latex monsters, and your expected vampire room, insane patient room, etc. I happen to really enjoy this kind of activity and had a good time going through Diablo's Dome.
My main concern about this haunt is the price. Like I said, it was a haunt in its infancy and it showed. The $20 ticket cost to make it through the haunt seemed a bit steep, especially when compared to the $20 price tag for Nightmare on 13th (which includes the VIP pass if you purchase online), and the collection of Castle of Chaos haunts where the prices range from $10 to $25.
Hopefully in the future, the haunt can become more robust and find it's niche in the haunt industry. One of the owners claimed to be an idea-man in the vein of Walt Disney, having a cache of ideas for the haunt and he is waiting for the resources to become available for him to implement. One big disappointment I had about this haunt is the fact that they had a lot of good backstory to pull from, but chose to stray from it, thus making this haunt more of a generic, well-worn experience.
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