In Nightmares, Mr. Sandman creates a variety of nightmares for you as you slowly fall into sleep paralysis, trying his best to make sure you don’t wake up.

Nightmares is a collection of everything that makes people scared that doesn’t have their own dedicated haunted house. Spiders, doctors, statues and dolls are a few things you might encounter.

The sound design for this house is incredible. Each room has a different soundtrack which captures the theme and horror in each trope. This house also has a fair amount of animatronics, and there are many effects, such as heavy fog, lasers and flashing lights.

With the glow stick, every room has a new fear you might be forced to face. The actors are well costumed, and in this house they tend to grab you when you least expect it.

With it being the first house you enter, it sets the tone for the rest of your experience quite well. This house is a perfect introduction to Halloween Nights.

I rate this house 5/5 screams.

Dark Tides is the newest haunted house, replacing the previous house, Delirium.

The story behind Dark Tides goes that a village was found underwater, with inhabitants luring you to your demise. Walking into the house you are told, “If you hear the siren’s song, it’s already too late.”

This house has the best animatronic scares. The costumes are beautiful, and the background music is hauntingly melodic. This house has the best lighting by far; every room has an ethereal glow, and with your glowstick in hand, prepare for tight, dark spaces.

Dark Tides is much more atmospheric compared to its predecessor.

“The lighting and production of the set really portrayed a mythic feeling, which I enjoyed much better than the neon-strobe light effect that Delirium brought,” McNamara said. “Dark Tides, at least to me, was a much better addition to the experience than Delirium. Although the theme expressed in Delirium went along better with the experience’s overarching theme, I think Dark Tides provides a much more atmospheric and unique aspect that captivates the audience much more than Delirium did.”

Dark Tides is much better than Delirium. It was easier to navigate, had better scares and a color palette that didn’t cause headaches.

I rate this house 4/5 screams.

Big Top Terror takes you behind the scenes for a circus, where every performer will do whatever it takes to be the lead act.

Big Top Terror is the most interactive of the haunted houses. Every winding hall and sharp corner brings new frights. The costumes for this house are the most on theme, and the circus music creates a maddening experience in the best way possible.

With the glow stick, the circus performers make you part of their acts. All their eyes are on you as you walk through the house. The scare actors in this house have the most chances for interaction, so every new area brings new scares.

This house’s effects include fog and loud sounds. There are some animatronics, but the magic of this house comes from the live performance from the scare actors. This house also has a fair portion of the house outdoors, ending in a courtyard where you can purchase drinks and interact with scare actors.

I rate this house 5/5 screams.

Machine Shop takes you through an abandoned factory infected by evil. One single mind controls every machine and worker, and it won’t stop until it controls you too.

Machine Shop is the last house in area one. Machine Shop is the most gory of the houses, with most of the scare coming from blood and flesh rather than jumpscares.

The costumes for this house are the most simple, but it fits with the theme well. It’s animatronic heavy in some portions. The effects in this house include loud noises, flashing lights and heavy fog. As you go through this house, remember to watch your step because, in some hallways, the floors move.

How scary the glowstick makes this house is based on fear tolerance. The glowstick in this house is great if you are not afraid of being separated or tight, dark spaces.

To summarize this house in the words that echo through the halls, “one mind, one machine.”

I rate this house 4/5 screams.

The Crypt forces you to walk through the halls of a vampire clan’s lair. Avoid the countess and her minions so you don’t become their next meal.

The Crypt was designed by the original creators of Terror Behind the Walls, and it shows. The Crypt winds through a broken down cell block, and the bare wood, cracked plaster and many stairs add to the atmosphere of the house.

If you chose to go through this house with the glow stick, expect darkness and loud noises. The less you notice the scare actors, the higher chance they will grab you.

The Crypt had the longest line, even with the new “improved” event flow.

In zone four, The Crypt transitions into its outdoor area, the Bloodline Lounge. The lounge is a bar and seating area for all ages. It is full of vampires and has two opportunities for photos. The atmosphere in the lounge is captivating, and the vampires who reside inside are chatty and entertaining. Outside, vampires perform live covers of your favorite songs.

I rate this house 3/5 screams, but the atmosphere and surrounding area is 5/5 screams.

Besides the haunted houses, there are plenty of other attractions to experience.

The hospital flashlight tour, located in the second area, shows the medical cellblock and provides the history of medicine at Eastern State Penitentiary. The educational tour covers the history of both tuberculosis and surgery at Eastern State and modern day prisons, without any scares.

The tours takes place in two halves, the therapy cells and the tuberculosis cells.

The medical observation and therapy cells cover all the torturous medical “therapies” that were used to cure illnesses, such as hydrotherapy and physiotherapy. The tuberculosis cells in the second half show how far the way infectious disease treatment has come in the United States.

The cellblock also takes you into the surgery and decontamination room. Two rooms with the most historical importance in the prison. The Eastern State operating room was used for both prisoners and regular people. Inmates also helped with surgery, and it put them on a path for a job when they left the prison.

For $13 a person, this experience is well worth it for history lovers.

Apocalypse Pass is in the beginning third area of the experience. It is a zombie themed area which you walk through towards the end of the night. It reuses elements of past years in a new format.

It should be known that fog assaults your nose and lungs as you enter this area. Buy a water bottle either before or after this corner, because you will need it.

After Apocalypse Pass, you find the Pumpkin Plaza. The plaza is the third area of Halloween Nights. A majority of the food trucks are in this area. There is also a booth for merch, even though zone four is mostly gift shops. The line to enter the crypt also starts in this area.

The food, while expensive, was delicious. The chicken on a stick was great.

Pumpkin Plaza is also the home of the Boogey Monsters, a hip hop dance group who performs every 30 minutes.

The dance show is entertaining, and between every show, the monsters interact and dance with the crowd. The performers are great with young kids and those who are at Halloween Nights more for fun than fear. They have great energy, and they are a nice break from the haunted houses.

While you spend a majority of this area in line for food and the Crypt, the Boogey Monsters make the wait enjoyable.

At the end of the night, in zone four, the only attraction is Kaleidoscope Hall. This year, Kaleidoscope Hall was blocked off at the beginning of the hallway. A projection of a dancer on roller skates dances at the end of the hallway to a mix of Halloween and pop hits. Actors occasionally come in and dance with patrons.

Area four also includes gift shops, both for Halloween Nights and for Eastern State Penitentiary. You can also find a funnel cake and a fried Oreos food truck in this area.