I did not know what to expect walking into Nashville Nightmare, but this is a high production value haunt. The sets feel cinematic, the actors are fully committed to their roles, and I am usually the type to scope out a room before I commit to walking in. A couple of these houses still got me with a well timed jump scare.
Nashville Nightmare is run by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, the same company behind Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, so the production polish tracks with what we already saw in Long Beach last year.
We ranked our top four houses in this order.
1. Creature Feature, hands down our favorite of the night
An old theater where the show never really ended. One usher still walks the aisles long after the curtains closed, and you quickly realize you are not there to watch anything. You are part of the performance. The scale of the set and the way the actors commit to the bit put this one well above the rest for us.
2. Fairy Tale Hell
Every childhood story gone wrong at once. Ruined castles, forests turned into hunting grounds, and fairy tale creatures that have gone feral with age. No hero is coming for you here.
3. Vector Research XIII
A research facility that officially never existed, sealed off after its lead scientist pushed a set of experimental compounds too far. The lab went into permanent lockdown, and whatever was in there was never destroyed, just locked in with you.
4. Mr. Sweets’ House of Horrors
A candy shop with a grinning figure who has been waiting in the shadows far longer than anyone remembers. The sugar smell does a decent job of covering up what is actually going on behind the counter.
Jason Universe was not open yet when we went, it officially opens September 25. Worth noting this is not the same production as the Jason Universe house we saw last year at Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood. That one was Universal’s own in-house story house. Nashville Nightmare’s version is a separately licensed walkthrough, so it is a different experience under the same name. We will have to go back for that one.
Overall, a great night out. We went in with modest expectations and left genuinely impressed. Some of these houses hold their own against much bigger and more famous parks.
